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By Mike Collett
LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Fabio Capello said on Monday he hoped to take England "right back to the top" and would be delighted to meet his native Italy in the World Cup final in South Africa in 2010.
Capello, 61, was introduced as England's new national coach at a packed news conference in a central London hotel attended by more than 200 journalists and photographers and more than 20 TV camera crews.
Serious, under-stated and answering questions through a translator, he said his first priority was to learn the language.
"In one month when I meet the players I want to be able to speak to them in English," Capello, who has never coached a national side before, said.
"I believe it is very important to be able to communicate with the players."
Capello's second task will be to turn around England's fortunes after their failure to qualify for next year's European Championship under former coach Steve McClaren.
"I want to meet the players and the club coaches in the Premier League, but I get the feeling that nobody has trust or faith in the national team anymore. I do have trust and faith. The team can go right to the top."
He said that although he played for Italy 32 times, he never had any ambition to coach the Italian national team. Asked how he would feel if England played Italy he said: "I would be very happy to meet Italy in the World Cup final in South Africa."
Capello officially starts his new, 6.5 million pounds ($13.08 million) a year job on Jan. 7 and says he will be seeking the views of the players about why they think they have under-achieved in recent years and failed to reach the Euro 2008 finals.
"I am going to try to understand what happened by talking to them," he said.
"I believe that wearing the England shirt should be a matter of pride - I want to see all players playing for England like they do for their clubs."
He added: "I am very proud and honoured to be given the job of coaching England. I've wanted the job for a long time. It's a dream come true because it's a job everybody wants."
"I've accepted the task and believe I can do well."
Capello's first match in charge will be a friendly against Switzerland at Wembley in February and he has until next September before the qualifying campaign begins for the 2010 World Cup.
England have been drawn in the same group as Croatia, who ended their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008, Andorra, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
Capello is delighted to have eight months before the qualifying campaign starts.
"I'm lucky to have four matches without pressure when I will be able to experiment," he said. "I think there is not enough faith in the England squad and what it can achieve."
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Asked whether any there were any automatic choices in the side Capello, who dropped David Beckham while in charge of Real Madrid, said all players would have to prove themselves.
"They will be picked on attitude, behaviour and performance," he said.
Asked whether he would select Beckham for what would be his 100th cap against Switzerland, Capello refused to be drawn saying there was plenty of time to make a decision about "a great man, a great player."
Capello has been given a four-and-a-half year contract by the Football Association. His backroom staff will consist of assistants Franco Baldini and Italo Galbiati, goalkeeping coach Franco Tancredi and fitness assistant Massimo Neri.
He said he would also be adding an Englishman to his coaching set-up.
"It's very important to have somebody who knows the football from the country and knows the environment," he said. (Additional reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Justin Palmer)
