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| Rio's back..!! |
England manager Fabio Capello has confirmed injury-plagued defender Rio Ferdinand will return to the team as captain for Tuesday night's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley.Ferdinand was made England skipper in February when John Terry was stripped of the armband, but injury ruled the Manchester United defender out of the World Cup and Steven Gerrard took over as leader.Capello said:: "I spoke with Steven yesterday evening and explained why Rio will be captain against Montenegro. He understood everything - he knows the rules. I have also told the players that Rio would be captain."I decided when I started as England manager who will be the captain and the vice-captain. The players understand why Rio is the captain, and after him Steve Gerrard, and after Gerrard another one."When I spoke with Steven I told him, 'you were a fantastic captain and you have to play like a captain tomorrow.'''
The uncertainty over Ferdinand's long-term injuries at club level means United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has now made Nemanja Vidic skipper and the centre-back's role with England came under scrutiny in the press for the same reason. But Capello is confident Ferdinand's knee problems are behind him.He said: "I have monitored him - he is fit completely. Also I watched the game against Valencia. I think now he's 100% fit. There is no problem about Rio's injuries. He's really good when he plays."He's really important for the other players, he speaks a lot during the game. It's really important for me, I prefer this kind of player on the pitch.''
Gerrard retained the armband for England's opening Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland but will now hand it back to Ferdinand, who will make his first international start since May 30 against Japan."I didn't know if I was going to be captain or not - I was more concerned about being in the squad and being fit," Ferdinand said. "It's been a fair road back."
"The manager is always analysing you physically and mentally and you've got to perform. He has seen me as the right person and I'm delighted with that - but if it had gone the other way I would have shaken Steven's hand and said 'good luck to you' - that's the way it is."It's a great honour to be named England captain and it's great to be playing again. To come back now and be named captain is fantastic but Steven has done a fantastic job, especially in both European Championship qualifying games - we've won both games quite convincingly."We've got a number of leaders in this squad - and the more there are the better we will be as a team.
"Steven and Wazza (Wayne Rooney) have worn the armband before so we've got players with experience who know their way around the pitch. If we can continue as we have started in this group we'll be on the right road.''With Terry and Phil Jagielka already withdrawn from the squad because of injury, Ferdinand is expected to partner Joleon Lescott in the heart of the England defence against Montenegro.
-from soccernet.comHahaha...kesian Gerrard!!! So congrats to our Rio coz dia dapat 'merampas' balik captain armband dari si Gerrard..ekekeke!! Aku harap Rion kau dapat membantu England utk perlawanan esok menentang Montenegro and kau dapat perform sebaik mungkin..aku juga harap dgn 2 clean sheet sebelum ni ketika kau tolong United dapat memberi motivasi lagi pada kau!! Lastly..jauhkan diri dari kecederaan ok coz we need u and United need u so that your partnership with Vidic can bring back stability to our back line that recently seems so goyah!! GGMU...
