page_title: Fabio Capello
section_title: Club career
hierarchical_section_title: Fabio Capello / Club career
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Verona, stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, 11 ottobre 1970. Il calciatore italiano Fabio Capello alla Juventus, prima dell'inizio della sfida sul campo del Verona (0-0) valevole per la 3ª giornata del campionato italiano di Serie A 1970-71.
context_page_description: Fabio Capello is an Italian former professional football manager and player.
  As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which lasted over 15 years. He won the Coppa Italia with Roma in 1969, though he was most successful with Juventus, winning three Serie A titles in 1972, 1973 and 1975. With Milan, he won the Coppa Italia again in 1977 and also won another Serie A in 1979. Capello also played internationally for Italy during his career, amassing 32 caps and scoring 8 goals.
  In his first five seasons as a manager, Capello won four Serie A titles with Milan, where he also won the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, defeating Barcelona 4–0 in a memorable final. He then spent a year at Real Madrid, where he won the La Liga title at his first attempt, and in 2001 led Roma to their first league title in 18 years. Capello also won two titles at Juventus, and in 2006 returned to Real Madrid, where he won another La Liga title. Overall, he has won a major league championship in seven of his 16 seasons as a coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
context_section_description: Capello was signed by Paolo Mazza, the President of SPAL, for the fee of two million lire despite interest from Milan. In his second season in the youth team, he helped the club win the Italian Youth Championship and made his first-team debut in a 3–1 away defeat against Sampdoria in Serie A on 29 March 1964. A talented and tactically intelligent holding midfielder, with a good positional sense, he could read the play well and was strong both in the air and in the tackle, in spite of his lack of notable height and unorthodox physique; he usually operated as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, however, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet. Going forward he was also equally effective, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at penalty kicks, but he lacked pace, and was notorious for not being particularly hard-working. With SPAL, he made four appearances for a struggling side that was relegated from Serie A. After returning to the top division at the first attempt, Capello became a key player in the 1965–66 season, taking penalties and helping them avoid a swift return to Serie B. He was also called up to the Italian under-23 side alongside teammate Edoardo Reja despite still being a teenager. However, injury to his left knee restricted him to just 16 appearances the following season.
  In 1967, Capello moved to Roma where he became a key player for the club. In his first season, he helped them to first place after eight matches, including scoring the winner in a 1–0 victory over Juventus. A recurrence of the injury to his left knee, however, kept him out for the rest of the season and Roma eventually finished in tenth place, just five points away from relegation. The following season, under new manager Helenio Herrera, a fit Capello scored six goals as Roma finished eighth and won his first major trophy, the Coppa Italia. This qualified Roma to play the Anglo-Italian League Cup, where they played Swindon Town. Capello played in both legs against Swindon, Roma winning 2–1 at home in the first leg but losing 4–0 in the second leg at the County Ground. They also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup, but were knocked out by Polish side Górnik Zabrze after losing the deciding coin toss following three draws.
  He was then sold to Juventus in 1970. He had a poor start to his time there, as he publicly criticised manager Armando Picchi on the same day it was revealed that Picchi had been diagnosed with cancer. Capello escaped with a fine from the club after Picchi insisted that he not receive a suspension. Capello became an influential figure under new manager Čestmír Vycpálek, despite being only 24, and was assigned the number 10 shirt; he largely decided the team's tactics for the 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final against Leeds United. Capello scored at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino, but Juventus lost the tie on away goals. Juventus went on to win the league title in 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1974–75. They also reached the 1973 European Cup Final, where they were beaten 1–0 by the dominant "Total Football" approach of Ajax. They missed out on the chance of winning the double after losing to Milan on penalties in the 1973 Coppa Italia Final. Reaching the semi-finals of the 1974–75 UEFA Cup, Juventus were surprisingly beaten by Dutch side Twente.
  Juventus were concerned with Capello's knee injuries, and so traded him to Milan in exchange for Romeo Benetti and 100 million lire in 1976. He missed just two league starts in the 1976–77 campaign playing under influential manager Nils Liedholm. However, he was limited to just eight appearances in the 1978–79 title-winning season. He played just three games in the 1979–80 season before finally accepting that he was unable to continue as a professional footballer.
caption: Capello with Juventus in the 1970–71 season
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