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from Reuters Soccer Blog:
Does anybody actually care who captains England?
Last week, when Chelsea held a news conference to preview their Champions League match against FC Copenhagen, manager Carlo Ancelotti spent the first 20 minutes fielding questions about John Terry's re-instatement as England captain.
The Chelsea press officer finally stepped in in an attempt to steer the subject back to club football by asking if there were any questions about the forthcoming match or for fellow guest, defender Branislav Ivanovic.
"Yes," came the first reply. "Branislav, what do you think of John Terry as a captain?"
The feeding frenzy continued through the weekend and into England's preparations for Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales. Rio Ferdinand was "understood" to be furious. "Sources" said he had considered retiring from international football. Capello was widely attacked, ironically, for releasing the news through the media and then for not acting quickly enough to "clarify" the situation when that self-same media cut loose on the matter.
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
England defence crumble in German masterclass
England coach Fabio Capello would do well to take a transcript copy of Germany coach Joachim Loew’s post-match press conference – because in it he would find all the simple reasons why his side were trounced 4-1 and sent packing from the World Cup on Sunday.
In it, Loew rather clinically explained to the international press sat before him that his side were instructed to target John Terry, pull him out of position and pretty much walk into the huge gaps created in England’s snail-paced central rearguard.
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The Wall
