Capello can whip England into shape, says Milan boss

YOKOHAMA (Japan): Fabio Capello is the right man to turn England's fortunes around, AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday.   

Capello was appointed England coach on Friday and Ancelotti believes his fellow Italian had the pedigree to turn a team of perennial underachievers into serial winners.   

"He has inherited an England team with extremely high potential," Ancelotti said on the eve of Milan's Club World Cup final against Boca Juniors in Japan.   

"Organising that talent and playing a system that can bring the best out of them will be very important. I hope Capello does well and I'm sure he can."  

Capello succeeds Steve McClaren, who was fired after England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008. Capello becomes the country's second foreign coach after Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson (2001-06).    England's appointment of Capello received a lukewarm reception from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who alluded to Capello's limited grasp of English.   

"It is important that the coach can communicate directly to his players and not through an interpreter," Blatter said in Tokyo following FIFA's executive board meeting.   

"England had already broken that principle (of not hiring from overseas) when they had a Swedish coach. But the personality of a coach is also important."  

"I don't mind foreign coaches," Blatter added. "But if my memory isn't failing me I have never seen Spain, Italy or Germany hire a foreign coach for their national side."