Fabio Capello will make England serious contenders for next year’s European Championship, says Raul, who describes him as probably his greatest influence and a coach he wishes he could have played under for longer at Real Madrid.

The Spaniard said: 'My first coach, Jorge Valdano, gave me a lot of confidence in the beginning and then came Capello, who really had a major impact on me.

'He brought a certain professionalism from Italy to Spain and a work ethic that says, "You are on the pitch for maybe 60, 70, 90 or 120 minutes and if you are professional out there, then you will reap the rewards with the way the game goes". 

Real deal: Fabio Capello had two successful spells in charge of Real Madrid

'There was a real connection between us and I hope to see him across the two (United) games. He is usually at all the big games and if I can say hello to him, then great.'

Capello first took over at Real in 1996, won the league but went back to AC Milan at the end of the season, upset at his poor relationship with  then president Lorenzo Sanz.

'I was a 19-year-old kid the first time around and a lot of the time I would get annoyed with him and would think to myself, "He is always on at me". But then you realise why, and now when I hear young players saying, "This manager never leaves me alone", I tell them that they only have a problem when the coach doesn’t say anything to them.

'If he is telling you things it’s because he wants you to improve and he believes that you can.'

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