Fabio Capello - International Career

International Career

Capello played thirty-two times for Italy; he is particularly remembered for a goal with which Italy beat England 1–0 at Wembley for the first time in its history (14 November 1973), which he himself regarded as the highlight of his playing career. Capello scored the lone goal for Italy against Poland during the 1974 FIFA World Cup though Italy lost the match 2–1 and failed to qualify for the second round of the competition. He was overlooked for the 1978 FIFA World Cup even after having good club form with Milan: the manager at that time, Enzo Bearzot, preferred other defensive-minded midfielders such as Marco Tardelli over the attacking minded Capello. After several years as a football pundit for Italian TV SPW and a brief spell as caretaker manager of AC Milan in 1987, he became a leading candidate to succeed Arrigo Sacchi as coach of the team, and he was formally appointed as manager of AC Milan in 1991.