Fabio Capello has named Gareth Barry as the England captain for Tuesday’s friendly against Ghana. The Manchester City midfielder takes the armband after the newly-reappointed skipper John Terry was released from the squad following the Euro 2012 qualifying win over Wales.
“He’s a good player, a good captain,” Capello said. “He’s also the player with the most England caps.”
The England manager confirmed Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines and Andy Carroll would start at Wembley, with seven changes likely from Saturday’s victory in Cardiff. Capello also said Scott Parker would keep his place if the West Ham midfielder was fit.
The Italian insisted fans should not feel short-changed by England fielding a much-changed side, claiming fringe players need to experience the “spirit of the team”.
“I respect the fans,” he said. “It will be interesting for the fans to see some players they know very well. The players who will play will be really good players and I hope we can see the spirit on the pitch like in the first 30 minutes against Wales.”
Capello has been accused of inconsistency after claiming he did not think it was right to inform Rio Ferdinand he had lost the captain’s armband by telephone only for Steven Gerrard to admit he had been called by the manager to discuss the issue.
“Rio was the captain, Steve was the vice-captain,” Capello said. “I hope that over the next few weeks I will meet with him [Ferdinand].”
Capello also revealed he would back the Under-21 manager, Stuart Pearce, should he decide to take the likes of Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll to this summer’s European Championships.
“I will support him 100% because I think the players will be really important for the Under-21s,” he added. “Those players can make the difference.”