Capello tells Beckenbauer to respect England team

England coach Fabio Capello wants German football legend Franz Beckenbauer to show his team some respect, and also criticized the Jabulani ball as the worst he has ever come across.

Ahead of a possible last-16 meeting between England and Germany, Beckenbauer increased the pressure on The Three Lions by saying that their coach Capello, had taken the team backwards and England had reverted to "kick and rush" tactics during their opening game against the United States.

Unhappy with Beckenbauer's comments, Capello said: "I am surprised by his comments. When you speak about another team you should always respect them. It is easy to speak about a team when you sit in the stand. But you have to see the game live," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"We didn't play the long ball. We played a lot of passes and had chances to score. For this reason, I don't understand what Beckenbauer said," he said.

Capello is equally unhappy with the controversial Jabulani ball produced by manufacturers specifically for this tournament.

"This is the worst ball that I have seen in my life. It is terrible for the players. It is terrible for the keepers because it is impossible to follow the trajectory. When you try to switch the ball with long passes it is really difficult to understand where it is going to go.

"But the really big problem is that sometimes this ball is impossible to control," The Telegraph quoted him, as saying.