Capello hopes for grand finale

Fabio Capello
12 April 2012

Fabio Capello is determined to go out on a high in his his last season as England manager.

Capello is hopeful that under him England can secure an elusive trophy at Euro 2012 before he settles into a new life, probably as a TV pundit for Italian television.

Capello, speaking in Rio de Janeiro after the 2014 World Cup preliminary draw, said: "I think my last year will be very good, I hope so. I try to make everything better. I study, I prepare, I focus. I hope that at the end of my career we will win a trophy."

He added: "I hope so because when you are a winner, you want to win something, not to lose."

Capello said the timing of next week's Holland game was "difficult", adding: "You need to ask FIFA, they decided this. Usually it would be the first Wednesday after the first league game. I can't watch any of the players I need to choose. I don't know what level any of the players will be."

He knows at least he will be without Steven Gerrard, while Theo Walcott is a major doubt, but the England manager indicated he is not considering throwing Phil Jones, Manchester United's new signing from Blackburn, into the fray against the Dutch.

"No - now I need to prepare for the qualifying games," said Capello. "I make experiments if it's possible when the games are not so important, but this game is very important because we then have a really short time to prepare for the next qualification games."

Meanwhile, the FA are hoping to bring England out to Brazil in 2013 on an acclimatisation tour ahead of the World Cup the following year. The FA are planning two friendly games on a mini-tour on the 2014 hosts - one against Brazil and another possibly against Uruguay.

Much will depend on the fixture schedule of the 2013 qualifying games - and that will not be decided until November - but the belief is that the experience of the country and the culture would be beneficial for England players ahead of the World Cup.

It would also tie in the FA's 150th anniversary celebrations, and would be England's first match in Brazil since John Barnes inspired a 2-0 win in the Maracana in 1984.

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