<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="629" border="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><div class="mxb"><div class="sh">Capello keen on England position </div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="width: 416px" valign="top"><font size="2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="203" align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><div> <div class="cap">Capello has been extremely successful in his career</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Former Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello has said he would be interested in the England manager's job. Steve McClaren was sacked after England's 3-2 defeat by Croatia cost them a place at the Euro 2008 finals. </p> And 61-year-old Capello, who has won league titles with Real, AC Milan and Roma, said: "It would be a beautiful challenge. I am the right age." </p> Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill and former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho are the bookies' favourites for the job. </p> O'Neill was rejected by the FA after interviewing for the role before McClaren's appointment and may be reluctant to put himself in the frame again. </p> Mourinho, meanwhile, has been out of work since leaving Chelsea in September following a dispute with Blues owner Roman Abramovich. </p> The Portuguese has the credentials to be successful, after winning back-to-back Premier League titles with Chelsea a season after clinching the Champions League with Porto, but may prefer club management to the international arena. </p> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="208" align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 5px"></td><td class="sib606"><div class="sihf">606: DEBATE </div><div class="ibqlinks">Who do you want to be England manager? </div></td></tr></tbody></table></p> A close friend of the Portuguese told the BBC: "Jose is very sorry for the result and for what happened to Steve, a coach he always respected. </p> "For him, the absence of England is very bad for Euro 2008, and he is also unhappy for the absence of such good players. No more comment." </p> Capello is so far the only potential candidate to publicly declare an interest in coaching England. </p> He was sacked by Real at the end of last season despite winning the Spanish title and he is available as he is now working as a commentator for Italian television. </p> However, Capello might prove to be a controversial choice to succeed McClaren, as his many successes on the pitch have been marred by some unsavoury episodes. </p> He led Roma to the title in 2001 - their first major honour in a decade - but then became embroiled in a dispute with club captain Francesco Totti, was accused of moving on key players and ended his spell at Roma with the club in danger of relegation. </p> Capello then became Juventus boss and led them to league titles in 2005 and 2006, but the club was stripped of their trophies because of their involvement in a match-fixing scandal. </p> Following that, Capello resigned as Juventus manager and joined Real Madrid for a second spell - having first taken the reins in 1996 - where he again claimed the Spanish title in 2007. </p> But the success did not stop Capello from being dismissed by the Spanish giants, who were unhappy with his defensive style of play. </p></font></td></tr></tbody></table>
