Watching on: Fabio Capello took in plenty of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine

Rooney was disappointing for Capello at the last World Cup in South Africa and the Italian watched the Manchester United striker under-perform again in his two matches at Euro 2012.

Talking to the Italian news agency ANSA, Capello said: ‘After seeing the latest game, I think Rooney only understands Scottish. That’s because he only plays well in Manchester, where Sir Alex Ferguson speaks Scottish.'

Hodgson acknowledged on Monday that Rooney was poor in the two games he played for England in this tournament, against Ukraine and Italy.

The fact that the United striker so impresses for his club but then disappoints for his country is a problem the England manager needs to address. Rooney has not enjoyed a good tournament since his first, in Portugal in 2004.

Capello was clearly offended when Rooney suggested the Italian’s lack of English was a problem for the players.

Rooney said: ‘I think it helps everyone being English. There are no words lost in translation and we understand  what the manager  wants from us.’

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