He began his managerial career at AC Milan in the early nineties where he led a squad crammed with talent to the Scudetto four times in five seasons. After Milan, Capello went on to taste success with other continental giants such as Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid.

Having taken over from Steve McLaren, Fabio Capello’s arrival was immediately reflected in England’s performances on the pitch. He stamped his authority by introducing more intensive training and a number of new rules aimed at improving team spirit and making the squad more focused on winning. This new mentality was evident in England’s World Cup qualifying campaign. The team won all but one of their ten matches, scoring 34 goals.

Given the level of respect Capello commands from players and his impressive knowledge of the game, it is tempting to draw parallels between him and England’s most successful manager, Alf Ramsey. Both Ramsey and Capello would never give any support to the idea that any one player could enjoy a special status within the team. On one occasion, when some of England’s biggest names failed to return before a 10.30 curfew, he did not hesitate to take action, the players returning to their hotel rooms to find their passports waiting for them on their beds.

Like Ramsey, Bobby Robson made his name at Ipswich. Yet Bobby Robson was a different sort of manager to Ramsey and Capello. He enjoyed success at some of Europe’s top clubs, including Barcelona and Porto, motivating his players with his infectious enthusiasm for the game he loved. During his time as England manager, Robson took England to two World Cups and at Italia ’90 led the Three Lions to their most successful World Cup campaign since 1966.

With the experience of Steven Gerrard on the pitch and Capello off it, the England side look well-placed to emulate the success of Robson and Ramseu in South Africa.

’86 England v Poland, 3-0

After losing their opening match against Portugal 1-0, the Three Lions played out a goalless draw against Morocco with captain Bryan Robson picking up a tournament-ending injury and Ray Wilkins receiving a red card. They went into the final group game with Poland in need of a result and, having failed to score against Portugal and Morocco, it looked as though Bobby Robson might drop Everton striker Gary Lineker. But Bobby Robson stuck to his guns and kept faith with Lineker, who duly tore Poland apart with a devastating hat-trick. Delight turned into delirium in Monterrey as Lineker grabbed his third after just 34 pulsating minutes.

’66 England v W Germany, 4-2

Famous for Kenneth Wolstenholme’s oft-quoted commentary, Tofik Bakhramov’s hotly debated decision to award Hurst’s second goal and, of course, the iconic image of Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy, the final in 1966 certainly lived up to its billing. Alf Ramsey’s team fought back from an early goal and were leading 2-1 when the West Germans equalised in the dying minutes.  Cue extra-time and ‘that goal’. Having lost his marker with a neat turn, Geoff Hurst’s shot from the edge of the six-yard box bounced off the underside of the bar and was adjudged to have crossed the line. Hurst later sealed his hat-trick to make England’s World Cup triumph certain.

’54 England v Belgium, 4-4

With a remarkable 140 goals in just 26 matches, the 1954 tournament in Switzerland remains the highest-scoring World Cup. In the quarter-finals, hosts Switzerland took a 3-0 lead over Austria, but the Austrians recovered to win 7-5, and in the group stages, eventual winners West Germany were thrashed 8-3 by Hungary’s ‘Golden Team’, which boasted such legends as Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis. The Three Lions were left stunned when Belgium came back to draw after Nat Lofthouse and Ivor Broadis had helped England to an ostensibly unassailable 3-1 lead. An own goal from Portsmouth defender Jimmy Dickinson in the dying minutes levelled the scores at 4-4. England were unfortunately knocked out in the quarter finals by Uruguay, but the group match against Belgium remains the highest-scoring draw in World Cup history and one of number of astonishing matches in a tournament famous for great comebacks.

The Premier League is without doubt the best league for drama, passion and excitement in Europe. Just comparing it with the Italian Serie A and you see that the two leagues are a million miles apart, unless you enjoy watching boring defence minded and extremely one paced football – or unless you are an Italian!

I am not a footballer myself and I am not involved within the media; the following players are just my personal opinion as to the players that I believe merit being in the top four. I am in fact a person who provides pet insurance; I am also involved with other projects that include selling a quality upvc front door and working helping people to attain cheap flyer printing.

