Even as Ian Watmore quit England's Football Association as its chief over the slowness of the organizing body to adopt change, the matter will hardly unsettle the national team a few months away from the World Cup.
Interestingly, aside from manager Fabio Capello, there are four other Italians on the England staff. There's Franco Baldini who once played for Bologna in Italy and served as Director for Football Operations of AS Roma. He is the General Manager for England. There's Assistant Manager Italo Galbiati, former Internazionale player and a long-time Capello asisstant. There's goalkeeper coach Franco Tancredi, former AS Roma goalkeeper and international player. And lastly, there's strength and conditioning coach Massimo Neri.
Capello has a reputation for winning a domestic title with every team he's ever managed: Milan, Roma, Juventus, and Real Madrid. His 9-1 record as England Manager has every team not enthusiastic about playing his side. But how about that -- an Italian leading England back to glory. It's payback time for the help in Salerno and Naples.
His England predecessor, Steve McLaren, was booted after the Three Lions were humiliated by Croatia at Wembley Stadium 3-2 that saw them out of Euro 2008. In the return bout under Capello two years later, England claimed an emphatic win 5-1 over the Adriatic country. In their World Cup qualifiers, England scored 26 goals while giving up only 6. That's 13 more goals for against second placer Ukraine.
The World Cup in South Africa will be played during their winter months and this will help the northern European countries such as England. Many of their players have been playing and placing well in European competition since the last World Cup in Germany. Some are in top form such as Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard. Keeper David James isn't exactly the best and he'll be 40 years of age by the time the games in SA begin.
There are questions in the midfield though with David Beckham and Aaron Lennon out. Steven Gerrard isn't in top form and that jeopardizes the triangle in the middle with Lampard and Gareth Barry that has worked well.
Whatever starting eleven Capello employs will be good enough to compete with anyone. But should one of the main players be injured then there lies a potential problem. Keeping Rooney on the pitch is crucial. Remember how things turned out for England after he was sent off against Portugal in the last World Cup.
Manchester United's Owen Hargreaves recently returned to action but Alex Ferguson dashed his dreams by saying that he should prepare more for the League than South Africa. But Capello is still holding out that Wayne Bridge will return after leaving owing to the John Terry affair (literally).
Nevertheless, England is still a favored team to win the World Cup with 5-1 chance as oddsmakers say.
For their southern neighbors France, they are a contrast from old rival England.
They have a manager -- Raymond Domenech -- who is pilloried nationally. Strange as it may sound, the team is supposed to be united in its goal of winning the World Cup but Les Bleus are far from a happy bunch. After the polarizing Domenech, there's the team's remaining icon in Thierry Henry who received divine inspiration from Diego Maradona to enable his team to qualify for South Africa. Henry hasn't played well for Barcelona this year but still looks to receive good minutes more so since Karim Benzema has not proved successful in his move from Lyon to Real Madrid. And this team didn't even top their Group Qualifiers; that honor went to Serbia.
The team's line-up nevertheless remains the envy of many teams as they are deep and talented. The heir to Zizou is in the talented feet of Bordeaux's Yoann Gourcuff who should complement the wondrous Franck Ribery who would like to move to Spain after three years in the Bundesliga after the World Cup.
If Zidane rediscovered his touch in Germany, can France reprise that in South Africa with the sainted Patrick Vieira? So far with Manchester City, he showed that he can if only for a half against Sunderland this past week. Dominating is the word. He believes that in a few more matches he'll be in great form. That however is assuming his 33-year old legs don't give out on him soon.
The world will be treated to France's #1 in Hugo Lloris, Lyon's 23 year old keeper who does a fantastic job week in and out tending the net even after the departure of the seven-time Franch champion's regular from Benzema to Juninho. Even displaced keeper Gregory Coupet agrees that Lloris is incredible at the net. So good that even clubs like Manchester United think that he'd be a great replacement for Edwin Van der Sar when he hangs it up at the end of this campaign.
Luckily for France, they have been seeded in Group A along with the host country, Uruguay and Mexico. But if Domenech has been doing his homework, he should further work on his team's fitness what with their veteran players. They will be playing in Bloemfontain in high altitude play. In they watched the Confed Cup, Team USA upset mighty Spain there 2-nil as the Americans left the European champs huffing and puffing.
But that's Domenech. Who knows?
If they do advance, can you say an early meeting between England and France in the knockout stages.
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