Capello's spectacle maker sets sights on UK market

Cometh the hour, cometh the man and now, cometh his specs. Following Fabio Capello's appointment as England manager, it has emerged that his preferred brand of glasses is to go on sale in the UK.

Capello has been the public face of Zerorh+ glasses since he started wearing them in 2001. The Italian firm was planning to expand to the UK anyway, but a range of frames has now been "catapulted" forward, said the company's UK agent, Sarah Johnson. "This is manna from heaven," she said. "It is a golden opportunity."

Although the firm has so far had only one order from an independent chain of opticians in London it has been bombarded with enquiries, so much so that Ms Johnson said she was installing a new phone line.

Such attention to the spectacles of an England manager is nothing new, however: Sven Goran Eriksson was famed for his rimless frames a style that was reportedly copied by former prime minister Tony Blair.

The Zerorh+ brand will be launched on 1 January, with an average price of 125. It is seen as upmarket because the frames are produced in Italy, as opposed to the Far East.