Fabio Capello will be setting his sights high in more ways thanone this summer.

Withseven of South Africa's 10 World Cup stadiums - including the venue for the final, Soccer City inJohannesburg - at altitude, England's meticulous manager knows how important itwill be for his players to be properly prepared.

So theItalian has already put them through their paces at the Altitude Centre inLondon, as well as taking advice from other teams that have recently touredSouth Africa, including England's cricketers and the British and Irish Lions.

RichardPullan, who runs the Altitude Centre, one of the world leaders in its field,says it would be foolhardy to underestimate the effect that playing severalthousand feet above sea level can have on an athlete.

"Justtalk to any sportsmen who have played on the high veldt," he told me,"and they will describe how the thin air gave them a dry throat, made thembreath differently and speeded up their heart rate."

England'splayers have undergone individual tests at the centre to see how well they copewith the effects of altitude and it was not necessarily the fittest players whocoped best.

"Veryfit people tend to be those who can bring as much oxygen to their muscles asquickly as possible," Pullan said.

"Performingat altitude is about using oxygen efficiently though, which is a very differentthing. That's what we help them to do.

"Iwould use the analogy of a Formula One car, which is very fast but uses hugeamounts of fuel. We want them to be more like a Toyota Prius."

England'splayers will be able to prepare by training wearing special masks which putnitrogen into the air, reducing its oxygen content.

TheLions used these masks when they toured South Africa in the summer and I tested
one out at theirteam hotel in Cape Town.

After10 suffocating minutes on a rowing machine, I nearly keeled over.

Capellomight also choose to get his players sleeping in special altitude tents,which is what the Australian team will be doing.

Altitudealso makes England's choice of team base particularly important.

Earlierthis week Capello checked on the progress being made building the Royal Bafokeng Sports Complex near Rustenburg which, as BBC Sport revealed inSeptember, is where England are likely to stay for the tournament.

FormerEngland defender Gary Mabbutt, who has been advising the WorldCup organisers about their team bases, says: "Any team with ambitions ofwinning the World Cup needs to be based at altitude."

Rustenburgis 4,920 ft above sea level, which is higher than every host city apart fromJohannesburg, at 5,750 ft. All eight groups will feature games played at bothsea level and altitude, as will the knock-out games.

"Goingfrom altitude to sea level is a benefit. Going the other way, the team would beabsolutely shattered," added Mabbutt.

And theWorld Cup ambassador thinks Rustenburg, which is a two-hour drive north ofJohannesburg, would be a good location in which to be based.

"Thisis a very quiet spot of the country with some beautiful scenery," he said."It will also be one of the best climates. Johannesburg can get very coldin the mornings and nights, while Cape Town can be very wet in the winter.Rustenburg will be much warmer and drier."

Themining town of Rustenburg is a stark contrast to England's glamorous 2006 base,Baden Baden though.

Thereare no luxury shops or boutiques there and my BBC Sport colleague Gabby Logan,who will present a special Inside Sport programme on the World Cup on Monday,said: "I couldn't help noticing as we stopped off at the Shell garage onthe way down to Rustenburg that it was probably the highlight of the area.

"Perhapswe'll get the players nipping out to the garage for a can of pop in theevenings."
Mabbutt thinks the lack of distractions in the area will appeal to Capellothough.

"Teamswill be looking to get their players focussed on the job at hand, which is towin the World Cup final," he said.

"Thisis a very quiet part of the country, with the main attraction about 30km awayat Sun City, and that would appeal to any manager."

Postcategories: Football

Simon Austin | 15:54UK time, Thursday, 3 December 2009

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/simonaustin/2009/12/fabio_capello_will_be_setting.html

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