Fabio Capello, the England manager, insists David Beckham still has an international future. Capello included Beckham in the England to play France last month, a game in which the midfielder won his 100th cap, and when the former Real Madrid manager was asked whether he would still be a part of his plans come the 2010 World Cup, he gave the one-time England captain plenty of reason for optimism.

“It’s still open,” Capello said. “He [Beckham] played in the last game, he did well against France, and I sometimes go to see him in Los Angeles.”

Despite leaving the door open for Beckham, Capello insisted his selection would be entirely dependent on him maintaining his fitness. He added: “It depends, there are players who at 33 or 34 take good care of themselves, they understand that the body is not as it was and they take more care. It depends a lot on that.”

Since taking on the role in January, Capello has gradually adapted to English life, although he explained he was still adapting to his new role.

“It’s all new for me,” he added. “I was used to working daily with clubs and now it’s different. The job is very different from that of a club coach. At the moment I have only had the opportunity to train for five days. Only five days. I think I am becoming more integrated every day. I need some time, like in all jobs.

“I read a lot, I travel a lot and I see a lot of football. A couple of weeks ago I saw three games in a weekend - one at Tottenham, one in Liverpool and one in Manchester.”

The Italian also said that while his English had now reached a good level, he was reluctant to speak to the press in the language for fear of being misinterpreted. Capello experienced problems with translation in Spain two years ago, when he mistakenly labelled Fernando Torres, then with Atletico Madrid, a ‘tramposo’ - which translates as cheat.

“I can speak English” he added. “But I don’t want to speak English with the press, because if you get a word wrong it can make big headlines. That happened to me in Spain after a Real Madrid versus Atletico match, when I wanted to refer to Torres and asked the Madrid press officer how to say something and he replied ‘tramposo’. That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to say and it caused a tremendous scandal.”

Capello has been impressed with the Premier League since his arrival in England, although he admits the prominence of foreign players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Torres, could pose long-term problems for the national team. Reports today have suggested Capello would like to resurrect the England versus Scotland matches, and he insists the SPL provides a better basis for the national team.

“Some really good football is being played in England. At the moment it is the best league [in Europe], but then you have Arsenal, who play fantastic football and are out of the Champions League,” he said. “Our problem is that we have only 38 per cent of the players. There are Welsh players, Irish and Scots. In Spain and Italy, for example, 70 per cent of the players can be called up.”

The Italian added that the influx of Rafael Benitez and Juande Ramos have helped to improve the standard of football in England and have allied the passion of the Premier League with an improvement in technical ability.

“They have implanted this new philosophy, a new touch system, not only long balls, so that is good for English football,” he added. “Liverpool have never had a player like Torres. He is playing phenomenally well. He could be one of the stars of Euro 2008. He is enjoying a very good spell and he is also finishing better than he did at Atletico Madrid. Fabregas is a brilliant player. He is one of the best midfielders in the world.”

Despite England’s absence from Euroo 2008 this summer, Capello will be keeping one eye on the tournament and has tipped France, Italy and Spain, to win the tournament.

“France have a very good team,” he said. “They have good players and a lot of quality. Italy have a good national team and then there is Spain. I always put them among then favourites. They have a great team.”

source:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article3815024.ece

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