Fabio Capello may have done a sterling job thus far in his England coaching role. But doubts persist within this proud nation when the coach lacks that enigmatic quality ‘Englishness’. Prior to the Mexico friendly, pundit and former England defender Gareth Southgate provided a timely reminder of this matter to ITV viewers.
The England camp is taking such concerns very seriously: a quintessentially English team-talk, to be used before the USA fixture, has therefore been scribed. This speech has been informed by rigorous research: audio analysis of football crowds around England has been undertaken to establish the qualities that fans expect to see expressed by players. The findings have been distilled into a pithy exposition of English football expertise. And exclusively for our readership, WCC is proud to reveal this team-talk below. Capello will state/yell these words to his team on 12th June – but is, of course, free to intersperse them liberally with expletives.
Please note: for obvious reasons this article is unavailable in the USA. To prevent Capello’s team-talk from falling into the hands of US football strategists, please do not share this article.
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You’ve got to want it more than them. You’ve gotta fight for every ball. Get stuck in. Make it yours, get stuck in. Battle, battle, battle! Do it for the shirt and for the badge. You can win if you want it enough. I wanna see passion and fight. Chase down everything, tackle hard, don’t take any prisoners. I wanna see you working hard and fighting hard. Do it for England. You’ve got to want it – you’ve really got to want this. Dig deep and keep battling. Run hard, keep fighting and wanting it. You’ve gotta make it yours and be first to every ball. Keep running and fighting. Get stuck into them. Don’t be afraid of them. You’re better than them. You’ve got to graft and work hard, get in hard. Run hard, keep battling. You’ve got to want it more than them. Now get out there boys and show them what you’re made of.
That’s the spirit!
COME ON BOYS!