The English obsession with who wears the captain’s armband is unique in the world of football.
So says Gary Lineker at least. “Other nations still regard the captaincy as very important,” the 80-cap forward said. “But they don’t quite get our obsession with the role on the pitch.”
This hefty weight is perhaps a consequence of the popularity of cricket, where the captain is tasked with far more integral decisions than their footballing equivalents. After all, England’s first-ever captain, Cuthbert John Ottaway, was a revered cricketer as well.
Lineker captained England on 18 occasions but none of those came during his three-year stint at Barcelona. In fact, precious few individuals have ever led out the Three Lions while playing for a club outside of England or the British Isles.
Here is the select group to have taken on the suffocating burden while playing overseas.
Total caps: 63
International career: 1972 – 1982
The only English player to ever win the Ballon d’Or twice was voted the best player in the world after leaving familiar shores to join Hamburg in 1977.
Keegan had been made England captain while he was still at Liverpool and retained the armband throughout his time in Germany. Even after a shock move to middling Southampton in 1980, Keggy was still the nation’s skipper.
Poignantly, Keegan’s final cap for his country was his only ever World Cup appearance, missing a glaring chance as Spain knocked England out of the tournament in 1982.
Total caps: 84
International career: 1976 – 1986
Ray Wilkins, one of the first English players to wholeheartedly adopt a foreign culture during his cherished time with AC Milan, captained England in the buildup to the 1986 World Cup before handing the armband to the returning Bryan Robson at the tournament.
In Mexico, Wilkins became the first England international to ever get sent off at a World Cup against Morocco but has forever been remembered as a gentleman of the game – particularly in Milan.
Total caps: 62
International career: 1989 – 1996
David Platt soaked up the Italian lifestyle during his time at Juventus and Sampdoria, taking it with him when he went back to England with the national team and in his managerial career.
David Johnson, a striker for Nottingham Forest signed by Platt, recalled: “He was always immaculately dressed, everything had his initials on, he would drink £200 bottles of red wine.”
Total caps: 53
International career: 1992 – 2000
If circumstance had allowed, Paul Ince may have earned many more caps as an Inter player. A fixture of Manchester United’s double-winning team in 1994, Ince moved to Serie A at its zenith the following year but was forced to return to the Premier League at the behest of his wife Claire who wanted his son Tom in an English school.
“I was devastated,” Ince reflected years later. By his own account of events, so was Inter’s president Massimo Moratti.
Total caps: 115
International career: 1996 – 2009
In 2006, David Beckham became the first English player to ever captain their nation at a World Cup while playing outside of Britain.
The then-Real Madrid player scored the only goal in the last-16 victory over Ecuador with a trademark free-kick but was subbed off long before Portugal knocked the Three Lions out in the next round via a penalty shootout.
Total caps: 89
International career: 1998 – 2008
Aged a tender 22, Michael Owen became the second-youngest captain in the history of England’s men’s team in 2002, with only the legendary Bobby Moore a more junior skipper.
Owen was still at Liverpool when Sven-Goran Eriksson delivered the “complete surprise” by temporarily handing Beckham’s armband to the nippy forward. Owen’s only outings as captain occurred when Beckham, his Real Madrid teammate, was injured.
Total caps: 75
International career: 2008 – 2017
Joe Hart only captained England twice, once at Manchester City and again during his single-season loan with Torino.
Club president Urbano Cairo admitted: “We probably didn’t expect so many mistakes from an England international,” before meekly offering, “but he did some good things, too.”
Total caps: 44
International career: 2017 – present
As is so often the case for any player in any position to join Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, Kieran Trippier honed his defensive skills in the Spanish capital.
“In the Premier League, I was too eager to get forward. I feel like here, my understanding of when to go forward, when to defend, my positioning, has been helped a lot,” Trippier admitted.
This added security increased his appeal to international boss Gareth Southgate, a manager whose hand constantly hovers over the handbrake.
Total caps: 86
International career: 2015 – present
No England captain has ever scored more goals while wearing the armband than Harry Kane, who surpassed a half-century of strikes as skipper in 2023.
After racking up his first 84 caps as a Tottenham Hotspur player, Kane’s first international outing after moving to Bayern Munich brought an end to a six-game scoring run for England in September. Yet, the move to Bavaria had not robbed Kane of his prolific edge; three days later, he scored against Scotland.
Total caps: 79
International career: 2010 – present
The former Liverpool skipper was booed on his first appearance as England captain after a controversial move to Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia during the summer of 2023.
Despite the clear inference that Henderson was far too willing to park his supposed beliefs about equality for a hefty pay packet in the kingdom, Southgate was baffled by the boos.
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