England boss Capello won’t be drawn on captaincy issue
FABIO CAPELLO has refused to shed any more light on his decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy, insisting it had formed part a “normal week” in his reign as manager.
The Italian gave only a brief explanation of his decision in a statement on Friday and was equally as evasive yesterday when questioned after the Euro 2012 qualifying draw in Poland.
Capello stripped the Chelsea skipper of the armband following a 12-minute meeting at Wembley on Friday, immediately installing Rio Ferdinand as his new skipper.
But he refused to speak any more about the decision, insisting the subject was off-limits. “I spoke with John Terry, you all know why. It was a private conversation,” he said. “No other questions. I am concentrated on football and I want to speak about the draw. Nothing else.”
Capello was then questioned whether he had spoken to Ferdinand before appointing him as skipper to which he replied: “No questions about John Terry or the captain. I will speak with Rio, just as I have spoken to John Terry.”
Capello did admit, however, that he wasn’t surprised by the reaction of his decision, but continually played down the situation.
“I am not surprised by the number of journalists,” he said as he confronted the media scrum. “I was waiting for them. But it has been a normal week for me. There have been no problems.”
Russia’s former Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink backed Terry to bounce back from his troubles. “I know his spirit. He will fight back,”he said.