Coach and captain hail Barry's return

Coach and captain hail Barry's return

AFP

Fabio
Capello and Steven Gerrard have spoken of their delight at the return
of Gareth Barry for Friday's Group C clash with Algeria, lauding the
extra dimension he gives to the team.Barry's participation in
South Africa had been in real doubt after he sustained an ankle injury
for Manchester City on 5 May, and he has undergone intensive
rehabilitation in order to get himself fit. The 29-year-old has even
spent some nights sleeping in an oxygen tent to speed up the healing
process – and the good news for England is that he is now fully fit.Earlier
in the day, Capello confirmed that he would start against Les
Fennecs, saying: "Barry will start. He is okay, there is no
problem," said Capello. "He has trained very well and he is fit." And in
an exclusive chat with FIFA, he explained why the
midfielder is so crucial to the team: "Barry is an important player
because he is, for us, a holding player in front of the back four."
Coach and captain hail Barry's return Quote

Coach and captain hail Barry's return Quote

He's been fantastic over a couple of years for England and I'm
really pleased to have him back, he certainly strengthens the side.
Steven Gerrard, England captain
Coach and captain hail Barry's return Quote_reverse

Barry is
instrumental to the England cause. In his 36 caps to date, the team have
won 23 matches; a ratio of 64 per cent. His reintroduction to the side
means that England are likely to change their style of play, with
Gerrard given licence to roam forward and support Wayne Rooney."I
should imagine I will be playing in a more attacking role and that
suits me, I'm looking forward to it," said Gerrard. "It's great to have
Gareth back fit and available, he's a terrific passer and calm in
possession, so hopefully he'll give us that protection the two
centre-halves need. He's been fantastic over a couple of years for
England and I'm really pleased to have him back, he certainly
strengthens the side."Capello also said that the England players
have been training well and are in positive mood ahead of the match,
despite their below-par performance against USA. However, he hinted that
he was not happy with his misfiring strikers in Rustenburg – and
changes might be forthcoming. "The players always train well, but a
match situation is different," he continued. "You're expected to win.
But we're supporting them, they're confident in their ability and
they're relaxed."I do think we played well against USA, aside
from the first 15 minutes when they pressed us a lot to win the ball
back. But after that, we played better than them. We created seven
chances to score, but we did not. This is the main problem. We will have
to address that."