Ferdinand Finds Out About Captaincy From TV

March 3, 2010

Rio Ferdinand admits he learned he was the new England captain via television and praised national coach Fabio Capello who he describes as ‘brilliant’.

Ferdinand replaced John Terry as captain of the national side following allegations about the Chelsea defender’s private life.

The Manchester United skipper won’t be able to lead out England against Egypt on Wednesday night through injury, with Steven Gerrard taking the armband for the final friendly before Capello names his provisional World Cup squad.

In an interview conducted last week, Ferdinand revealed at that point he had not spoken to Capello about taking over as skipper from Terry.

“I haven’t spoken to the manager yet,” Ferdinand, who has subsequently met Capello, told The Guardian.

“The team hasn’t been briefed on anything. We haven’t spoken to the manager, he hasn’t spoken to the players, he does it a certain way.

“We have to wait until we go with the squad. I found out I was captain from the TV.”

Ferdinand hails Capello’s management style and has likened the former Milan and Real Madrid coach to his Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

“Brilliant,” replied Ferdinand when asked what Capello is like. “He’s similar to the gaffer we’ve got at United.

“The best thing about him is he’s black and white. You know exactly what he wants from you before you go out on the pitch, and that’s what we’ve lacked in the last few campaigns.

“He says, ‘This is what I want, this is what I expect, this is what I demand’, and if you can’t do it, regardless of who you are, you won’t play.”

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