Manchester United's Wayne Rooney gave new England coach Fabio Capello the perfect end to his first day in charge of the national team.
Capello was not officially due to begin work till Monday but flew in 48 hours early to take in United's FA Cup triumph at Aston Villa.
With nine English players in the two starting line-ups, Capello was treated to an obvious opportunity to run the rule over men he may be calling on for next month's friendly with Switzerland, his first game in charge.
However, it was substitute Rooney who really caught the eye, triggering a late onslaught by Sir Alex Ferguson's team which saw Cristiano Ronaldo put them in front before the young striker drove home a second in the final minute.
"It was good to be at a game where a lot of the players were English players," said Capello.
"And of course to see a player like Wayne Rooney come on as a substitute in such good form and have a major impact on the game was good for me on my first day."
Gareth Barry was a solid performer in midfield, biting into Cristiano Ronaldo on enough occasions to prove he was not fazed by having the brilliant Portugal winger running at him.
Curtis Davies also enjoyed some encouraging moments, along with Ashley Young and Nigel Reo-Coker.
Rising star Gabriel Agbonlahor, tipped by many to be in Capello's squad to face the Swiss, was quiet, while goalkeeper Scott Carson hardly covered himself in glory with a couple of obvious mistakes.
Presumably, Capello knows all he needs to about United quartet Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves, who like Rooney was introduced late on.
Capello was warmly received by fans at Villa Park, some of whom shook his hand, while the 61-year-old also posed patiently for photographs.
He will now head to Luton to see Liverpool bid to avoid an FA Cup shock at Kenilworth Road on Sunday, before taking in both Carling Cup semi-finals at Stamford Bridge and the Emirates Stadium.
Capello added: "It was very good to start work today. I am delighted with the reception I got from everyone I met at the stadium.
"The fans were fantastic to me and Aston Villa Football Club could not have been more helpful.
"I am now looking forward to seeing a lot of games very quickly over the next few weeks."
Source : www.sportinglife.com
