All-conquering Juve delight Capello

Italy's No1
Ever since his arrival at the Juventus helm at the start of the 2004/05 campaign, the Bianconeri have led the Serie A table – a remarkable sequence now extending to 57 matchdays. No surprise then that they won their 28th Scudetto last term, and are ten points clear in the race for this year's crown. Their title push has produced 17 victories in 19 league outings to date, with 41 goals scored and ten conceded (only one of which has come in the second half of a game). Little wonder second-placed FC Internazionale Milano lag so far behind.

Three more years
Naturally, Capello is delighted with his team's relentless progress, yet his 60th birthday is in June and he accepts that retirement cannot be put off forever. "I will quit in three years' time, that is 100 per cent certain," he said. "I want to travel, to see places. With football, you work hard and travel a lot, but see nothing."

Options to consider
When he does quit, Capello will have a host of triumphs to look back on. A successful player with Juventus, AS Roma and AC Milan, he has subsequently won major honours as coach of all three clubs as well as of Real Madrid CF. He even has time to fit in a few more, perhaps abroad. "I've still got another year on my contract with Juve," he explained. "I'm not sure what I'll do with the other two. An experience in a foreign league interests me, but for now I'm very happy in Turin.

Surpassed expectations
"We have been playing extremely well so far," Capello went on. "Nobody could have predicted we would have so many points at this stage. Everything has gone very well. We have great players with great determination and attitude and a few promising players who are improving very fast."

European goal
Yet having won the Scudetto 28 times and the European Champion Clubs' Cup only twice, it is no secret that the UEFA Champions League is Juve's main goal this season and Capello will rotate his players for the remainder of the campaign so they are as fresh as possible when the European competition resumes in February.

Bench duty
"Sooner or later, each of our players will be on the bench or in the stands," he said. "This is how it will be until the end of term. The players have accepted it and are continuing to work hard." Circled in bold on the fixture list is the Round of 16 meeting with Werder Bremen.

Century of points
Nonetheless, for all the talk of Europe, the Turin side's general manager Luciano Moggi has asked Capello to win Serie A with a record-breaking 100 points. "That will make history," Moggi said. "It will be hard but it is not beyond Juventus." It is impossible to disagree after seeing Capello and company dominate the first half of the season.