Wales begin their Euro 2024 qualification campaign with a double header against Croatia and Latvia over the international break; Aaron Ramsey will captain his country following Gareth Bale's retirement following the World Cup
Monday 20 March 2023 16:07, UK
There was a frank admission by Aaron Ramsey to a question I asked him about how close he had come to calling it a day on football after Wales' exit from the World Cup. "It was difficult after the World Cup - things went through my mind."
While Gareth Bale retired, Ramsey clearly went through significant reflection on where he wanted his future to go. He could well have retired, and while the impact for Wales no longer having Bale will be great, to lose both Bale and Ramsey would have been extraordinarily challenging.
To compare, imagine Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson or Raheem Stirling all retiring from England duty at the same time. It's a lot of experience, goals and talent to lose in one go.
So why Ramsey as captain, and what will he bring? Ramsey was seen as captaincy material 12 years ago by the late Gary Speed. He appointed Ramsey as Wales skipper when he was only 20 years old; he saw something then, albeit at a very young age.
Ramsey would be succeeded in the role in 2012 by Ashley Williams, but he has remained part of a senior leadership group within the Wales set-up. Ramsey is not the next cab on the rank, he is the natural successor given the fact he has committed to playing for Wales and at a high level with his club Nice in Ligue 1.
He has the experience and knowhow, but will do the job very differently from Bale. Ramsey is a different character, outwardly quieter, softly spoken. A slight shift perhaps in approach.
That, I'm sure, will help Rob Page with his ambition for the 'post-Bale-era Wales' as he has made some significant changes to his backroom staff following the World Cup. A subtle shake-up and freshening up.
Ramsey's club career has been one of some debate over recent years. First it was: would he stay at Arsenal? Then Juventus, where at one stage he looked settled and in-form, to then moving out on the fringes and ultimately a loan to Rangers. But is he now at last settled at a club?
He only joined Nice three months before Wales played at Qatar 2022, but it appears his decision to accept the Wales captaincy and keep playing is down to the environment he works and lives in. As he put it: "The south of France isn't the worst place in the world to play your football!"
Nice allowed Ramsey to take extra time away from football after the World Cup. Ramsey tacitly admitted he needed "to be a dad and a husband," and the French club gave him that breathing space. It appears to be paying off.
Nice are going well, Ramsey is playing and training well and clearly doesn't intend to call time on his playing career just yet.
And then there is the pride in captaining your country. Ramsey could have trotted out the much-used lines about being 'proud' and 'over the moon'. Instead he described having a meal with his wife after being asked to become Wales captain as "tasting much better'" and then a swelling of pride as he described telling his children he was the 'captain of Wales' and their reaction. He didn't have to share that, yet he chose to.
So it's 'Take Two' for Aaron Ramsey when it comes to being the permanent Wales skipper, but his understated demeanour and undoubted ability may well work with how the manager wants a younger Wales team to evolve and move on from a team that was so dominated - understandably so - by Gareth Bale.
