England coach Fabio Capello accepts he will be depicted as a "god" or a "monster." On Friday Capello sends a team into battle in a competitive environment since the inept performance that consigned England to the World Cup dustbin in Bloemfontein.

If all goes well, Capello will get the chance of resurrection in Poland and the Ukraine two summers from now. The alternative will be further embarrassment and, depending on when the setbacks come, the end of an England era.

Even the Italian himself accepts perceptions have changed.

"You create the god, and you create the monster, no?" said Capello, staring straight back at the inquisitors he believes are responsible for the construction and dismantling of reputations.

"I remember what you wrote about me a short time before this period.

"I live the same moment when you write well of me as when you write badly of me. You have to live with the pressure. It is my job.

"This is my team. We lost one game in the World Cup after one big mistake from the referee.

"You don't remember this. But after this, your opinion about me changed completely.

"You wrote a lot of things differently. But I live with this situation."