Steven Gerrard: Fabio Capello consulted me before handing England captain armband to John Terry
Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has revealed that the England boss Fabio Capello talked to him before reinstating John Terry as captain of the national side.
Gerrard said that he was really happy for John Terry but admitted that it has been unfair to Rio Ferdinand after all that has happened.
John Terry was relieved of his duties in February 2010 when allegations regarding his personal life became public. He was replaced by Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand. The Chelsea defender was handed the England captaincy again on 19 March, 2011
as Ferdinand has been ruled out with a long-term injury.
Gerrard said that the manager’s decision should be respected even though he admitted that the situation could have been handled in a swift manner. He added that Capello explained his decision to him but the midfielder believed the England boss did not have
to do that as he was the boss and has the authority to reach to conclusions on his own.
“I did actually get a call. The manager spoke to me. He spoke to me and just explained what he'd been doing; he didn't have to. The manager's paid to make big decisions and he's made the decision and I think we all have to respect it and move on,” the Liverpool
captain was quoted as saying.
The England international said that he was pleased for his Chelsea counterpart on getting the armband and insisted he is a very good leader as he has shown that with his club in the past few years. He admitted that the decision would have definitely upset
Rio Ferdinand as he had done nothing wrong.
The 30-year-old insisted that the captaincy row should be left behind now and the focus should be on the qualification for European Championships 2012.
“The captaincy's very important and I'm really pleased for John that he's got it back because I know what it means to him. We can all move on from the captaincy thing now. Everyone's obviously upset for Rio because he hasn't done anything wrong to lose it,”
concluded the midfielder.