Who should be captain?

[Daniel]

I guess the candidates are:

- Onstad: most experienced player, captain at GC

- McKenna: captain material at club level - already captain at his new club!

- Stalteri: has worn the badge on and off for the nats, rarely (ever?) at club level

- Derosario: most consistent player, both showing up and scoring

I vote McKenna, despite the fact he hasn't played much for us this year. He seems to be a born leader, captain whereever he goes (in the deVos mold).

Stalteri is too volatile and argues too much with opponents, refs, teammates, etc.

Onstad hopefully won't be on the pitch for WCQ and Derosario doesn't seem too interested in wearing the armbadn.

[Free kick]

You left out DeGuzman. I don't know if he has that in him. But he is the key to our success and you have to consider that when you choose a captain.

[Grizzly]

Julian DeGuzman: Best player on the team and his quiet manner is probably more effective with CONCACAF refs than someone more aggressive. He is also well respected within CONCACAF both for his playing skill and that he is playing in La Liga.

McKenna has not had a good half season for Cologne and was a very controversial choice for captain on Cologne fan boards when Daum chose him as captain in mid-November (Daum seems to change his mind regularly on who the captain is). He has played better since being named captain but I still don't think he has won a starter position on the MNT team, the CB spots are completely open in my opinion. I think the captain has to be an absolute sure starter and JDG is far more that than McKenna is.

I think Friend would be captain material if he becomes the sure starter at the striker position but until that happens he is also out of consideration. Onstad is completely out as he will probably not be our starter and may not even be on the WCQ team. Stalteri probably lost his chance with the red card against SA.

[VPjr]

I would put the armband on Julian or Jim Brennan if he was in the starting 11. Julian is our best player. Brennan is a natural leader.

[BrennanFan]

dero is our next captain. no doubt about it.

[Toronto MB]

While Julian and DeRo are probably the most vital parts of our team, I would not place any added responsibility on them by making them captain. They are both free flowing creative players, who seem to thrive off of the game's liberal movement. They are both artists with their football and I wouldn't want to burden that in any way.

To me, I am unprepared to strip Paul because of one controversial mistake and a poor performance in RSA. He has won the highest level championship of anyone on the team and he is the most capped player in the starting XI. He knows what needs to be done.

Next in line would be Kevin McKenna, who is a great leader at Koln and has been wearing the arm-band for them as of late. And previously for Canada as well as Cottbus I believe.

[Guest Jeffery S.]

I think DeRo is a good bet, though the little advantage we might get with Julian is that he now speaks spanish. Only I think he is too soft and since he is often in the mix and gets yellow-carded, he may not be able to speak out on how the battle on the pitch is being called.

[ballboy]

Guz has my vote with his solid, calm and cool display on the pitch. Plus he shows up and performs almost always.

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

I think DeRo is a good bet, though the little advantage we might get with Julian is that he now speaks spanish...

Beat me to it. Wouldn't under estimate that. (Wonder if he didn't grow up learning any Filipino? Had both Filipino and Chilean friends growing up and they seemed to be able to communicate juuuust fine).

Anyway, wouldn't give either the armband. Let them be. Big Kev, hot-head and all is the man. Pretty much a guarantee as a starter, has a good set of lungs and a long enough and positive enough history with the NT that at his age he just screams captain.

Giving Big Kev the armband might actually help the way he plays out there. Not sure the same could be said for too many other of our players.

(Brennan? Yeah, maybe. If he's in the side for the duration. Onstad? Back up keeper? I don't think so).

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Toronto MB

I would not place any added responsibility on them by making them captain. They are both free flowing creative players, who seem to thrive off of the game's liberal movement.

Some athletes ( in the same position as a player like DeGuz) take it as a slight if they are overlooked for for these kind of things.

[CanadianSwede]

I'm liking De Ro. He is a confident player who i believe has a lot of leadership ability. He doesn't lose his cool like Stalteri. We don't need a captain losing his temper and throwing water bottles everywhere. I'm not taking a shot at Stalteri. He is a good player, and his passion is needed. But with CONCACAF refs you need a guy with a stiff upper lip. De ro shows all the qualities of a good captain.

