Fabio Capello's reputation as one of the best coaches in world football was damaged after a poor showing with England at the 2010 World Cup. But can the Italian redeem himself with Russia?
Here we take a look at how the 2018 hosts have been preparing for their assignment in Brazil...
A major football nation bearing the scars of failure and saddled with unrealistic expectations. It's fair to say Fabio Capello's time with England was the perfect preparation for taking the Russia job.
World Cup qualifying was not without its difficulties. On the field there were two defeats, most notably a shock 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland in Belfast after Capello had made what were interpreted as dismissive remarks about his struggling group rivals.
Off the field, there was the bizarre tale of him accidentally calling up the wrong player - a namesake of Terek Grozny defender Andrei Semenov - a tale lapped up by sections of the British media eager to paint the veteran coach as a figure of fun.
Of course, the reality is that Capello is no joke. In fact, he is one of the great managers of the game. A Champions League winning coach with AC Milan who won La Liga twice in two attempts with Real Madrid. Capello even won Serie A with Roma - something nobody else has managed in 30 years.
It's been a quietly effective effort with Russia too. The successful qualifying campaign was built on the first four matches - all won without conceding a goal - and to top Group F ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal is no easy feat.
Of course, such results spark memories of Capello's fine qualifying record with England ahead of the last World Cup only for the team to disappoint in South Africa. Capello was widely perceived to have mismanaged events in 2010 and much of the focus will be on how he handles it four years on.
He will surely be better for the experience of his first tournament. Asked about how preparations for Brazil were progressing, Capello recently told
R-Sport: "Perfect, perfect. We get a weekly report, photos. The pitch is OK, and absolutely we have no problems."
Friendlies against Slovakia, Norway and Morocco have been arranged as Capello seeks to expose his players to different styles of play ahead of their group matches against Belgium, South Korea and Algeria. Little is being left to chance.
"I will thoroughly study the video footage of our group rivals' matches," he told
Soviet Sport. "But I'm also set to watch Belgium in their warm-up match against Sweden in Stockholm on June 1 and to attend the match between Romania and Algeria in Geneva three days later."
Although England's 2010 campaign ended with an emphatic 4-1 defeat to Germany, it was the insipid goalless draw with Algeria that was perhaps the most damning of Capello's time in charge. Asked what he learnt from that experience, it's clear that the Italian believes concentration will be essential. No such lapses will be tolerated this time around.
"You need to be really focused and you need to play always at the top," he added. "This is the most important thing. Not to read Algeria or the name of the team, but the value of the team. Not their name, but the value of the players, because Algeria, a lot of players don't play in Algeria. They're playing in Europe. They've got more experience than some Russian players."
This issue of experiences raises a key factor in whether or not Capello can gain a measure of World Cup redemption in Brazil. Does this Russia squad actually have the quality to succeed? With only a couple of the squad playing their football outside of Russia, there are concerns that the players have not been exposed to big games in the latter stages of the Champions League.
With this being Russia's first World Cup in 12 years, international tournament experience amounts to a disastrous capitulation at Euro 2012 after a promising start. Talented youngster Alan Dzagoev was their star man in Poland and Ukraine, but even his development has stalled and there is every chance Russia will opt for a starting line-up that includes nobody under the age of 27.
As a result, the manager is looking to temper expectations and shift the focus to 2018 when Russia will host the World Cup. "We should remain realists because nothing will come easy for us at the World Cup," says Capello. He is on record as stating that the quarter-finals would represent success. It would also eclipse his showing from 2010 and raise hopes that in four years' time, Capello might just be able to bow out in style after all.
