Former AC Milan coach Fabio Capello has been appointed England's new head football coach as the team tries to recover from its failure to make next year's European championships in Austria and Switzerland.
Capello signed a 4 1/2 year deal with England and will take over for Steve McClaren, who was fired last month when England failed to make Euro 2008. The FA board had approved the move Thursday, and the final contract was signed Friday. Reports say the deal is worth more than $12 million.
Capello's staff will include four Italian assistants -- Franco Baldini, Italo Galbiati, goalkeeping coach Franco Tancredi and fitness coach Massimo Neri.
The FA is expected to formally introduce Capello as the new coach on Monday in London. Capello is sure to be under pressure after England failed to make the 2008 championships. The English have no competitive matches until European qualifying begins for the 2010 World Cup next September.
A strict disciplinarian, Capello led Real Madrid to the Spanish league title last season. Previously, Capello led AC Milan to four Italian league titles and the Champions League crown.
He also took AS Roma to the Italian League title, the Italian Super Cup title and the Italian Cup championship. With Capello at the helm, Juventus won two Italian league titles, but was later stripped of one of the crowns because of a match-fixing scandal.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP.