Capello slaps down Terry with holiday jibe

AFP ^ | June 21 2010 | Angus MacKinnon

[Berlin_Freeper]

"One player is not so important compared to all the others. The group is more important. For this reason it is no problem. We are here to play at the World Cup, not for a holiday."

Having vowed to raise his concerns with Capello, even if that meant upsetting the Italian coach, Terry was persuaded to keep quiet at a team meeting on Sunday evening.

Seizing the opportunity to reassert his authority, Capello confirmed that Terry had not dared say anything to his face and made it clear that he was not happy with the defender publicly pushing the cause of his Chelsea team-mate Joe Cole, who has not been involved in England's first two matches in South Africa.

"If somebody wants to speak with me, he can speak," Capello told the BBC. "I always tell the players they can speak but yesterday nobody did."

[Berlin_Freeper]

[Berlin_Freeper]

English team prepares for defeat
Announcing a coup in advance is never the smartest of ideas. England's John Terry has now joined a long list of failed revolutionaries who promised radical change but delivered nothing.

Sunday night's no-holds-barred confrontation with Fabio Capello turned out to be a regular team meeting, with the manager doing most of the talking. John Terry, his club mate Frank Lampard confirmed on Monday, said precisely nothing.

Senior players had been shocked at the former captain's insistence that he spoke "on behalf of the team" on Sunday and quickly distanced themselves from the 29-year-old. Members of the coaching staff persuaded "JT" to divert from his collision course in the afternoon.

At the same time, they briefed English reporters against him: Terry had behaved unprofessionally in training, they were told, and he was said to be a disruptive, isolated figure in the squad.