I don’t think this is a shock to anyone.
Liverpool’s local hero had been the skipper in John Terry’s absence in the fateful Euro 2008 qualifiers against Russia and Croatia last year and with Terry injured AGAIN, Gerrard was the odds-on favorite to lead England out today in their friendly against Switzerland.
The only other choice was Manchester United center back Rio Ferdinand, but Ferdinand isn’t even club captain and was responsible for organizing the Christmas party at which Jonny Evans, now on loan at Sunderland but with the Red Devils at the time, was accused of rape.
To be clear, Capello hasn’t named Gerrard permanent captain and won’t name a permanent captain until England’s first World Cup qualifier in September, against Andorra. Until then, there will likely be a rotation involving Gerrard, Terry (when healthy), and possibly Ferdinand.
If you ask me though, Steven Gerrard would be the right man for the job. Many readers think I have a bias towards Liverpool, which is far from the case, but trust me, I know a leader when I see one. Gerrard has put the Reds on his back on numerous occasions, most notably the famous come-from-behind victory over AC Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul in 2005. He clearly inspires his teammates whenever he’s on the field, and Capello said as much yesterday:
“I won’t be picking a permanent captain for the time being but at the moment I think Steven Gerrard is important for everyone because he is a player who can motivate other players and transmit ideas,” said Capello.
I believe Gerrard should be the full-time captain, with or without John Terry in the lineup. I have a feeling the former will receive that honor as well, although a string of unimpressive performances at the international level could mean otherwise and Gerrard hasn’t exactly lit it up for England in recent games.
I’ve been crucified elsewhere for suggesting that Gerrard is not suitable for the captaincy! He is as good an option as anyone at the moment but he has got to start producing his Liverpool form for England.
It seems that Ferdinand is a very unpopular choice, but that seems to be mainly because of his off the field antics. These are mainly some time ago, and I think it might be worth giving him a go.
Rio does well enough on the field to be captain, but there must be more time between that disastrous party and him ever being England captain. If after six months or so he’s named capt, it will be because he impressed Capello, and there would not be so much criticism (as there would be if he were chosen today).
In my mind there was never any choice but Gerrard – have you seen his Match Attax card?? Everyone in England must love him.
Gerrard makes sense for this friendly as he is likely to be one of the few veterans of the national team to get a start.
Over the long haul, I don’t know if he’d be the best player to be captain. He has done a good job for Liverpool as captain so there’d be little risk for Capello in naming him captain.
For me, you want someone that is good with the media as well as a good on-field communicator. The player should also lead by example and certainly when he plays for Liverpool Gerrard tends to rise to the occasion in big games. He has not done that yet for England and though today’s match is not a “big” game, it will be interesting to see how he reacts to being the captain.
GERRRAAAAAAAAAARDDD!!!!
As much as I dislike Liverpool I can’t help but to notice a great player when I see one!
He’s a great match to be a captain for ANY club, not alone England. He can certainly handle the pressure as he’s been in a lot of big games before.
I call him capitaaaan……….fastastic steven gerrard is the best captain i have seen so far in the english premier league capello made a good choice to name him captain for know, and i believ he will remain captain he’s such a good leader. he’s got what it take’s to a captain for england………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!