This Week In Job Interviews

I Bet He'd Learn Russian Real Fast If He Needed To

After a solid decade of busts and not-quite-there-yets, England finally have a fantastic manager in Fabio Capello. The Italian led the Three Lions to a comfortable World Cup qualification (9-1, admittedly in a soft group) and has the squad primed for South Africa despite all the philandering and scandals of the past couple of months. So it only makes sense that someone else would want him and quick, right?

Of course, the Russian FA has approached Capello — one man on a reportedly five- to eight-man shortlist — and would dearly love him to take over from Guus Hiddink at the end of the summer.

What do we think?
Head of the Russian FA, Sergei Fursenko, had an informal meeting with Capello at Stamford Bridge last weekend during Chelsea’s dismemberment at the hands of Manchester City. The nature of the talks was never disclosed, though Capello was quick to state on the record that any negotiations from this point on must go through his agent.

Could this really happen? Is it possible that Fabio could leave in the middle of his contract with England and manage Arshavin and co?

Well, for one, the money would be better. The English FA currently pays Capello £6m a year, though it’s taxed at the insane rate of 50%. Compare that to exiting Russian boss Guus Hiddink, who pocketed £7m a season and didn’t pay taxes on a single penny.

The next thing involves running a Russian side that’s low on morale but well-stocked with players. He’s already invested himself into rehabbing and rebuilding the Three Lions in the wake of McClaren’s woeful job (though that umbrella was fetching), but that squad isn’t particularly young and the task of bringing in a new squad ahead of Euro ’12 and Brazil ’14 might not be so easy. Compare with Russia, who only have 7 players aged 28 or older on their current squad (England had 14 players aged 28 or older on their 23-man squad that faced Egypt), and it looks like an easier gig on face value.

Finally, rumors abound that Capello is tired and frustrated with the constant media frenzy surrounding his players in the UK, something that could make the quietude and servility of the Russian press seem like a welcome change of pace. The worst it gets in Moscow is a scathing op/ed from time to time about players being indisciplined, which is small change when contrasted with Piers Morgan’s relentlessness in the garish tabloids.

Other candidates include current Italy NT boss Marcelo Lippi (not a good fit; for one, he never seems to play anyone under the age of 32 for the Azzurri) and ex-Roma boss Luciano Spaletti, who now plys his trade for Zenit St. Petersburg.

Watch this space, folks. If Guus Hiddink can give Turkey the run-around and sign on with them for two years while courting the Ivory Coast’s rabid interest (what can we say? The man loves having multiple jobs), then anything’s possible.