Cape Town: After a lengthy honeymoon with England, Fabio Capello is starting to feel the kind of pressure he was used to when coaching Real Madrid and AC Milan.
Capello goes into Friday's World Cup match against Algeria with his decision-making under serious scrutiny for the first time since taking charge 30 months ago.
Just a month ago, the pundits and public in England were gushing about how the no-nonsense coach had resuscitated a team that was at its lowest ebb after failing to qualify for the 2004 European Championship.
The bubble burst when England was held 1-1 by the United States in last weekend's World Cup opener. That came after unimpressive displays in warmup matches that left Capello seething.
"Maybe after the (U.S.) game there was a little bit of negativity and bit of disappointment that we drew," England defender Jamie Carragher said. "But top managers like that have been there before and know how to deal with things like that. He has been one of top managers over last 15 to 20 years."
The pressure is now on Capello on his 64th birthday to mastermind a win in England's Group C match against Algeria. Pressure is nothing new to the Italian, who was fired by Madrid in 2007 despite delivering the Spanish club its 30th league title.
"We always think England is big pressure but managing AC Milan and Real Madrid is also big pressure on a daily basis," Carragher said earlier this week. "He has dealt with that and been successful. There was always going to come a point where he was going to be under pressure. That is part of being a manager. It can't always be rosy."
Capello has been revered for ruling with an iron fist, but questions are now being asked over why he is so strict with his players.
He kept them in the dark over the starting lineup until two hours before kickoff against the U.S. team, a move that has been blamed for contributing to Robert Green's horrendous goalkeeping blunder against the Americans.
"Capello might be a real disciplinarian. Absolutely meticulous, as reports from inside the camp suggest, but he overlooked the fact that the best managers earmark their No. 1 early and let him develop," former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson wrote in the Daily Telegraph. "It allows him to develop the belief that his players have faith in him."
Carragher defended Capello, arguing that delaying announcing the team is not an unusual move.
"Every manager I've had at Liverpool has told us the squad two hours before the game," Carragher said. "A lot of the managers don't like to give the team away for fear of the opposition finding out about the team. Why should you let the opposition know your team?"
But Capello's reputation appeared to be an illusion when the final 23-man squad gradually became known by various sources on Twitter in the hours before its official release.
Capello's personal judgments have also come under fire.
The Italian put his name to an online rating system in which he would appraise the performance of players, including his own, within two hours of fulltime after every World Cup match. The scheme was eventually put on hold until after the tournament.
The next out-of-character decision was Capello asking players who had played no part in qualification and had long been absent from the international scene to return for the World Cup.
The 32-year-old Carragher, after three years in self-imposed exile, agreed but Paul Scholes turned Capello down.
"I didn't want to take the place of someone who helped get England to South Africa," said Scholes, 35, who last played for the national team in 2003. "The idea just didn't sit comfortably with me."
Capello had also previously said he would not take any injured players to South Africa, but selected Gareth Barry despite knowing the midfielder would play no part against the Americans due to damaged ligaments in his right ankle.
"It's ridiculous to think we're in crisis," defender Glen Johnson said. "(Capello) knows how to get the job done and is definitely a manager at the top of his game."
The proof will be in the Algeria performance.
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