|
|
Aston Villa's Shay Given backs Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart for England captaincy
The Irishman uses Dino Zoff and Iker Casillas as examples to show that goalkeeping captains can be successful and sees no reason why his former team-mate cannot take the role on
By Michael Lightfoot
Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given has backed Manchester City's Joe Hart to take over as England captain after John Terry was stripped of the role.
Hart has now established himself as first-choice No.1 for club and country and has been touted amongst the favourites to take over the armband.
And Given, a former team-mate of Hart, sees no reason as to why he should not be a contender as goalkeepers for other countries have been successful as captains in the past.
He told Sky Sports: "It depends on what manager comes in I suppose because a lot of managers, for some reason, don't want to give the goalkeeper the captain's armband which I think is a bit strange.
"Joe could be a captain no problem. Dino Zoff won the World Cup with Italy and in more recent times Iker Casillas won the World Cup and European Championship with Spain so I definitely think a goalkeeper can wear the armband.
"Joe is very established in the England team as well as Man City and he's the first name on the teamsheet and that will be for the foreseeable future.
"There's different players putting themselves forward, but it depends how long they are going to be around the England squad and long-term Joe is going to be a big part of that.
"But it will all depend on who they bring in as new manager."
Make Your Prediction
Norway - England
Prediction Submitted
Most Popular Predictions
-
Norway 0-3 England
- 17.68 %
-
Norway 0-2 England
- 16.52 %
-
Norway 1-3 England
- 10.62 %
-
Germany must drop their gutless Bayern stars
The Bavarians appeared to buckle under the pressure of Saturday's match against Chelsea. Now Goal.com investigates whether several in their ranks remain worthy to start for country
-
Cartoon: Too big for Portugal, Hulk eyes Chelsea
Goal.com cartoonist Omar Momani gives us his unique take on the football news of the day...
-
Top five Africans to win the Champions League
Goal.com looks back at five telling contributions from African players who helped their respective clubs to Champions League glory
-
Giovinco claims Serie A Goal of the Season
The 'Atomic Ant' takes the award for his wonderful dipping effort against the Robur, one of 15 goals he scored in a record-breaking 2011-12 campaign
-
All the players available for free in Spain
With the exception of Real Madrid and Barcelona, all of the clubs in the Primera Division will be releasing first-team footballers imminently. Goal.com takes a closer look