Going back to my top four – the numero uno player has to be Mr Liverpool himself, Steven Gerrard. He is a top class football player. Some would argue that he has never really “done it” for England however I am sure he will put that right in next years World Cup. Steven is certainly a real captain marvel; driving his team forward with a real passion. He is a scouser through and through who always gives one hundred percent.

In second spot I would have to pick John Terry. He is a born winner and is also a natural leader. As well as being a dominant central defender who is an excellent reader of the game he also chips in with a few goals.

In third place I have Frank Lampard. This midfield dynamo just seems to get better and better. He is the model professional who like Steven Gerrard scores a great number of goals from midfield. I personally would play Frank in the centre of midfield for England with Gerrard “in the hole”, real football fans will understand what I mean by this.

Then there is the fourth place position and this may be slightly controversial as I have chosen Ashley Cole. I really do not want to pick Ashley as he annoys the hell out of me with his petulant behaviour. He is however an excellent player and his FA Cup final performance in the win against Everton (for Chelsea) was quite outstanding.

Well there we have it – my top four – what do you think?

Mention great sports rivalries and several could come to mind.  There was Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier in boxing, Chris Evert versus Martina Navratilova in tennis and Greg Norman versus Nick Faldo in golf.  India and Pakistan still have a healthy cricket rivalry going on.Even the world of chess has seen its own classic rivalry with the many battles between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov over the years.

But can any of these admittedly classic face-offs hold a candle to the colossal confrontation that occurs whenever the Red Devils of Manchester United clash with the Liverpool Reds?  In what has to be the greatest rivalry in football, if not all sports, there is a way to look at things analytically to determine why it exists, and why it continues:

1. The Northwest Derby – Matchups between the two clubs are often referred to using this moniker.There’s been quite a rivalry between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester ever since industrial times, and that sense of competition is certainly not lacking in the football world.

2. “The Greatest English Football Club” – Manchester United and Liverpool both lay claim to the title of The Greatest English Football Club.  A similar number of trophies have been won by each club, and they are also the two most successful English teams in European competition.

3. Fans and Money – The two clubs are widely-supported throughout the world and boast some of the most devoted fans in any sport.Also, they are two of the biggest-earning clubs in the world.

4.  Player Haters – As with a lot of football clubs, the fans can be downright hostile to each other sometimes.  With Liverpool and Man U, though, the hostility spills over to the players too occasionally.  United striker Wayne Rooney has publicly stated how he grew up hating Liverpool.Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, on the other hand, once told a television crew that even though he exchanges shirts regularly with opposing players, he would never have a Man U shirt in his house.

5. Transfers? What Transfers? – Since 1964, no player has been directly transferred between the two clubs; the few who have played for both sides always played for a different city’s club in between. As recently as 2007, United left-back Gabriel Heinze expressed a desire to move to Liverpool, and a bid was made, but Man U rejected the bid and stated that Heinze would only join a foreign club if he chose to leave – all due to the age old rivalry.

In a way, it’s inspiring the way two rival football clubs can be so passionate about the sense of competition between them.  I suppose some people don’t understand and think the whole thing is just silly.  So, who’s the best team in football?  That’s easy.  Everyone knows it’s Spurs.

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When you pre-book Liverpool Airport parking or Manchester Airport parking, you can save a bundle off the daily drive-up prices.

I am not involved within professional football; I personally work selling external doors; I also offer a cheap mobile calls service and sell cheap hotel deals.

England have beaten Croatia in their own back yard, four goals to one. They played quite superbly and taught their opponents a lesson in football. Croatia are currently ranked as the fifth best team in the world and they lose 4-1 to England.

Capello is getting the best out of the team at the moment with the majority of the players plying their trade in the Premier League which is probably the most competitive league in the world. For some reason previous England teams played a rather slow continental type game, why? It really makes no sense at all. The manager is now playing a pressing game and has the players laying their lives, as the saying goes, on the line for the team.

In previous years the English National Football Team has flattered to deceive and a lot of members of the press have been very critical of them. The negative reaction has been more to do with the apparent lack of effort and passion, it was if they did not care. This was just not acceptable and hopefully has changed for good.

If somehow the team are able to win the world cup the players will become instant heroes, heroes for life. Go for it England - believe in yourselves and bring the trophy home for our wonderful country.

Players like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Theo Walcott and Ashley Young will be the catalyst to victory in South Africa, I am convinced about it.