Italian Fabio Capello was set to be England's second foreign manager after his appointment was approved by the Football Association (FA) board on Thursday.

Following final discussions on the details of his contract over the next 24 hours, the 61-year-old will take over from Steve McClaren, who was sacked last month after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, and become the second foreigner in the job following Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson.

"The FA board has approved Capello's appointment as England manager subject to the successful conclusion of these contract negotiations," FA director of communications Adrian Bevington said in a statement on the official web site (www.thefa.com).

"I want to stress that there are no problems and that we are going through the necessary process to reach a successful conclusion."

Capello's four-and-a-half year deal could be worth 6.5 million pounds a year, according to British media.

It was also reported that Capello planned to bring four Italian assistants to work alongside him but the FA had confirmed that an English coach would be included in Capello's backroom staff.

Capello, a former Italy international who collected 32 caps, has won nine league titles in 16 years as a coach, picking up silverware with all four clubs - AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus - he has been in charge of.

He won the Champions League with Milan in 1994 when Milan beat Barcelona 4-0 in the final.

(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2007)