Crystal Palace target Paulo Fonseca has Fabio Capello’s seal of approval, with the former England boss believing the Roma coach is doing his best in difficult circumstances, as he told Sky, via Football Italia.
With his contract expiring in the summer and an extension looking about as likely as Francesco Totti announcing his love for all things Lazio, Fonseca’s second season in the Italian capital will also be his last.
The former Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk coach will not be short of offers when he enters free agency, however.
Calciomercato reports that Crystal Palace have opened talks with the 48-year-old’s representatives.
Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis is also a big admirer, lining up Fonseca to replace Gennaro Gattuso at the Stadio San Paolo.
Roma have slipped to seventh in the Serie A table while alleged behind-the-scenes divisions have followed Fonseca like a bad smell in recent months. An unseemly row with Edin Dzeko, in particular, very nearly led to the captain’s departure in January.
Capello, however, thinks it would be unfair to lay all the blame at Fonseca’s door for an admittedly underwhelming season.
“I like Fonseca. He makes the team play,” said the ex-Real Madrid, AC Milan and Roma boss.
“He has an excellent team but he has had injuries, the players who give something extra have been missing.
“There was the problem with Dzeko and he paid for it.”
Capello does have concerns about Fonseca’s ability to set up a defence, however, with Roma conceding 44 goals in 30 league matches – the worst record in the top seven.
“He doesn’t know how to defend very well.”
An attack-minded manager who sets up his side to outscore the opposition rather than park the bus, Fonseca is certainly a different beast to the man he may supplant at Selhurst Park – the career-pragmatist Roy Hodgson.
In total, Fonseca has also lifted nine trophies during his managerial career.
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