Capello: We needed the Ginger Prince - Exclusive

Fabio Capello believes England would have lit up the World Cup finals in South Africa if Paul Scholes had come out of international retirement and taken part.

In his search for ­explanations for England’s miserable campaign, the Italian coach has confided in friends that the absence of the Manchester United star was a massive body-blow to his tactical strategy.

He has told trusted sources that Scholes’s decision to stay at home seriously ­damaged England’s hopes.

The 35-year-old ­Manchester United ­midfielder was approached by Capello in the countdown to the tournament before the announcement of a preliminary 30-man squad for the training camp in ­Austria.

Initially it appeared the veteran star, who quit international football immediately after Euro 2004, was set to follow in the footsteps of Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher and deliver a positive answer to the SOS call from his ­country.

There were even guarantees that Scholes would make the final 23-man squad for the finals after being named in the preliminary squad. It was hoped this would prove irresistible to one of the best players in Premier League history.

A highly-placed source close to Capello said last night: “Fabio was desperately disappointed that he couldn’t coax Scholes out of retirement.

“He felt his presence would have given him other ­options, particularly with concerns over the fitness of Manchester City’s Gareth Barry.”

In the absence of Scholes, Capello decided to stick ­rigidly to a 4-4-2 formation and later complained that England’s disastrous ­campaign was down to fatigue.

Ironically, Scholes later insisted that he would have answered the call from Capello if he had been given more time to consider the offer.

On retiring from international duty in 2004 Scholes claimed that he wanted to concentrate on his career at Old Trafford and spend more time with his family.

But rumours later surfaced that he had been in conflict with manager Sven Goran Eriksson and had become disillusioned at playing out of position all too frequently.

The source close to Capello added: “Despite his age he is extremely comfortable on the ball, very versatile and has a wealth of experience behind him.

“His inclusion would have allowed Capello to change his system taking into consideration the physical condition of the players at his disposal.”

England were accused of being completely overrun in midfield by the German’s as they crashed out in the last 16 of the World Cup with a humiliating 4-1 defeat against their arch rivals.

Capello felt Scholes would have brought some bite into the midfield and not given the Germans freedom to dictate play from the centre of the park.