Soundoff: What Makes a Good Football Captain?

By: Daryl | February 12th, 2010

capncrunch As regular Offside readers may (or may not) know, I also co-host a football/soccer show on public radio, which is also available as a podcast. On the most recent show, the four of us gathered around the studio table and attempted to pinpoint exactly what makes a good captain. You can listen to the show here. Turns out that the qualities of a good armband-wearer are surprisingly difficult to define. We gave it a good go, and words like “leadership” and “responsibility” came up, but in hindsight that somehow seems a bit vague.

I wondered if maybe Offside readers could do a better job. So, here’s today’s Soundoff question: What makes a good captain? If you can give examples of good captains and good captainship then even better.

Some Related Stories:

Category: World Football

« The Anti-Homophobia in Football Commercial the FA Decided Not to Show | Home | Daily Dose: February 12th, 2010 – Aston Villa’s Infamous (Unofficial) Carling Cup Final Song »

The Offside RSS Feeds

James

Al that video f'ng rocks! This would probably be the only good segment left from DeporTV (if I'm reading the little blurry thing right).
Al

I think this video says it all (it's in Spanish though)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

For Mexico, Rafa Marquez positions players, tells them to pay more attention, grants permission for free kicks and throws, hurries them, tells them to communicate more, and instead of celebrating with teammates after goals he gives them constructive criticism. He is an extension of the manager. This is really hard to see during matches.
Omar

experience with the close family members of your teammates is important as well as the quality to stimulate their ex-significant others
wob

Experience in the game is one major point. I have you been through many different situations you know how to respond to them.

Another one is the quality to motivate and stimulate your team members.