Capello 'surprised' by Beckenbauer

Fabio Capello has told Franz Beckenbauer to show his team some respect - and lambasted the World Cup ball as the worst he has ever come across.

Capello has been stung by Beckenbauer's accusation that England reverted to "kick and rush" tactics during their opening game against the United States and that the Three Lions have gone backwards under the Italian recently.

Capello is clearly unhappy with Beckenbauer's comments because he believes them to be plain wrong. He told BBC Radio Five Live: "I am surprised by his comments. When you speak about another team you should always respect them."

He continued: "It is easy to speak about a team when you sit in the stand. But you have to see the game 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."

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

It has been likened to a beach ball by Michael Carrick because it is so light, and Diego Maradona told Pele and Michel Platini to try to play with it themselves after they defended it against criticism from the Argentina coach.

"This is the worst ball that I have seen in my life," he said.

"It is terrible for the players. It is terrible for the keepers because it is impossible to follow the trajectory."