Mourinho blames Capello for English woes

Jose Mourinho has claimed England will never succeed while under-fire boss Fabio Capello is in charge.

Jose Mourinho has claimed England will never succeed while under-fire boss Fabio Capello is in charge.

The Italian manager of England awoke to another wave of criticism in the tabloids, this morning, with The Sunbranding him a "donkey". Now Mourinho has added his voice to the onslaught.

"The problem is the manager," Mourinho said in the Daily Mirror. "Capello will not work for England."

Capello is one of Mourinho's numerous predecessors at Real Madrid, a club the Portuguese coach says still remembers his managerial flaws.

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"He has a one-track relationship with players," he said. "Ask anyone here at Real Madrid. He can't change. You cannot go around just shouting at players. They need to feel special.

"It is clear. Capello will not work for England. He does not know the players. They are frightened of him and they can't play for him.

"For me, it is a mess for England. Players need clear tactics. They cannot be confused about what they have to do. It is the manager's fault. And it is a big shame."

Capello is not the only manager to take a hit from Mourinho, as he also laid into his successor at Inter Milan, Rafael Benitez, saying he left Liverpool further from challenging for the title than ever.

"It is very difficult for Roy (Hodgson) to do it with Liverpool as, over the last few years, they have been getting worse, worse and worse," Mourinho said in the Daily Telegraph. "The Liverpool of 2004 was better than the Liverpool of 2005, 2005 was better than 2006 and 2006 better than 2007.

"And they arrive at a situation now where, but for Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres, if his head is there, it is very difficult for Roy to make Liverpool champions.

"He needs time and it's not easy because I don't think they went in the right direction."