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Friday, May 30, 2008

Rooney tackling concerns Capello



Wayne Rooney and Fabio Capello
Rooney was substituted by Capello in the win over the US

England coach Fabio Capello plans to talk to Wayne Rooney in a bid to try to channel his natural aggression.

Rooney was sent off against Portugal in the 2006 World Cup and his temper flared on several occasions in Wednesday's friendly win over the US.

He escaped a booking for a lunge on Ricardo Clark, before he was yellow carded for fouling Frankie Hejduk.

"I have to speak to Rooney and explain not to do these tackles the next time I'm with the team," Capello said.

That is likely to be when England meet up for the August friendly against the Czech Republic after Rooney was one of the seven players excused from Sunday's match in Trinidad and Tobago.

Two years ago Rooney was sent off in the World Cup quarter-final after a reckless stamp on Ricardo Carvalho, a match England subsequently lost on penalties.



"I like players who have quality but also who do not fear to tackle," added Capello as he reflected on England's 2-0 win over the US.

"He is young, he is a good player and I think the future will be better. For this reason I think I have to speak with him.

"When you play you need to tackle very hard. He did two very, very hard tackles, possibly yellow cards but not red cards."

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