[6] A talented and tactically intelligent holding midfielder, with a good positional sense, he could read the play well and was strong both in the air and in the tackle, in spite of his lack of notable height and unorthodox physique.

He usually operated as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, however, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and furthermore was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet.

Going forward he was also equally effective, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at penalty kicks, but he lacked pace, and was notorious for not being particularly hard-working.

The following season, under new manager Helenio Herrera, a fit Capello scored six goals as Roma finished eighth and won his first major trophy, the Coppa Italia.

[15] Capello became an influential figure under new manager Čestmír Vycpálek, despite being only 24, and was assigned the number 10 shirt;[16] he largely decided the team's tactics for the 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final against Leeds United.

[26] He was overlooked for the 1978 World Cup even after having good club form with Milan:[27] the manager at that time, Enzo Bearzot, preferred other defensive-minded midfielders such as Marco Tardelli over the more attacking minded Capello.

Regarded as one of the best Italian players of his generation, Capello was a talented, dynamic, energetic, and tactically intelligent holding midfielder, with a good positional sense and excellent intuition.

He usually played in the centre of the pitch, however, where he operated as a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, due to his outstanding technique and vision, which enabled him to orchestrate his team's attacking moves or create chances for teammates, and was an excellent passer of the ball with both feet.

Indeed, going forward he was also equally effective as he was creatively and defensively, and possessed an eye for goal from midfield, due to his powerful and accurate shot, as well as his ability at penalty kicks.

[33] His first experience as a head coach was leading Milan in the last six games of the 1986–87 season, replacing Liedholm and achieving UEFA Cup qualifications in a play-off with Sampdoria.

[38] Capello largely retained the players and tactical systems put in place by Sacchi, though he replaced ageing central midfielder Carlo Ancelotti with a young Demetrio Albertini and signed goalkeeper Sebastiano Rossi.

[42] Already boasting talent such as Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Paolo Maldini and Frank Rijkaard, Capello was one of the first managers to introduce a squad rotation approach.

[54] The club's back four at the time, primarily made up by Mauro Tassotti, Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Maldini, is regarded as one of the greatest defences of all time;[a] the club's defensive strength under Capello helped Milan's goalkeeper Rossi achieve the longest streak without conceding a goal in Serie A history during the 1993–94 season: in an 11-match span, from 12 December 1993 to 27 February 1994, Milan's defence went unbeaten for 929 consecutive minutes.

[65] With Van Basten and Papin gone, Capello recalled Gullit from Sampdoria and signed winger Paolo Di Canio; Milan struggled at the start of the 1994–95 season, losing in the 1994 Intercontinental Cup to Vélez Sársfield.

[69] Capello, however, was once again able to implement a squad rotation policy successfully, and even modified Milan's 4–4–2 formation at times, introducing an attacking trident in which the lone striker Weah was supported by Baggio and Savićević, thus allowing the two playmakers to play alongside each other.

The squad had to be extensively rebuilt, and high quality signings such as Patrick Kluivert, Leonardo, Winston Bogarde, Christian Ziege, André Cruz and Ibrahim Ba did not gel.

His first season saw Roma finish sixth, made particularly disappointing as cross-city rivals Lazio won the title, and they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Leeds United.

[82] Capello's breakthrough at the club occurred when he won the 2000–01 Serie A title, having signed Walter Samuel to strengthen his defence, and Gabriel Batistuta as a main goalscorer.

With Roma, Capello switched from his trademark 4–4–2 to an aggressive 3–4–1–2 formation, which allowed the club's star playmaker and captain Francesco Totti to function in his preferred role as an attacking midfielder, while Cafu and Vincent Candela served as attack-minded wing-backs on the flanks.

[45][83][84] The season began in difficult fashion with Roma struggling for form and an angry fans protest at the club's Trigoria training complex which turned violent when players cars were attacked.

[99] Despite winning La Liga, Capello was sacked on 28 June due to his pragmatic style of play at a club with recent memories of the individualistic and free-flowing, but ultimately unsuccessful, Galácticos era.

[103] Capello announced on the day of his unveiling that it was a dream come true to manage the England national team and that he hoped to learn the English language in the following month prior to his first official meeting with the players.

[104] Capello was welcomed by many English fans and the press who hailed his appointment as a triumph, citing in particular his impressive trophy haul and his reputation as a disciplinarian in contrast to the excessive leniency perceived to have existed under his two predecessors, Sven-Göran Eriksson and Steve McClaren.

His arrival generated some criticism, notably from then FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who said, "I would say it is a little surprising that the motherland of football has ignored a sacrosanct law or belief that the national team manager should be from the same country as the players.

England drew the first game 1–1 with the United States due to an error by goalkeeper Robert Green,[133] after which Capello declared the tournament Adidas Jabulani ball was "impossible to control".

[151] After a narrow 1–0 win against Wales at Wembley,[152] Capello claimed that several England players were "mentally fragile" and suggested he intended to reinvent his squad once Euro 2012 qualification had been sealed.

[45][70][173] In his first spell with Real Madrid, Capello once again built a title-winning side based on a strong defence and an efficient playing style, but also fielded three strikers – Davor Šuker, Predrag Mijatović, and Raúl – while promoting several other promising young players to the first team.

— Clarence Seedorf in 2010 on Capello's first spell at Real Madrid[189]During the 2000–01 title-winning season with Roma, Capello adopted a 3–4–1–2 formation, which made use of a three-man back-line and attacking wing-backs (Cafu and Vincent Candela), while Francesco Totti operated as the team's advanced playmaker behind a main striker and a more mobile, creative forward; the offensive trio was supported by two hard-working and aggressive defensive minded midfielders, namely Emerson, and Damiano Tommasi.

Capello won consecutive league titles, and put together a balanced and efficient side which was built upon a strong and highly organised back-line, which was further supported by two dynamic, defensive-minded box-to-box midfielders in the centre, such as Manuele Blasi, Stephen Appiah, Alessio Tacchinardi, Emerson, and later Patrick Vieira, who both alternated defensive and playmaking duties in midfield; the team's attacking wingers, Pavel Nedvěd and Mauro Camoranesi, were required both to drop back defensively and also assist the strikers from an offensive standpoint.

He was consequently able to create an organised, determined, and unified team environment through his disciplined and pragmatic approach; he ultimately led the club to an eight match unbeaten streak to come back from behind and claim the Liga title, although he was sacked at the end of the season.