Rediscovering glory of the past

Fabio Capello, touted by many as the most successful Italian coach in circulation, is fast earning himself a bad reputation of abandoning his clubs as soon as they find themselves in difficulty.

Perhaps this may sound somewhat harsh on a man of Capello's calibre.

But, recent story has shown that he quit Roma to join eternal rivals Juventus two years ago when the Giallorossi were on the brink of financial collapse.

A fortnight ago, the 60-year-old left the troubled Turin giants and opted for a return to Spain where, he said, his task is to transform Real Madrid back into a winning team.

Capello is made up like that. He joins a club, triumphs and leaves as soon as he deems it fit.

Some critics say he had committed serious mistakes in the past. His curriculum vitae, they reckon, would have been more and more glaring had he avoided some of his ill-timed moves.

A decade ago, Capello left Milan to join Real Madrid in Spain where he had the arduous task of rebuilding the team practically from scratch.

With some top signings, including Predrag Mijatovic (now Real's new director general), Christian Panucci, Bodo Illgner, Clarence Seedorf and Davor Suker, Capello steered Real to the Primera Liga title at the expense of a star-studded Barcelona team, coached by Bobby Robson, that included Ronaldo in their line-up.

At the end of season 1996/97, Capello surprised everyone and decided to leave Madrid to return to his first love Milan.

Things did not go according to plan for Capello as he finished 10th in Serie A with the Rossoneri whereas Real, with practically the same team he had coached a year before, went on to beat Juve in the 1998 Champions League final.

That Real Madrid team, expertly assembled by Capello, was behind a golden era for the Madrilenos. So much so, that Real went on to win three European Cup titles (in 1998, 2000 and 2002) in five years.

Capello's successors on the Real Madrid hot seat during this particular period had harvested what he had sown during his tenure.

Ten years on and Capello is back to help Real end a barren run of three successive years without a major trophy. It will not be easy even this time.

Again, Capello has to rebuild the team in all departments. Former club president Florentino Perez's transfer policy of signing acclaimed players in attack paid off only financially due to a marked increase in merchandising. However, the same cannot be said as far as results on the field of play are concerned.

In past years, Real offloaded players who had a pivotal role in midfield like Argentine Esteban Cambiasso, now at Inter, and Frenchman Claude Makele, of Chelsea.

Instead of adequately replacing them, Perez used to focus much of his transfer budget on schemers and attackers. For Perez, the defence also used to be given secondary importance.

This policy was financially-rewarding but a complete flop in competition.

No doubt, with Capello in charge, this trend will have to change. As a matter of fact, his first two signings were a central defender - Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro - and a defensive midfielder in the shape of Brazilian Emerson. More signings of note are expected in the next few weeks.

Apart from having to start from scratch, Capello has probably a more daunting task ahead of him... that of taking off the mantle of champions from Barcelona at home and also on the European continent.

Great challenge

This a great challenge for 'Don Fabio', as he is popularly known in Spain. Barca are a formidable outfit and now, following the arrivals of Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram, both from Juve, they look more invincible.

Capello is the type of man who usually brings the best out of his players. New Real president Ramon Calderon, 55, is now pinning his hopes on the Italian coach to rejuvenate the career of injury-prone Ronaldo.

At Madrid, Capello will also have to deal with Italian rebel Antonio Cassano. During the January transfer window, the ex-Bari striker quit Roma to put his career back on track.

However, in the second part of last season, Cassano never really left his mark. Cassano and Capello know each other well during their days at Roma.

Capello is a man of great experience. He is wise and shrewd. Real do not need a weak man at the helm. They require someone with a proven pedigree and with a well-defined playing system.

Capello fits the bill perfectly.