Russia's Fabio Capello was the highest paid manager at the 2014 World Cup, earning an annual salary of $11.2 million according to Forbes. Sadly, the Russian Football Union's hefty investment in the Italian didn't pay off, as it was sent home from Brazil without a win.
The well-remunerated coach will now begin preparation for Euro 2016— but not before being forced to appear before Russian parliament to explain his lack of success.
Controversial right-wing politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky has insisted that Capello become the subject of a parliamentary inquest that will scrutinize his salary and try to pressure him to resign before his contract expires in 2018. For filling his pockets with Roubles but failing to dominate at the World Cup, Zhirinovsky has also called Capello a "thief." The Guardian reports:
“We need to look into his work and ask him to resign,” said Zhirinovsky, according to the Russian media. “But he’s greedy, so of course he won’t. It’s pretty good to get [millions] for doing nothing. The team lost and it doesn’t affect his pay in any way. Thief!”
In a completely pertinent line of argument, Zhirinovsky also took issue with Capello's lovely red sweater vests:
“Even the way he looks makes it hard to like him,” the politician said. “He looks like a schoolteacher.”
Fellow member of parliament Oleg Pakholkov backed Zhirinovsky, claiming that Capello had taken the job to "hoover up bundles of cash for his retirement."
Meanwhile, Igor Anansikh, the head of the State Duma's Sports Committee, confirmed that he would demand that Capello stand before the lawmakers to explain why paying him lots and lots of money didn't guarantee Russia instant World Cup success.
It sounds like a terrifying ordeal awaits Capello, but thankfully he has prior experience of explaining his finances to governments.
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