Former Real Madrid and England coach Fabio Capello on Monday confirmed he has retired from football management and ruled himself out of the Italy coaching job.

The 71-year-old Italian had been linked with the vacant Italy coaching job after leaving Jiangsu Suning of the Chinese Super League (CSL) last month.

“I’ve already had some experience with the English and Russian national teams, I wanted to try to train a club once again and Jiangsu was my last football experience,” Capello told Radio Rai.

“I did everything I wanted, I’m very happy with what I did, and now I am delighted to be a TV commentator. You always win in this role!”

Italy are seeking a successor to Gian Piero Ventura, who was sacked after the national team missed out on World Cup qualification.

And Capello said he was backing former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, the coach of Zenit Saint Petersburg, for the role.

“Roberto is a coach of experience who has travelled the world,” he said.

“His experience will help him build relations with the players, but the national team lack talent.

“We are good coaches when we have good players.

“It is difficult to do well with mediocre players. At the moment Italian football is missing great players that can make the difference, there are no leaders.

“In Serie A there is little quality. You learn from the best but if the best are bought by the strongest foreign clubs, Italian football doesn’t have good teachers, good players from whom to learn.”

Capello, whose decorated career also included coaching spells at AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Russia, last June became one of the most high-profile names to move to China, where clubs have been spending big to lure foreign managers and players.

Provided by AFP Sport