Who will prove to be Fabio Capello's Captain Marvel?

February 6, 2008

Martin Samuel

Each year the Football Writers’ Association votes for the outstanding player of the season. The holder of the title is Cristiano Ronaldo, of Manchester United, as it probably will be again this year, barring injury, and for the foreseeable future if he continues scoring 30 goals from midfield.

The decision will not be unanimous, though, despite Ronaldo’s rise to be the preeminent individual in the Barclays Premier League and arguably beyond. There will always be those who believe that the Footballer of the Year award is as much about the man as the player, and mark down Ronaldo for his tendency to go to ground too easily, particularly early in his career. Others feel that the honour reflects a career at the coalface and should go to a great ambassador for the sport as well as an achiever. Everybody has a different concept of what the title, Footballer of the Year, should mean. And so it is with the role of England captain.

Do we reward the best player, the best representative of the English game to the wider world, the best leader on the pitch, or the best example off it? With an Italian manager in Fabio Capello, do we go down the road favoured by many countries in Europe and hand the armband to the player with the most caps, the senior international in age or experience on the night?

Does it matter who the captain is anyway? After all, this is not cricket. The technician of a football team is the coach, not the captain. Manchester United have been missing Gary Neville all season and his armband has been passed between several players without the team falling apart. Why should it? Frankly, beyond roars of encouragement, what is there to do?

The issue of the captain’s significance is, in fact, straightforward. If a team have a good one, it matters. If there is no natural leader, then best not dwell on it. And no doubt the reason Capello is reluctant to attach too much importance to the role right now, preferring instead to hold auditions in a series of friendly games before making his final decision in time for the World Cup qualifying matches next season, is that he does not know enough about the players in his squad. Maybe he will find that nobody meets his expectations, or maybe his man is indisposed at present.

Those outside England find the obsession with the position puzzling, yet the greatest English club sides do have a tradition of exceptional leadership, from Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay and Billy Bremner to Tony Adams and Roy Keane in the Premier League age, hence the fascination.

Certainly, in the seasons when Chelsea peaked under José Mourinho, John Terry matched the nation’s mental photofit of a title-winning captain, which is why Steve McClaren picked him to succeed David Beckham. He may still be the best man for the job. What Capello will discover is that it is not a crowded field.

“Bobby Moore is my representative on the pitch,” Sir Alf Ramsey said. “He is responsible for seeing that the plans we have worked on are carried out.” Yet if that is the duty of the captain, given the language barrier and the unfamiliarity with the group, who is going to be sufficiently in tune with Capello in his first year to carry out those instructions? Terry did it for Mourinho almost from the start at Chelsea - remember the little piece of paper with the tactical rethink on it that he passed to him during the Carling Cup final win against Liverpool in 2005? – but there was no lack of understanding between the men. Mourinho’s English was perfect from the moment he walked into Stamford Bridge, Capello’s is not. He may be a quick learner but he must be some way off forming a bond with a player that will enable him to elect a Fabio Lite for the heat of battle.

When McClaren took over, Terry was the outstanding candidate and was rightly given the captaincy ahead of Steven Gerrard. Yet, perhaps because of the shortcomings of the team, he has never been as convincing in the role as he is for Chelsea. It was not his fault that he missed key matches, in Russia and against Croatia at Wembley (although those absences made him look more vulnerable than in his Captain Courageous days, when he would turn out for Chelsea with bits falling off), but when McClaren wanted to play three at the back in Zagreb, it was apparently his captain that was least comfortable with the change. There may have been respect issues, too.

There is a middle ground between Capello barking orders at players using their surnames like a public-school hockey master and McClaren’s silly grin as he talked of “JT” and “Stevie G” as if they were all part of some manufactured boy band. There is a suggestion that Terry was sometimes unhurried in returning McClaren’s calls, although the manager should have nipped that in the bud. Even so, if Terry wants to be Capello’s captain, he would be wise to acquire the art of speed dialling.

Largely, the case for Terry, once fit, remains unchanged. On big European nights, he stands out as a player ready to go the extra mile for the cause, most recently in the second half against Valencia at the Mestalla, the match that pulled Chelsea’s Champions League campaign back from the brink. It is possible to see opponents exchange nervous glances when Terry once again sticks his head where others fear to put their feet, and in such moments he looks a descendent of Adams, another phenomenally brave centre half who used personal courage to inspire his team. Terry must have a reasonable football brain, too, to be trusted with Mourinho’s stratagems. What cannot be measured, however, is Capello’s interest in his captain as a public figurehead.

Even before Terry was appointed by McClaren in 2006, there were reservations about a profile that could diplomatically be described as somewhere between colourful and outrageous. Terry would appear to be from the work hard, play hard school of footballers, which in the modern age is marginally less fashionable to a man such as Capello than a sweeper system. Senior figures within the Football Association do not approve of the England captain turning up on the front page of the News of the World and are secretly hoping that Capello shares this opinion.

But managers are pragmatists and if Terry is the best option, Capello might let football be the judge, with a private warning that there will be no second chances under him.

Much will depend on his alternatives, which are hardly exhaustive. Gerrard is tonight’s choice, and was Terry’s understudy anyway, so this is hardly a seismic decision, but long term Capello may feel that he has enough trouble reining in Gerrard’s desire to be everywhere at once, without giving him a further excuse to play Roy of the Rovers.

Despite his victory as England’s Player of the Year, Gerrard is a conundrum. Where is the international equivalent of his second-half performance against AC Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul or his FA Cup Final display against West Ham United? For a player with such bravado for Liverpool, Gerrard almost appears to lack confidence in an England shirt and may have enough to worry about finding his A game without the added burden of the captaincy.

Rio Ferdinand also wishes to be considered, but somehow the phrases “England captain” and “you’ve been merked” do not sit comfortably together. Neither does that missed drugs test. If Capello is introducing an England boot camp, he is more likely to send for Sergeant Major Williams than Mr Lah-di-dah Gunner Graham.

The most outstanding candidate is not available. Neville is the captain of Manchester United and a good communicator. He has a strong mind and if Sir Alex Ferguson trusts him to carry his instructions on to the field, there is no reason why Capello would not do likewise. Sadly, unless Neville can regain fitness, he will miss the boat. Micah Richards won his place at right back under McClaren, although he now faces pressure from Wes Brown.

In Italy, there would have been no discussion over the captain for the match with Switzerland tonight. If Michael Owen starts, his seniority (88 caps) would have delivered him the captaincy. If he did not, it would go to Ferdinand (64), then Gerrard (63). Under this process, one day, surely, the captain of England would be Wayne Rooney, but if there is no outstanding alternative, why not?

Maybe, if no captain presents himself, then that is the way to do it. Indeed, with Capello installed as physician to an ailing England team, perhaps the precept of all medical school training, first do no harm, should have been applied. By having this captaincy beauty contest, Capello only ensures that at least two, maybe three, senior players are going to be slapped in the face when a decision is made. If the 21st-century Bobby Moore, or the English Roy Keane, is waiting in the wings, that is different. If he is not, what was wrong with Terry? Capello may have made his first mistake, being drawn into the frivolity and foolishness of English football. He was meant to be above that. The status quo, and a quiet word, would have sufficed.