Former England manager Fabio Capello has discussed the failure of Premier League teams in Europe this season.
The Russia CT was in charge of England from 2008 to 2012, and has given his opinion on the elimination of every Premier League team from Europe.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a crisis, that’s a strong word,” Capello told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I’d say that it’s a low period, related to a number of factors such as players who play in the Premier League who have won championships, but are not champions.
Former England manager Fabio Capello has discussed the failure of Premier League teams in Europe this season.
The Russia CT was in charge of England from 2008 to 2012, and has given his opinion on the elimination of every Premier League team from Europe.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a crisis, that’s a strong word,” Capello told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I’d say that it’s a low period, related to a number of factors such as players who play in the Premier League who have won championships, but are not champions.
“There’s no [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Manuel] Neuer or [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic. If you always play tennis against a modest opponent you’ll never improve, the absence of big players doesn’t help others grow.
“Also, they play too much. Boxing Day [fixtures] are beautiful, but they have a price.
“Manchester United? They were the reference point for my work. They had the best players to call up. For now no-one has taken the place of United.”
However, when asked whether the standard of football in England was a contributing factor, Capello begged to differ.
“I disagree on this point. Arsenal always have a great style, Liverpool play great football. The English clubs weren’t lucky this year.
“Arsenal missed a lot of chances while going out to Monaco and didn’t do well at the back. Liverpool went out of the Europa League on penalties.
“[Manchester] City found themselves up against Barcelona, and here we return to problem number one: who has the best players going forward?”