Thursday 19 August 2010

Captain Tévez

I've let this one slip by without comment: Carlos Tévez now seems to be MCFC captain. He was given the armband against Spurs, so I suppose it ought to have been obvious from there.

"I think that being captain will allow Carlos to show his personality more.

"It will encourage him to express himself more and I think it can improve the team. He leads by example on the pitch but also in the training ground every day.

“I understand what importance is placed on the captain in England because it is the same in Italy though often the armband is given to the longest serving player.”
Maybe. I don't think it will allow him to 'express himself more', or at least, it won't help as much as learning English might. I'm fairly unconvinced, I must say. I'd have gone with Vincent Kompany, who is vocal, mature, fluent in English and French (in Tévez's defence he is one of the few who can speak with Silva in his native tongue), intelligent and an obvious leader. Nigel de Jong would be a good choice for similar reasons, even if he lacks some of Kompany's presence.

That all said, Mancini sees all of these players in training every day, and I don't. He also sees their private interactions, he knows the social dynamics, and he will not have taken this decision lightly. It's just a surprise.

2 comments:

simon said...

I suspect the main factor is that Tevez is likely to play in most games whereas Kompany (though I agree with your assessment) will be in and out.

Mikeblue said...

Using the phrase 'in and out' when referring to Kompany seems strange as he has been and is likley to be our best defender for some time.
I agree he would have made a better choice as captain and more likely will be here for the long term, giving the role a level of stability that it needs. Sometimes you have to wonder about Mancini's reasoning.