Rio Feels the Wrath of Fabio, but in a Milder Form than Expected

The one thing that the England players who hope to board the plane to Johannesburg to compete for their country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup next year know for sure – that their boss Fabio Capello means business, and has no problem benching even the biggest stars to achieve his ambitions for the team.

The latest star to incur the wrath of Fabio is Manchester United veteran Rio Ferdinand. His error in the game at Dnipropetrovsk led to goalkeeper Robbie Green being sent off leaving the side with ten men, and his overall play was sloppy to say the least. Couple this with the shocking lack of defensive skills he displayed against the Netherlands last August, practically gifting the opposition a 2-2 draw and a shambolic performance in the recent Manchester derby and it may seem to many that Rio’s passage to South Africa is far from guaranteed.

Indeed the Manchester United number 5 was summoned to a private meeting with Capello after Saturday’s loss, and while he retains his spot for the Wednesday clash with Belarus the boss apparently made it clear that things have to change.

Capello spoke with the press on Tuesday about the conversation "I spoke with him on Monday and this morning. I will speak on the day of the game. I asked him about what happened. I spoke with him about the moment, different things. He is a good man, a big man, an important player for England and United. He needs to play [against Belarus]. The experience of Rio will be very important for us. I have big confidence in him." Milder comments than some expected.

In fact the line up for Wednesday will differ considerably from the one that took to the pitch amidst a storm of missiles at the weekend. Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard are both injured (much to the consternation of their club managers Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez) so Peter Crouch and Gabriel Agbonlahor get a start leading the attack.

Another Man U player getting a second chance though is goalkeeper Ben Foster, who has also made some glaring mistakes of late at both the club and international level.

And all these changes fit in with Capello’s tactics. "We won't always play the same style," he said. "We need to play other styles, style A, B, C. It depends on the opposition and the style of the game we need to play. We need to practice other styles. I want to see some players in different formations.".

The Belarus game should be a good example of that with Gareth Barry set to return to the midfield over Michael Carrick and youngster Aaron Lennon covering the left.

All this means while technically the game is only a friendly, as England have already secured qualification, it should be well worth watching to see how Capello’s tweaks and changes work out.