Lion tamer
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Name Fabio Capello Nickname The Squadfather Age 64 on day of England’s draw with Algeria Paid £6m a year Record with England Played 27, won 19, drawn 4, lost 4. Won 70%, lost 15%. Also won nine league championships in Italy and Spain, and guided AC Milan to the Champions League title Image The strong, silent type What they say about him “Jose Mourinho on steroids” With his record as an Italian international player and star manager of both Real Madrid and AC Milan, Fabio Capello might have expected one day to coach Italy. Instead, he insists England was his preferred choice.
He took over from Steve McLaren in 2008 and immediately established himself as a firm disciplinarian. Capello is probably the only football manager able to draw comparisons between the beautiful game and the works of the abstract artist Cy Twombly (“You can read a great deal into them,” he says). He began collecting art while still a player and now has a collection worth £10m. Apart from Twombly, his favourite artists are Wassily Kandinsky and Marc Chagall.
His management style reflects this thoughtful side. Before getting his first job, he wrote a paper called The Zonal Marking System. On the touchline, he strokes his chin as he plans his next move. It was unusual to see him screaming at England players against Slovenia.
A devout Catholic who has been married for 40 years to Laura, he shouts at players where necessary. In one blazing row, he told Paolo di Canio: “You have a face like a penis.”
Hair bear
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Name Joachim Löw Nickname Jogi Age 50 Paid £2.5m a year Record with Germany Played 52, won 28, drawn 16 , lost 8. Won 54%, lost 15% Image Chic and stylish, should probably be managing Italy What they say about him “He is a man of the heart, but he also knows how to make tough decisions when necessary,” says the former German striker Oliver Bierhoff The Germans might not play the most attractive football, but they surely have the best-dressed manager at the World Cup. Jogi Löw walks the touchline in a dark Strenesse suit, and is known for his silk scarves. Back home, he advertises Nivea for Men. His hair is suspiciously jet black.
Before Löw, German coaches had included some of the country’s star international players: Franz Beckenbauer, Rudi Völler and Jürgen Klinsmann. Löw trained as a salesman before enjoying a modest career in the Bundesliga.
Löw became assistant coach under Klinsmann, and took over when the former star forward left after a contract dispute. He encourages players to jot down notes as they study his strategy.
He is known for his mild temper, and his outburst after Serbia scored, when he slammed a bottle of water to the ground, was unusual.
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He is a pilot and a passionate mountaineer who has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. He has been married to his wife Daniela for over 20 years and they live quietly in a village in southern Germany. Löw does a lot of charity work, mainly for children in Third World countries.