Martin Samuel: Why Fabio will allow Wayne to be his 'crazy guy'

03 April 2009 02:23
This is what Fabio Capello will do about Wayne Rooney the next time England meet up. Nothing. Nothing different, anyway. Nothing that takes him to task for his tackle on Alexander Aliev of Ukraine, nothing that makes him feel that he must change the way he plays for England, nothing that will risk harnessing the spectacular, free talent that his coach (and a growing band of disciples) feel may win England the World Cup in South Africa. There are some players a manager must go with for all their faults or discard, and Rooney falls into this category. Capello is not a fool. He can see the danger, he will know that a reckless challenge like the one against Aliev, even though Rooney won the ball, could be interpreted harshly in tournament conditions and attract a red card and, in that moment, England's hopes would go with him. Yet what is Capello to do? If the message to Rooney is that his temperament could lead to his absence and jeopardise England's hopes, then leaving him out is not an option. Capello will be resigned to reminding Rooney of his responsibilities before every game and then picking him for the next, regardless. If he has to do this until the day Rooney surpasses David Beckham's appearance record for England which he surely will then this is his patient duty as England manager. It is said, optimistically, that Rooney will learn, but some never do. Zinedine Zidane's dismissal in his final match, the 2006 World Cup final, was the 14th of his career. Beckham remains prone to the occasional descent of red mist, despite his experience against Argentina in 1998. Capello's dismissive reaction to questions about the Aliev tackle, however, suggested he had decided to take Rooney for better or worse long ago. If he thought Rooney was a player who could be tempered, he might have used the opportunity to make a point. Instead, he issued something resembling endorsement. 'He played the ball, we need this sort of tackle,' he said. ZZ loses his top: Materazzi (left) plummets after being butted by Zidane This certainly isn't true. England do not need their most important player going through at knee height, out of control, with his studs showing. Rooney may have reached the ball first, but he did so with such abandon that it could easily have been judged foul play, and, with referees invariably under pressure from FIFA during tournaments, England's campaign would at that moment have been at risk from random forces. Capello, whose attention to detail would make Rafael Benitez look like a bit of a chancer, does not do random but, clearly, with Rooney he has decided to make room for it. Why? Because Rooney is his Andrew Flintoff. He is a player who will define a match, or an event, and for that reason is worth the trouble. Flintoff may look like a man willing to give his all for the team but those who know English cricket from behind the scenes say he is notoriously high maintenance. He has discipline issues, can be divisive in the dressing room, sometimes struggles with the mental aspect of batting and, if England are to regain the Ashes this summer, his presence is absolutely vital. He made the difference when Australia visited the last time. The margins of victory were so small, the teams so well-matched, that whoever Flintoff played for would have won that series. So, for all his failings, he is indulged, as Capello will now indulge Rooney when a more image- conscious manager would issue a reprimand. It helps that Capello genuinely likes the player. He is a manager who would probably issue an invoice if caught smiling, but when he talks about Rooney a flicker of affection plays across his lips. His 'crazy guy' comment was delivered more with an amused shake of the head than a bark and a hard stare and he is no doubt reconciled to treating Rooney as a special case and delivering the same sermon before each game. He will tell the player that every time he acts in a way that risks drawing a red card, or a ban, he places his own feelings ahead of what is good for his team and this is poor play. Privately, though, he will weigh up this single downside against all the good Rooney brings to England and conclude that this one player is worth the aggravation. Just as long as the others don't start getting ideas.

Source: Daily_Mail