France coach Raymond Domenech has described his England counterpart Fabio Capello as a “great coach and a good guy”.
At the time of the Italian’s appointment as England coach, Domenech criticised the decision of the FA to choose a foreign coach, saying it was a “real shame for all the English managers”.
“It’s a shame to go looking for a Swede or an Italian. It is as if you are saying to the English coaches: ‘You are in England, you are all rubbish and we are going to look elsewhere’,” Domenech said at the time.
But Domenech, speaking after naming a 39-strong squad for the friendly matches against England and Mali next week, insisted: “I never criticised Capello.
“He’s a great coach and nice guy. I never doubted his qualities as a manager, but I just said that to choose a foreign coach was a discredit to the coaches of the country in question.
“I see Capello at all the English games, and with him there is a real evolution in the team, and there is a rigour that has been put in place. It will not be an easy match against them.
“England have a very organised game, solid, Italian-style,” he said.
“Attention when I say Italian-style, it’s positive for me. We learnt a lot when French players went to play for clubs in Italy. England will do everything to thwart us.”
