Rooney on standby to skipper

United striker given the nod if Terry is ruled out

Last updated: 13th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Rooney on standby to skipper

Rooney: Ready for England role

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Fabio Capello has confirmed Wayne Rooney will captain England against Brazil on Saturday if John Terry is ruled out through injury.

The Italian is quietly confident that regular skipper Terry will recover from an ankle injury suffered in training but Rooney has been placed on standby.

It would be the first time the 24-year-old has done the job for England, having had only limited experience of the role with Manchester United.

But Capello is in no doubt England's standout player is the right man for the job.

"If John Terry doesn't play, it will be Wayne Rooney," said Capello.

"He is fit and he is ready to be a captain."

Given the number of senior players unavailable to Capello the only other viable alternative to Rooney would have been Gareth Barry.

The Manchester City midfielder admits it would have been a great honour had he been handed the captain's armband.

Barry led England for the second half of the away friendly with Trinidad and Tobago in June 2008.

He said: "When I led the side in Trinidad, it was one of the proudest days of my life.

"It is always a proud moment to captain your country and that was one of my best moments in football.

"If that chance comes again, it is always something that I will cherish.

"It would be special tomorrow as I have not yet won a cap against Brazil and I have been looking forward to achieving that for a while."

Comments (2)

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Sherron Charles (Manchester United fan) says...

It will be a great moment if on Saturday Wayne is given the oppurunity tolead the England side. It will be testimony to the player and personality he has become. He is a leader by passion and that is the kind of general you want on the football 'battlefield'. I see him being the long term captain of not only his country but also to Manchester United. Good go WAZZA!!!

Posted 12:51 13th November 2009

Mark Healy says...

Go on Rooney, you can do that job standing on your head you desrve it :0)

Posted 12:38 13th November 2009
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