Naming a Captain

Following the withdrawal of captaincy of David Beckham, England was in search of a new captain and in the end, Chelsea central defender John Terry got the nod.

The choice is not a surprise at all. Terry is the captain of the mighty Chelsea and has been one of the most consistent, reliable and dominating defenders in Europe. His good leadership, strong sense of positioning and timely tackles have often rescued his team in dangerous situation.

(Nevertheless, it was his failure to close down Peter Crouch in the FA Community Shield which allowed the gangly striker to head home from close range, giving Liverpool a 2-1 victory.)

In a way, the captain personifies his team. Every manager wants to find the player who shares the same quality with his team, the players who can lead his teammates to glory, and the player who can boost his teammates' morale in defeat. In Terry, England manager Steve McClaren finds consistency, reliability, toughness and determination, qualities which he thinks his England team should possess.

Terry's major competitor for captaincy was Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, a wonderfully gifted player who is known for his momentary madness on the pitch. Remember his two clumsy challenges within seconds which got him sent off in the derby match against Everton last season, the match in which he and Everton striker James Beattie both wore the "08" jersey, which promotes the city of Liverpool being, ironically, the European Capital of Culture in 2008?

Many wonder that given the nastiness of the two tackles, Gerrard should net a job promoting "capital punishment" instead.

From a traditionalist's point of view, the choice of Terry was a no-brainer. But for a non-sensical guy like Yours Truly, Terry isn't the best choice.

Yours Truly prefers someone who is extremely talented, exciting, entertaining as well as hot-headed. Someone who can thrill and pump up all the players on the pitch, and all the spectators in the stands.

Try Wayne Rooney.

Despite the abundance of talent, many fans believe that England is not an exciting team at all, playing a dull, conservative and outdated brand of soccer which relies too much on long balls.

Rooney is one of the best home-grown strikers in decades, but is also known for his temperament which got him sent off against Portugal in the World Cup Quarter-Final. With Rooney on the field, England easily plays at a higher pace, and his remarkable close control draws attention from extra defenders, thus creating space for his teammates. Yet when he is off the field, England has no choice but to revert to its old form with lots of long balls booted aimlessly from its own half.

In other words, he is the real soul of the England team.

Yes, he's prone to temperamental outburst, which is normally not a trait for captains. But should we be handicapped by the so-called "conventional wisdom"?

Throughout the history of baseball, countless managers have deliberately got into heated arguments with the umpires and got themselves tossed from the game, hoping to spark their teams' performance. And in a number of occasions, they succeed.

In June, a minor league manager in the US named Joe Mikulik threw a major tantrum on the field, which not only got him ejected, but also national fame.

And given Rooney's importance to the team, the risk (or the benefit you may say) of being sent off is duly justified.

Now if only Rooney can persuade McClaren to take the armband back from Terry, without trampling his groin area ...