Russian National Team Manager Capello's Wait Is Over As Russians Stump Up $6M Back Pay

Russian national team Manager Fabio Capello and his compatriot Oreste Cinquini, the team's general manager, "have at last been paid the outstanding salaries owed to them going back to June of last year," according to Paul Nicholson of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Reports are that the Russian Football Union "has now paid" the outstanding $5.96M up to February. The source of the money for Capello's salary "is from Russian billionaire (and Arsenal shareholder) Alisher Usmanov." One of the issues for the length of the outstanding debt "appears to be the currency exchange rate." Capello's son Pier Filippo, who acts as his manager, said earlier that "the RFU was trying to play with the ruble's volatility and repay the debt to the Italian coach at a currency exchange rate different from the current one." Capello "never left his post despite going unpaid." One rumor was that "the RFU had hoped that by not paying him he would leave the country and break his contract" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 3/9).