Capello 'can win England a title'

By Ian Hughes

Three of his ex-players back Capello to be a success

New coach Fabio Capello can lead England to their first major title since 1966, according to Brazilian World Cup winner Leonardo.

Capello will be officially unveiled on Monday and Leonardo believes he is the right man to take England forward.

"England are a powerful football nation but have not won any titles since 1966. The challenge for Capello is to win something. He can achieve it," he said.

"Capello can help England get the results they have been hoping for."

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Leonardo, who played for Capello at Milan, described the job as "a big challenge" for the 61-year-old Italian.

"Everything will be new for him," Leonardo said in an interview with BBC Sport.

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"England has a fantastic culture and tradition for football. But his motivation will be 100% and I am sure he will build a great relationship with English football."

Former Tottenham player Christian Ziege, who also played for Capello at Milan, echoed Leonardo's view.

"Despite England's failure to reach Euro 2008, I still think they have some of the best players in the world," the German said.

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"Capello has the ability to make teams better. He can make sure the big players have the right attitude and that will be a huge boost for the England team.

"England already had the players, and now the new manager is there I think there is a good chance England can be successful."

But Jesper Blomqvist, who won the European Cup with Manchester United in 1999, believes that while Capello will bring success to England, he might be criticised for the way his team plays.

"[Former England coach Sven-Goran] Eriksson got a lot of stick for the style of his football, and I think Capello could end up with similar criticism," said Blomqvist, who played for Capello at Milan in 1996-7.

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"The general public in England have high hopes about the way England should play football - not just to win trophies but also to play good football.

"Capello does not care if the football is not pretty, only that he is winning. But I still think Capello is the right man for the job.

"The England job is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, in football but Capello looks for those challenges and I think he will be successful."