Yes, I know, Manchester United > England and all that. But it’s still United, dammit, and Rio deserves it as much as anyone else in the England squad. Plus I love a good captaincy debate (Terry v Ferdinand, if you’re wondering).
FA statement:
“Fabio Capello has confirmed that Rio Ferdinand will captain England against France in Paris. Capello has confirmed this continues his policy of rotating the captaincy between players in the friendly matches before confirming a permanent captain for the World Cup qualifying games.â€
So Ferdinand will be captaining a side that includes Terry, Gerrard, as well as possibly Beckham and Owen. All four have led England at one time or the other ahead of Ferdinand, and it is a matter of pride to see the captaincy return to Manchester United, even if it is only for one game (no other United player in the squad – not even Rooney – would be in with a shot at captaincy come summer time).
Congratulations Rio – the press will roll out that drug ban story as if that still matters today, don’t listen to them. You deserve the captaincy.
Red Ranter in his recent interview talked about the calming influence Rio Ferdinand has had on the United backline and his importance to United in the last two seasons – and I couldn’t agree more. He has been the de facto United captain, what with Giggs often subbed off or on the bench and Neville permanently out injured, and now he has a chance to prove himself on the international stage in England’s friendly against France tomorrow night.
Question time: do you think Ferdinand will rise to the responsibility and be a better England captain than John Terry?
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