Internationals / Feizal Rahman / 07 February 2010 /

Far from the strong leader the media portray, Fabio Capello was being led by Fleet Street during last week's fiasco, says Feizal Rahman

Sat by the serene shores of Lake Lugano, Fabio Capello was in ideal surroundings to contemplate the future of John Terry. Ultimately, however, his decision would be made for him amidst a media frenzy back in London, well before he had returned to his Wembley office.

With a perverse desire to pry into the lives of the rich and famous, the line between real-life and soap opera becomes blurred for many and the news industry is only too happy to satisfy their gluttonous demands.

As if Sky News ordering their chopper to follow Terry's Range Rover in transit a la OJ Simpson wasn't dramatic enough you knew the situation had to be critical if Max Clifford appears for a live interview. The exquisitely coiffed PR guru must feel like the Jack Bauer of the media world as hardly 24 hours passes by without some poor terrorised celebrity requiring salvation.

The reported 12-minute meeting on Friday afternoon has been portrayed as some sort of ruthless, Godfather-style execution - the back pages full of praise for 'Il Capo' taking such decisive action. But by sacking his captain all Capello has actually done is capitulate to the pious demands of certain editorials and shown that it is they, not he, wielding the real power.

Had the Italian possessed the intestinal fortitude to tell the press where to stick their opinions, he knew he would instantly make himself a target. Instead, he has now proven to his players that he would rather publicly humiliate one of them than run the risk of mud being slung at him.

Far from stabilizing the morale of his squad, as had been claimed in several quarters, Capello has now given reason for their loyalty to him to be questioned. There can certainly be concern over whether Terry will now be prepared to fight for his manager 100 per cent but there must also be seeds of doubt sown into the minds of other players that similar fate can befall them.

Clearly Capello's impeccable decision-making didn't extend to investigating Terry's previous form with the tabloids before he appointed him as national captain in the first place. But as the most natural leader on the pitch - the attribute that must count above all others - there was no rival to the Chelsea defender. Indeed, the front-page history of several other senior England figures is just as murky making this whole affair all the more ridiculous.

If Terry's 'crime' is serious enough for him to forfeit shaking the hands of a few dignitaries before a game and exchanging a lousy pendant with his opposite number, why is it not so severe as to prevent him wearing the three lions on his shirt at all?

If footballers can ever be deemed as role models, then surely this applies to all 11 men on the pitch, not just the captain? But how can their private lives off the pitch be held up as examples for others, determined solely by an editor's decision of what might sell a newspaper?

A popular line this week has been, "Would you want to see a statue of John Terry outside Wembley next to Bobby Moore?" Apart from being highly presumptuous about England's chances at the World Cup (still [7.0] to win in South Africa), those who will allow themselves to recall Moore without getting all misty-eyed will know that the World Cup winning captain was far from the clean-cut English rose himself.

The Bogota jewellery shop incident aside, the twice-married Moore was rumoured to have dodgy business dealings and is well-documented as having been a heavy drinker, yet he is overwhelmingly remembered for lifting the Jules Rimet trophy on a sunny summer's day in 1966.

The parallels with between the two are obvious - both Barking-born centre backs able to lead by example and achieve on the football pitch, regardless of their off-field antics. So should Terry go on to inspire Chelsea to title and/or European success ([1.8] favourites to win the Premier League, [5.8] to win Champions League), one wonders whether all may be forgiven and Capello ponders reinstating his former skipper (Terry [40.0] to start as England captain vs USA on June 12th). But no doubt he'll let the tabloids make that decision for him.

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