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English FA gives Capello green light

Fabio Capello was given a green light on Thursday to begin plotting England's renaissance in international soccer after the Football Association (FA) agreed in principle to his appointment.

After a day of talks with the Italian's advisors, FA officials were unable to wrap up all the details of Capello's contract but a spokesman for the governing body indicated that a deal had effectively been all but done.

The spokesman, Adrian Bevington, said Capello's appointment had been approved by the FA Board, subject to the successful conclusion of the contract negotiations.

"These will continue tomorrow. I want to stress that there are no problems and that we are going through the necessary process to reach a successful conclusion," Bevington said.

The former Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus coach spent Thursday at one of his homes in Milan awaiting official confirmation of his appointment as Steve McClaren's successor.

The details still to be resolved are understood to mainly concern the make-up of the new manager's backroom staff.

Capello was believed to have agreed a contract worth in excess of ?4 million (US$8 million) a year up to the 2010 World Cup with a two-year extension as an option, presuming that England qualify for the finals in South Africa and perform well.

The 61-year-old reportedly wants to include long-serving assistant Franco Baldini in his backroom team and there were concerns within the FA about how this would would dovetail with the role of the organization's current director of soccer, Sir Trevor Brooking.

Baldini however has indicated that the question of his involvement was not a deal-breaker.

Capello's path to what is the best-paid managerial job in world soccer was cleared when former Chelse manager Jose Mourinho, the initial favorite to succeed McClaren, pulled out of the race earlier this week, having decided he would prefer a new challenge in club soccer.

In contrast, having achieved everything possible in the club game, Capello is at an age where he no longer craves the day-to-day involvement with players that many international managers miss.

His passion for the game remains undiminished however and he had made clear his enthusiasm for the "beautiful challenge" of managing England within 24 hours of McClaren being dismissed after a defeat by Croatia at Wembley ensured his team would not be going to Euro 2008.

Managerial luminaries including Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Sven-Goran Eriksson have all endorsed Capello's credentials.

Eriksson, England's manager from 2001 to last year and the first foreigner to fill the role, knows better than most the unrelenting pressure that goes with the job but said he was confident that Capello had the necessary personal and professional qualities to thrive in the spotlight.

"He is a very good man and manager," Eriksson said. "His record speaks very clear. He has won titles in Italy and is one of the best managers you can find."

Capello's first matches in charge will be two friendlies: against Switzerland at Wembley on Feb. 6 and against France in Paris on March 26.
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