A New Skill Needed for the New Coach

England's national team of football (called soccer in the U.S.) got a new head coach. It's a big deal. His name is Fabio Capello and his accomplishment speaks itself; he had led four clubs--Milan, Read Madrid, Roma, Juventus--to reach the championship in the European professional football leagues at one time or another.

Sounds like a great pick. But there is one problem. Capello is an Italian, and he is not one of those Europeans who can juggle several languages as skillful as David Beckham does with soccer ball. Will it be a problem? According to another famed coach in the similar situation, it may well be. Rafael Benítez, the Spaniard and head coach of Liverpool, offers this advice to Capello:

Rafael Benítez believes Fabio Capello's first task should be to improve his grasp of English after admitting struggles with the language caused him untold problems during his first season at Liverpool. "The first thing Capello will need to do is improve his English," Liverpool's manager said yesterday. "It is very important that you can express yourself, especially at half-time in a changing room which is the crucial time for a manager.

"I had many problems at first, confusing wine and win was one example, and my players would be laughing at times when I was trying to explain things. You think everyone understands football but a foreign manager also needs to understand the humour and the small details.

Can Capello be coachable to master English before the next World Cup qualification games starts?