Fabio Capello and Giovanni Trapattoni have both started well with England and the Republic of Ireland, but who has the better manager?
The fortunes of both England and Ireland have massively improved since they appointed Italian manager, but is one better than the other?
Trapattoni has certainly racked up an impressive haul of European trophies, although Capello has spent the majority of his coaching career at big clubs and has also been successful.
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In order to ignite the Capello v Trapattoni debate, we asked two of our football journalists to state their case as to why one is better than the other.
Let us know your views on this by leaving a comment in the space provided at the foot of the page.
Arguing for Fabio Capello - Tom Kell
Fabio Capello does seem to be taking this England thing pretty seriously doesn’t he? It’s a good job too because after the laughable tenure of Steve McClaren and the sleaze-riddled regime of Sven Goran Eriksson, we all needed reason for optimism.
McClaren departed and the nation rejoiced amid umbrella puns, Capello arrived and we all hid behind the couch. Sports reporters from across the land delved deep into the Italian’s personal life, discovered his love of fine art and opera and scoured his CV. We need not have bothered for the former Milan man only deals in one currency – victories. Singing his praises need not turn into a comparison against Mr Trapattoni....Capello speaks for himself.
There is not a single aspect of him that has not screamed professionalism ever since he rode into Soho Square at the start of last year. We should have expected nothing less because even before his arrival he made it clear that there would be no McClaren-esque pandering to the whims of The Football Association. It takes a man with serious balls to persuade The FA to allow him a near-enough all Italian backroom staff...but that he did.
Barely the blink of an eye after his work officially begun, a £7 million tax probe on him hit the headlines. Surely the perfect chance for the media to pounce and usher him out ala Glenn Hoddle? Not Capello. The story was brushed under the carpet and football, football, football quickly came back to the agenda.
On the pitch, we needed no quicker indication of what England’s new manager would bring to the table than when he excluded David Beckham from his very first squad. Various selections have followed but Don Fabio needed not to unearth a new gem, he merely had to get the best out of what was already at his disposal.
Wayne Rooney has since become rampant, Steven Gerrard continues to get closer to replicating his Liverpool form and even Emile Heskey has scored an international goal.
Capello never makes a selection without good reason. Most recently, Gary Neville – he who is about seventh choice right back at Manchester United – earned a recall. We all greeted the news with furrowed brows, but why? Capello’s all-too-clear dislike of Micah Richards and Wes Brown’s unreliable fitness means that every option must be tried and tested before next year’s trip to South Africa. If Neville impresses in the ten days surrounding the Kazakhstan and Andorra games, there will be no reason why he won’t board that flight.
It will not just be on the field that Neville will have to prove himself. Experienced, calming and motivational, he might just prove himself to be a potentially crucial figure at a major tournament.
England have thus far lost only to France and a vastly superior Spain under Capello but, even in defeat, you can bet your bottom dollar that Capello has learned plenty of lessons and added plans A, B, C and D to his repertoire.
All he needs to do now is teach his players how to take a penalty.
Arguing for Giovanni Trapattoni - Gareth Maher
The Republic of Ireland secured a major coup when they convinced Giovanni Trapattoni to become their new manager last year and it has worked out well for both parties.
After both Brian Kerr and Stephen Staunton struggled to convince the fans, the players, and the media that they were the right men for the job, the search for a new manager took longer than expected before Trapattoni was lured away from Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg.
Since taking charge, the 70-year-old has only tasted defeat once and that was in a friendly match. The results in Ireland's World Cup qualifying campaign were always going to matter most. With six games played, his team remain unbeaten and sit second in Group 8.
Trapattoni knew that he had to change a lot of things in order to lift the team up to a level where they would be able to have a serious chance of reaching the World Cup in South Africa. It has been so far, so good for The Boys In Green and their manager deserves the bulk of the credit for that.
The word that would best describe the Irish set-up under Trapattoni is 'professional'. Under his supervision, there isn't a chance of the team turning up to a dodgy training ground without the proper gear, of a player allowing his ego to become more important than the team, or even adopting a negative mentality if his team don't get the desired result from a game.
Kevin Kilbane, who has played under four different Ireland managers, says that there is a positivity that binds this current squad together and it all comes from Trapattoni. He sets out clear instructions of what way he wants the team to play, feeds them with information on the opposition, continually offers constructive feedback, and creates an upbeat atmosphere that remains professional throughout.
On the pitch, Trapattoni has been accused of employing dour tactics and restricting his team by getting them to stick within a particular system. If one was to closely analyse Ireland's performances since he came in, they would see a massive improvement in the retention of possession, the accuracy of passing, an increased tally of goal chances created, a tighter defence earning more clean sheets, and a big difference in the fitness levels of every player.
For a manager that has won all of the Uefa club competitions, proved to be successful in four different countries, and showed a willingness to adapt to difficult situations, Trapattoni was and still is the right man to lead Ireland to the next World Cup.
The true litmus test for any manager arrives when he is forced to work miracles with a depleted squad, lack of funds, or under a regime that is noticeably flawed. While those issues were not in front of Trapattoni when he agreed to take the Ireland job, he did have to go back to basics with some players, change the mindset of the squad, and transform others from barely noticeable squad members at their clubs to international heavyweights that were able to hold Italy to a draw in Bari.
Trapattoni is not blessed with the same calibre of player that England manager Fabio Capello is, but he works with what he has and ensures that a team ethos rules all. If Ireland do qualify from Group 8, it will be a massive achievement and the way that they are currently going that looks like a real possibility.