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Craig HillWayne Rooney hailed as future England captain
April 16th 2008 05:00
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been identified by England boss Fabio Capello as a possible future England captain.
Although the Italian feels that Rooney is still too young for the role at present, he feels that the talented striker has the leadership qualities and talent to succeed in the role of skipper for his country as he matures mentally and football wise.
Capello was quoted as saying: "I am undecided who will be captain for the next game and Wayne Rooney is very young but I believe in the future he could be captain of England one day.
"What are his qualities for the role? He is a leader, he is a good example on the pitch. Like I said, he is very young so we need to give him a bit more time to get some more experience and mature a bit.
"But I do believe he could one day be captain. He is the most talented young English player and the good thing is he has still got a big margin of improvement ahead of him.
"He is very good at everything. The one thing he can improve is the number of chances he puts away. He doesn't convert as many as he could but I am sure that will come in the future."
"What are his qualities for the role? He is a leader, he is a good example on the pitch. Like I said, he is very young so we need to give him a bit more time to get some more experience and mature a bit.
"But I do believe he could one day be captain. He is the most talented young English player and the good thing is he has still got a big margin of improvement ahead of him.
"He is very good at everything. The one thing he can improve is the number of chances he puts away. He doesn't convert as many as he could but I am sure that will come in the future."
It has to be pointed out that a naturally gifted player or the best player in a team does not necessarily make the best captain. Some players are at their best when left alone to concentrate on their own game and tend to feel burdened by the responsibilities of leading a team when the chips are down.
It is hard to say what the future holds for Rooney in a leadership role for England but at present, he simply does not have the temperament to succeed as a captain especially when under pressure. It has also been said that Rooney has yet to play at full potential for England bar his performances at Euro 2004; going long periods without scoring a competitive goal and his 'moment of madness' at the WC 2006 where he was red-carded for a stomp on Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho.
There is, however, no denying that he is the most naturally talented player in the current England squad and at just 22 years of age, he has at least another 8-10 years at the very top. Time will tell how many of these years will be spent as the captain of his country.
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