As England advances to the quarterfinals at Euro 2012 - the Three Lions' first such appearance since 1996 - Roy Hodgson will undoubtedly receive a fair share of congratulations for his managing job, and deservedly so. While Sweden's 2-0 win over France meant that England would have advanced regardless of its performance against Ukraine on Tuesday, moving on as group winners and earning a quarterfinal berth against Italy is an accomplishment worthy of praise.
However, a great measure of credit should also go to the former manager, Fabio Capello.
Capello, after all, went before a UEFA disciplinary hearing in December to attempt to shoulder the blame for Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United striker earned a three-game ban for kicking Montenegro defender Miodrag Dzukovic in England's final qualifying match. After Capello told the disciplinary committee that he had made a mistake by not substituting Rooney - whose father had been arrested the day before - at halftime, Rooney's three-match ban was shortened to two, enabling him to play on Tuesday against Ukraine in England's final match of the group stage.
That set the stage for Rooney to deliver the goods on Tuesday in Donetsk, heading Steven Gerrard's deflected cross into the net giving England the goal it needed to win the match and the group.
There were other factors, of course, most notably the possibility that Marko Devic should have had a goal in the 62nd minute - on one hand, replays showed the ball crossing the line before John Terry cleared it; on the other, the play should have been whistled offside - but the simple fact remains that in his first appearance at Euro 2012, Wayne Rooney did exactly what was expected and asked of him.
If not for Fabio Capello, he couldn't have even been asked.