It's always a matter of money. Those who had brought Fabio Capello to sit on the bench of the Russian national team two years ago, and those who could now take the former coach and player of Juventus, Milan and Rome away from Moscow.
Yes, because the promised money, a lot (8 million euros a year, more than any other coach in the world and about double what the mysteriously receives according to Roy Hogdson), is gone and it's been five months now Don Fabio does not receive the generous emoluments agreed with the Russian Federation to warm his Friulian heart in the cold Muscovite winters.
The real chaos, however, only broke out yesterday, when Christian Panucci and Massimi Neri, Capello's two closest collaborators, did not show up at the retreat in Austria, where Russia is preparing the match against the hosts for the qualifications for the next European championships, the last real test for Capello's formation in view of the 2016 World Cup, which Russia will play as the hosts.
The clarification from the Federation was not long in coming, but it seems unable to unravel the complicated skein much, because, more than anything else, Sergei Stepashin, member of the executive committee of the Russian football federation, limits himself to admitting a problem: "There are no the money for the salary of coach Fabio Capello”.
Stepashin adds that "the salary issue will be resolved on November 15", without explaining how, and then points the finger at "those who were responsible for signing the contract with Capello: as far as I know, the document bears the signature of Nikolai Tolstykh (former president of the Federation) and sports minister Vitaly Mutko”.
While admitting that the situation is unpleasant, Stepashin didn't spare himself a dig dipped in curare at Don Fabio: "Remuneration should depend on results: this is what is called efficient use of money". Results which, in the case of Russia led by Capello, do not justify a salary about three times higher, for example, than that received by world champion coach Joachin Low. In football, you know, it's always a matter of money. Or victories.
