‘Control freak’, ‘fear’, ‘very strict’. All of these phrases have been used to describe Capello during his time as England manager, but as he sits down to speak to Flashscore, there are jokes and smiles as he tells us about the weather in Italy on a brisk February morning.
The demeanour of a taskmaster has certainly changed in the former England, AC Milan and Real Madrid manager, although he is early for our call, that regimental part of life yet to fade away.
His CV and that of Tuchel are remarkably similar. Both include Champions League wins, multiple league titles in different countries and individual accolades to boot. Now, the German coach follows in the footsteps of Capello in leading England into a World Cup as its third foreign coach.
Pedigree at club level does not always mean success on the international stage - Tuchel’s predecessor Gareth Southgate can attest to that. But, the aura around these winning coaches cannot be underestimated, and expectation will follow Tuchel like a shadow as he begins his tenure against Albania at Wembley on March 21st.
Capello knows that feeling; the beginning of his time with England was serene, with the side qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in exemplary fashion, before the lights of the cameras burned on his exit from the tournament to Germany.
That pressure is something Capello feels Tuchel will have to endure if he is successful.
Speaking in his second language to Flashscore, the 78-year-old explained: “It is a different job. It is the first time for him (in international management), it was the first time for me. To manage England is not easy because the expectation is incredible.
“The fans are waiting for results and for a trophy - for this reason, the pressure is important, important from the supporters, the journalists, from the TV, it is not a normal job.
“As a manager of England, you have to choose the player. Sometimes the player that you choose, they do not play like you think. You have to try the first way, because the result is so important, it is more important than when you manage a club. When you manage a club you can play more and more games.
“For this reason, you have to find three or four players that come from the same club. They have the spirit from the club. It is the mentality, the spirit that is really, really important when you play international games.”
The pair have not spoken about the role since Tuchel was announced back in October of last year. Maybe this could be seen as an oversight from the German given Capello’s unique insight, or maybe this is just a different era of both the side and of management, leaving that insight somewhat redundant.
Either way, history in football does have a tendency to repeat itself, and learning lessons from the past cannot hinder progression in the future.
If he were asked, Capello’s advice would be simple: Preparation is key both on the field and in the press room.
He added: “It was one of the most important things to manage England. It was my dream and as a manager, you have to do something really different.
“You have to understand that this is another (different) job, this is the most important thing, it is another job. You have to enter the minds of the players quickly, you have to transmit the spirit or words that you want to during the game - this is important.”
Speaking about the English media’s involvement in the national game and how to handle it, Capello said: “You have to prepare for this pressure. The incredible thing is, yes, I work in Italy, I work in Spain, and in every part of Europe the communication is different. In England that is the newspaper, the pressure of the newspaper.
“When I started, it was two or three radio or TV stations and 18 or 19 journalists at the press conference. For this reason, I prepared every time for the press conference because it is really important to understand because you sometimes have to talk about things that are not easy.”
Tuchel, much like Capello, takes over the role when England are in need of a pick-me-up. Both generations had relative success on the pitch without winning anything, and the Italian believes Southgate was a ‘fantastic’ manager for England, but his side lacked ‘the facilities’ to get over the line.
“Southgate did a fantastic job, he arrived twice to play in the final, but they lost the final because when England’s players arrived at the final, they did not play with the same facilities and security that they had played with before.
“I was at the game at Wembley when they played Italy and after 20 minutes they played to waste time because they had the fear of winning the final.
“For this reason, all the managers that will be managing England, you have to understand this thing: you have to enter the mind and forget what happened before and to only think positively.”
The million-pound question - can Tuchel lead England to World Cup glory in North America next year?
Capello knows more than most the tightrope you walk as an international manager. Ultimate victory makes you a saint in the nation, while just one loss can make you a pariah.
His answer then, understandable: “I don’t know.”
Guardiola has to change, Maresca can do big things
Capello, like most who follow football, has always kept a keen eye on the game he once led. Now a pundit for Sky Italia covering Serie A, the former Juventus coach doesn’t just keep his focus on the Italian game.
His attention is also on the Premier League as he has watched the ‘collapse’ of Manchester City this season under Pep Guardiola, something he believes is down to the changing mentality of his players and the manager’s propensity to stick with his style of football.
He explained: “He has won a lot of titles, a lot. He is one of the best managers, like (Carlo) Ancelotti. They are the two best managers in the world - they made something different.
“When you manage for a long time and you win a lot of trophies, the mind of the players change. If you always train the same style, then you have to try something different.
“They play to win but it is not the same, they must stop quickly so they can be strong like before.
“You can see City now, they try and do the same thing they did before but slowly, it’s not the same. The other teams understand this thing, and when they play against City, they can recover the ball high and score a goal.”
Rodri’s highly-documented absence from the side through injury is another factor for their downfall, but Capello sees light at the end of the tunnel for the suffering squad.
He continued: “But, now, in the last period, they lost Rodri, he was an important player. He was the balance between the defence and the front.
The players they have bought now, they are young. They are for the future, I believe in a short time they will be the same City that we remember.”
Chelsea, like Manchester City, have struggled for consistency this season as Enzo Maresca took charge of the Blues in the summer with a bloated squad and an uncertain relationship between boardroom and fanbase.
Capello briefly crossed paths with Maresca at Juventus back in 2004, and he is routing for his countryman to succeed at Stamford Bridge.
“I support him because he is Italian,” he says with a glint in his eye. “Some managers in England who are Italian have done great things. (Claudio) Ranieri was a miracle like in Italy with Verona a long time ago with (Osvaldo) Bagnoli, and Maresca knows England very well, and the Premier League.
“He knows the players, for me, he is smart, he understands quickly what he needs to do.
“In the last three years, Chelsea have not played at the levels that we are used to seeing. I believe that he can do a really good things this year. This year, they have played well in the Champions League (Conference League, editor’s note), they can arrive (win).
“Like all important things and that will be a very important, will be next year for his career. Because when you manage important clubs, you have to do some important results. Without the results, you can say goodbye, thank you very much.”
Being a manager at any level is a challenge and a cut-throat business where winning is everything and losing can see you out the door the next day.
Capello, now more than eight years removed from management cuts a serene image during the call, a person seemingly at ease with the decisions made on the touchline and in the dressing room.
The England job and the Premier League have moved on from his time. It is up to a new face to deliver the success a nation craves.
As we end our interview, Capello switches to Italian as Flashscore Italy takes over - to read that discussion, translated into English, head here.
