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Capello gives armband to Terry

19/08/2008

Chelsea skipper John Terry has been named as the permanent England captain by manager Fabio Capello.

In an announcement at the team's Watford training base, fellow central defender Rio Ferdinand has been named as the vice-captain despite many pundits tipping the Manchester United star for the armband.

The move means Terry retains the position he held under former head coach Steve McClaren, despite Capello's desire to try out a range of players in the captaincy role in his first few matches in charge.

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard and former captain David Beckham also wore the armband under Capello.

However, the coach pointed to Terry's "big personality" as a reason for selecting the 27-year-old above his peers.

"Rio played well when he was the captain," Capello explained.

"It was not easy for me to choose because they are both very good players. I chose John but Rio is still very important to the team."

Terry says retaining the captaincy "means the world" to him, but said it had come as something of a surprise because he had heard the rumours that Ferdinand was the front-runner.

"To get the armband back is a huge achievement for me and I'm very proud," he said.

"[I found out] about an hour ago, just after training. The manager called the whole squad together and told us as a whole.

"It was a little bit of a shock for me to get it above [Ferdinand], because he has been awesome recently.

"But it is a great honour and leading the team into the World Cup qualifiers is a big incentive for me. I can't wait."