Israel Saria
Eurosport
Coach Fabio Capello has named Chelsea defender John Terry as England captain for Wednesday’s match against the United States.
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Terry, who skippered the side under previous manager Steve McClaren, has been asked to again lead out his country for the friendly game at Wembley.
But Capello remains undecided on who will wear the armband on a permanent basis and admitted he does not even know who will be captain for next weekend’s friendly against Trinidad and Tobago.
Terry has recently undergone one of the most difficult periods of his career, having missed a crucial shootout penalty in the Champions League final against Manchester United.
He later admitted he has been “haunted” by the miss which saw Chelsea miss out on another trophy, having already been pipped by United to this season’s Premier League title.
But the faith Capello has shown in him will come as a fillip to the stopper, who is now a frontrunner to win the prestigious duty permanently.
Capello has shared around the armband since taking over from McClaren, handing it to Steven Gerrard on his first outing as England coach in a game against Switzerland in February before giving Rio Ferdinand his turn in the spotlight in Paris a month later.
Capello said: “The captain is John Terry. I decided before what happened [in the Champions League final].
“I think at this moment it is a good decision for John Terry after his not nice Wednesday.”
“I think he is very well. He has trained very well and when I told him he was going to be the captain he was very, very happy.”
“It is very important to be a leader and John Terry is a leader,” he added.
After the US game, England travel to the West Indies to face Trinidad and Tobago next Sunday – the last chance Capello will have to take a look at prospective new captains as he has indicated he wants a permanent skipper in place by the Czech Republic game in August.
England’s 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign begins against Andorra in September.
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