Capello’s career as a football player. He debuted in the 1963-64 season with Spal, then moved to Roma under Helenio Herrera in 1968. He was sold to Juventus where he speant 7 seasons 1969 to 1976, and finished his career at AC Milan from 1976 to 1979. As a player he has 32 international caps and 8 goals with the Azzurri.

Capello with the Juventus jersey, where he spent part of his player career from 1969 to 1976

Destiny in the works. Wembley Stadium, November 14, 1973: Capello is the author of the game-winning-goal for Italy, in the Azzurri’s first ever victory on English soil

The 4th and final Scudetto title for “Capello-the-player” was the one he won with AC Milan in 1978-79. It was coincidentally also Milan’s 10th, which allowed the Rossoneri to put a golden star over their team logo

1976年卡佩罗(右七)作为米兰球员亮相圣马梅斯，图片来自《阿斯报》
1976年的夏天，卡佩罗从尤文图斯转会来到了AC米兰，在76-77赛季的欧洲联盟杯中，卡佩罗随米兰出征圣马梅斯球场挑战毕尔巴鄂。1976年11月24日，卡佩罗身披米兰的8号球衣在圣马梅斯首发登场，上半场进行到第25分钟，卡佩罗为米兰打入了领先的一球，这也是他在伊比利亚打入的唯一一粒进球。卡佩罗的进球激发了巴斯克人的斗志，达尼和卡洛斯(卡洛斯新闻,卡洛斯说吧)在此后的65分钟内各入两球，毕尔巴鄂最终以4-1战胜米兰，虽然米兰在意大利回敬了巴斯克人一场3-1，但最终还是被淘汰出局。或许卡佩罗会为1976年夏天离开尤文图斯感到后悔，因为在76-77年的联盟杯决赛中，尤文图斯在佐夫的率领下最终在两回合比赛中力克毕尔巴鄂竞技而捧得了冠军奖杯。毕尔巴鄂当时的主帅科尔多-阿吉雷回忆起那场比赛时说：“那场比赛完完全全是属于毕尔巴鄂的，米兰在圣马梅斯更本没有还手之力，公平的说比分应该是5-0”，老帅还不忘褒贬了一下球员时期的卡佩罗，阿吉雷说：“他的技术还算不错，但是身体略显有些发福（卡佩罗当时30岁），跑动能力比较差，行动上稍显笨拙和迟缓”。

1974西德世界杯，小组赛。
前排左一

"He was a tough midfielder with a squatty physique, but he also had great visual play. He knew how to score and would do so at the most opportune moments." -- Luciano Spinosi, former Roma, Juventus and Italy team-mate.
Capello was a solid but stylish midfielder who was, perhaps, before his time in marrying the hitherto incompatible tasks of defence and creativity, he was an extremely competent player who combined a cultured touch, a very good passing range, and tactical astuteness, with an uncompromising approach. In his spare time he was possibly the only footballer of his, or most generations, who professed a liking for philosophy and fine art and did so without fear of ribaldry or ridicule.
Capello's love affair with professional football began in controversy when Guerrino Capello, who coached his son in his role as manager of their village club AC Pieris, refused AC Milan's overtures and instead insisted on the rather gifted 18-year-old honouring a promise he had made to SPAL (Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor 1907). The club were no Rossoneri but had managed to scrape into Serie A the previous season, and it was here in the central town of Ferrara where young Fabio received a hard but invaluable education. Within two seasons SPAL were relegated, and Capello's talent could no longer be concealed from the eyes of grander teams, so A.S. Roma president Franco Evangelisti who sought a midfielder who could weave play, moved in. Thus for Capello it was to Rome and the beginning of a long and successful footballing career, he made his name in the capital and it has resounded through Italy ever since.
In Capello's three seasons as a Lupo, he became a symbol of Roma in those late sixties, a club which did not yield any results in the championship but did win one Coppa Italia under Helenio Herrera in 1969. Roma, unfortunately, could not keep young Fabio for too long, as the new management led by president Alvaro Marchini was not of wealthy foundations. The budget shaking at the club meant Roma lost two other great players - Luciano Spinosi and Fausto Landini. To the general disappointment of all the giallorossi fans, all three players would make the trek north to Turin.
Juventus had finally acquired the hard to find and so-called, "uomo di centrocampo" or 'man of the midfield', that athlete with the hard task of building an offensive play and still fulfilling defensive obligations. Juve had lacked such a player the previous year, hence Capello was appreciated for these capacities and his simple and delicate yet reasoned ball touch - Picchi's ideal game philosophy. Despite all the right signals on paper, 1970 was not a great year for Juve; striker Pietro Anastasi's shots barely hit the target, Capello did not immediately fit in the team's geometry, and to really put the club in a tough spot was the dramatic death of Coach Armando Picchi, who had succumbed to cancer.
Bianconeri President Giampiero Boniperti then appointed the primavera coach Czechoslovakian Čestmír Vycpálek to take Picchi's place. The following season was a different tale for both Juventus and Capello. Finally Vycpálek seemed to have found the right formula, Capello became the mind and engine of a team consisting of champions such as Anastasi, Bettega, Causio, Haller, Carmignani and later Zoff, a side who would claim two consecutive scudetti, and contest a European Cup Final in 1973 against the majestic Ajax - who were completing a veritable hat-trick of European Cups - unfortunately for Capello Juventus as a whole played sub par on that particular evening, but another scudetto was on the cards for the midfield orchestrator in 1975, sadly it was to be his final one in the black and white. The 1975-76 season, Capello's last, would be a barren one as Juventus had to bow down to Gigi Radice's Torino after a close title race.


England manager Fabio Capello scores a consolation goal for Italy in their 2-1 defeat by Poland in the group stages of the 1974 World Cup.