FULL marks to Fabio Capello for flexing his muscles in the club versus country debate.

The England head coach scored a moral victory on Sunday night when he made Steven Gerrard report for duty with the rest of his decimated squad for tonight’s friendly against Germany in Berlin.

Earlier in the day Liverpool posted a message on their official website claiming the midfielder had withdrawn from the squad after tearing a groin muscle in Saturday’s 2-0 win at the Reebok – even though he played the full 90 minutes. But instead of accepting the club’s diagnosis, Capello booked him in to see the FA’s own medical staff on Monday morning.

By lunchtime, the diagnosis had been confirmed and Gerrard duly returned to Merseyside for treatment. But Capello had made his point and you can’t blame him. He’s got a nice momentum going after four straight World Cup qualifying wins and he’s desperate to keep the ball rolling. The last thing he wanted was to have his plans thrown into disarray unnecessarily.

Capello insists he has no issue with the clubs on this occasion but, let’s face it, club managers have form for mucking England managers about.

On the one hand they say they are prepared to co-operate yet they repeatedly whinge about the number of “meaningless friendlies” that litter the calendar, and have no qualms about withdrawing their players at the drop of a hat.

It’s been the bane of every England manager’s life. Sven-Goran Eriksson still carps on about his problems with “one manager in particular” – namely Sir Alex Ferguson, who unashamedly protects Manchester United’s interests, as Michael Carrick aknowledged.

“Friendlies are not meaningless,” argued the England midfielder. “To play for your country is a massive honour. Germany versus England at any level is a huge game.

”I certainly do not regard it as a hindrance. But I accept the manager (Ferguson) does not really look at it that way. He has his own agenda and there are things to be won at domestic level, although he has never put me under pressure not to play in a friendly.”

Be that as it may, it looks like Capello is going to be no pushover and I’m sure he will lose no sleep over upsetting Rafa Benitez by giving the impression that he suspected Liverpool were trying to pull a fast one.

He was well within his rights, under FIFA rules, to force Gerrard to report for duty, but he would be unwise to try to force anyone to play when they are either unfit or unwilling to go against their club managers. And there is the rub.

Gerrard is passionate about playing for England and is said to be “gutted” at missing tonight’s game, but he is unlikely to do anything to get on the wrong side of his club manager while Capello, for all his tough talking, would be unwise to force the issue.

He is going to need a few favours in the months and years to come and he’d be foolish to get off on the wrong foot.

At least Capello would have been heartened to see John Terry in training, despite limping out of Chelsea’s win at West Brom. But with Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard also missing the Berlin game, he’s in no position to select anything like his strongest team.