With just five months left for the Euro 2012, England football is in turmoil with the resignation of national team manager Fabio Capello over differences with Football Assoiation (FA) following the sacking of John Terry as the captain. Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce will take charge of England for the match with Holland, February 29.
The FA appointed Pearce Thursday morning. Pearce will be managing the Great Britain team at the London 2012 Olympics.
Capello’s resignation came late Wednesday night after an hour-long meeting with FA chairman David Bernstein. The Italian made it clear that the decision to strip Terry of the captaincy had rendered his position untenable.
Terry is facing charges of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand but the case has been adjourned until after Euro 2012.
Capello was furious that FA undermined his position in taking such a big decision. Bernstein didn’t consult Capello on taking a decision on Terry’s.
“I leave England and I will not say anything else,” Capello said.
Bernstein said while Pearce will manage the team on an interim basis, the FA will be hunting for an England manager.
“I can announce that Stuart Pearce will manage the England team against Holland. He has huge experience outside and inside the organisation. He has been working with the under-21 team and has been working with Fabio for some time. I have got great confidence in Stuart, we will be in good hands. Our priority then will be to appoint a new England manager,” he said.
Bernstein said the next England manager will ideally be English or British.
“Clearly there’s a preference for an Englishman. The position hasn’t changed. There’s a preference for an English person or a British person, but in the end we want the best person,” he said.
“So I’m not prepared to rule out anything at this stage. Clearly an English or British person would have a good start on the matter,” Bernstein added.
He insisted the FA was “open-minded” when it comes to the appointment of the next England manager.
“We don’t want to rush anything. There’s no need to rush anything. We’ll give it proper consideration and it’ll have high priority,” he said.