England role 'fascinates' Capello

Capello has enjoyed a glittering career in club management

Former Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello says he would like to succeed Steve McClaren as England manager.

Capello, 61, who has had a successful career in club management with Real, AC Milan, Roma and Juventus, told Football Focus: "All challenges fascinate me.

"The challenge of coaching a national side like England would be something different. The job is not about coaching every day.

"It would be a very difficult challenge but a very exciting one."

Interview: Fabio Capello

Reacting to reports that former Porto and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has ruled himself out of contention, Capello added: "I was convinced Mourinho would have accepted.

"The fact that he has opted to step aside means that he has another aim. But I am older than Mourinho."

I could well imagine England getting a fresh start with him Franz Beckenbauer

Capello was sacked by Real in the summer of 2007 despite leading them to the Primera Liga title last season, 10 years after his first league title at the Bernabeu.

He has picked up seven Serie A titles with three different clubs, and won the Champions League with Milan in 1994.

Meanwhile, Franz Beckenbauer has urged England to appoint former Germany boss Jurgen Klinsmann.

Beckenbauer says Klinsmann, 43, has the right credentials having guided Germany to the semi-finals in the 2006 World Cup and played with Tottenham.

"The job would be ideal for him and England as well," Beckenbauer said.

"Jurgen has very clear ideas who can enforce them. He knows what he wants, he speaks very good English and would revel in the England job."

German football icon Beckenbauer, captain and coach of the teams that won the World Cup in 1974 and 1990, believes Klinsmann would not be afraid to shake things up within the England set-up.

Writing in his weekly column for Bild, he said: "Who can lead the boys with the three lions out of their coma? One name comes immediately to mind. Jurgen Klinsmann.

"He'd have three years until the 2010 World Cup to form a new team and he wouldn't have to worry about old baggage.

"Jurgen would be a new beginning for England. He is looking for a role in a country with a great tradition and appetite for football.

"He is a man with a clear vision and knows how to implement that vision even against resistance. I could well imagine England getting a fresh start with him.

"He speaks the language, has a great reputation there thanks to his time at Tottenham and was even footballer of the year."

Klinsmann took charge of Germany after they were again humiliated at Euro 2004 with a first-round exit.

He revamped and modernised the German FA (DFB), leading Germany to a surprising third place at the 2006 World Cup.

But a potential stumbling is Klinsmann's likely insistence that the FA would allow him the leeway the DFB did to coach Germany.

606: DEBATE I think it should be Jurgen, he worked wonders for Germany and plays attractive, attacking football welshmancorky

Klinsmann resisted pressure to abandon his home in southern California, watching matches on television and communicating with players via phone and email.

Most members of Germany's football establishment accepted the commuting but criticism of Klinsmann's approach invariably emerged when the German team performed poorly in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup.

But Manchester City's German midfielder Dietmar Hamann questioned whether the English public would accept Klinsmann as their new coach.

"Would the English people like a German to be in charge of their national team? It is an interesting one."