Club Career
A midfielder, Capello first played as a youth for his local club side (Pieris in the land of Bisiacaria, between Isonzo and Timavo) which was coached by his father, Guerrino. He was signed by Paolo Mazza, the President of SPAL, for the fee of two million lire despite interest from AC Milan. In his second season in the youth team he helped the club win the Italian Youth Championship and made his first-team debut against Sampdoria on 29 March 1964. He made four appearances for a struggling side that was relegated from Serie A giving him experience of both success and failure in the same season. 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 along with teammate Edy Reja. However, injury to his left knee restricted him to just sixteen appearances the following season. In 1967, he 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 10–9 victory over Juventus. However, a recurrence of the injury to his left knee kept him out for the rest of the season and Roma eventually finished in tenth place, just 5 points away from relegation. The following season, under new manager Helenio Herrera, a fit Capello scored 6 goals as Roma finished 8th and won his first major trophy, the Coppa Italia. This qualified Roma to play the Anglo-Italian League Cup, where they played Swindon Town who had beaten Arsenal in the 1969 League Cup. 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. He was then sold to Juventus, where he was a mainstay in the 1970s. Juventus were the dominant Italian team of the decade, and he won the Serie A three times with the club. Capello ended his career as player with Milan in 1980, having won his fourth Serie A with the club in 1979.
Read more about this topic: Fabio Capello
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