Fabio Capello has rewarded David Beckham’s good form and perserverance by handing him the captains armband for Sunday nights clash with Trinidad and Tobago. Capello went on to explain at great length why he chose to give Beckham the reigns for the 59th time and why he does it his way regardless of what the press or FA think:

“When I took over as manager I decided to choose a different captain for each game, and David was on one of the four players I thought of. David will be the last captain - but only for this game, but the appointment is not a political move. I work for the game - not the political side of things. The political side is for the FA and they have not suggested to me that Beckham should be captain tomorrow. There was no pressure put on me.”

Beckham who was publicly stripped of the captaincy as part of Steve McClarens failed masterplan to reinvent the England national side has reiterated his desire to play on for his country despite reaching the age of 33 this year:

“People will always question whether I can still play at this level but I want to carry on. I am not ready to stop playing for my country. I have a few more wrinkles now but I still feel I can do what I did 10 years ago.”

With Capello hailing from Italy the land of geriatric footballers like Paolo Maldini, Beckham may be around the England set up for many years to come.

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