Rio Ferdinand Named New England Captain

Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has been made captain of England following sacking of former skipper, John Terry last week.

Steven Gerrard will take up Ferdinand’s former role as vice captain as the squad start on their Summer World Cup campaign in South Africa.

Ferdinand is no stranger to international football, having made his England debut in 1997, since then he has played for his country in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

He will also empathise will Terry’s controversial removal after being banned from the game for 8 months himself in 2004 for missing a drugs test.

Fabio Capello spent only 12 minutes in his meeting with John Terry at Wembley where he was informed that he would be stripped of the England captaincy.

Terry later released a short statement, reading: “I fully respect Fabio Capello’s decision.

“I will continue to give everything for England.”

Meanwhile Capello showed his gratitude to the FA: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the FA, particularly Lord David Treisman and Ian Whatmore, for allowing me to make this decision in my own time and in the best interest of the team.”

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson expressed his delight for the new England captain: “We are pleased for him and it’s great to have one of our players captaining our country.”

Manchester United are no strangers to having England captains among their ranks: “Over the years we’ve had Gary (Neville), Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson for 60 odd games or something so we’re very proud of that,” the Scottish boss told MUTV.

Ferdinand has received plenty of backing from Red Devils old and new as United captain Gary Neville insisted he was the natural replacement for Terry. And former United team-mate Roy Keane also showed his support:

“He will be a good captain, of course he will be,” said the Ipswich manager.

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