[youllneverwalkalone]

I agree Julian. Friend is a good choice too. But when Stalteri was ejected he gave (well, actually, threw) the armband to Hutch. I think he's going to be the future captain. I certainly don't have a problem with that either. It's hard to know the dynamics from here. With the exception of Friend and McKenna, all our guys seem pretty quiet. Not that it matters, just that it's hard to know how they interact with others.

I guess my only other thought on the matter is that Julian is finally playing well for the nats. Maybe he doesn't need the added pressure. Friend still has to replicate his sucess at Borussia. Hutch on the other hand has captained youth sides and is already very consistent (SA aside). Maybe he is the best choice.

[El Hombre]

De Guzman for me. With a team like this, I want a player who leads by example and not a player who leads by shouting. While they're all good lads, there are still some egos here and it would be harder to not follow someone who just goes about his business and gives it their all, all game.

We're going to get burned by calls and when this happens I think we need someone level-headed that's not going to go off the handle with the ref. Tell the ref that he blew the call and then get on with it. For me, that's Julian.

[The Ref]

I like DeRo as captain. He can move all around the field and contribute his play. He knows enough and is experienced. He can demand the ball and make good use of it. He is well spoken and I am confident the players will listen to him.

[gkhs]

I think JB is the man for now. Forceful but reasonable with refs. Respectable club career.

Julian is clearly the man in the future, but neither he nor DeRo has a track record as a captain, do they?

[redhat]

My choices would be Julian and Hutchinson. Julian speaks Spanish, and does not

lose his cool. Look at the semi-final GC game: did you see Julian go after the

U.S. player after the studs-up tackle? Now compare that with DDR, having the

"gamesmanship" jostle with Frankie Hedjuk, in the second half ... it could have

cost us a red card.

We need a leader who can also help us with the mental part of the game. No need to

lose your cool, we need to finish the game properly.

[Guest Ed]

I said 6 months ago that our captain emerged during the Gold Cup - Julian. He will lead us to Africa in 2010.

[Lomonty]

Hands done Julian Deguzman has esthablished himself as Leader and Captain of this team. He has the respect of the federation,teammates and countymen. Stalteri's times up, not a knock on his skill or commitment but he can't control his emotions when needed and it costs the team time after time. Julian getting the armband has to influence his brothers decison too, it would be a sign of the CSA finally getting its house in order.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Lomonty

Hands done Julian Deguzman has esthablished himself as Leader and Captain of this team. He has the respect of the federation,teammates and countymen. Stalteri's times up, not a knock on his skill or commitment but he can't control his emotions when needed and it costs the team time after time. Julian getting the armband has to influence his brothers decison too, it would be a sign of the CSA finally getting its house in order.

While I agree that Julian seems to be an excellent choice for captain, what does this have to do with the CSA? It's the coaching staff who's choosing the captain and I would surprise if the CSA had any influence on this.

Julian or Atiba would be good candidate. JB if a starter is another possibility.

[sstackho]

What do if (/when) De Vos announces his unretirement for WCQ?

(C'mon Jason... any day now...... please?)

[Daniel]

Oh, and let's throw in Hume, who was our U20 captain in 2003 (ahead of Hutch).

[Bertuzzi44]

Julian De Guzman!

Time to have someone who leads by example instead of someone who just talks (or in the case of Stalteri or Mckenna) and bitches a lot!

[Gian-Luca]

Not that it isn't a worthy topic of discussion or importance, but for myself I don't see this as a big issue. This will be (unless Mitchell unexpectantly pulls a Yallop & starts tossing away established players for those with no experience at all) a fairly veteran Canadian squad that will attempt to qualify for the World Cup, with the core of the players between 24 and 32. They will also have played at a higher level of play for a number of years than our previous Canadian teams. The leadership should come from the experience & talent laden throughout the squad, rather than just whoever is picked to be captain. The fact that there are so many candidates being suggested here is a testament to that. I think it would be more of an issue for me if we had a handful of veterans and a lot of promising youngsters with little experience that needed an important figure as captain to lead by example.

[jpg75]

What about rotating the Captaincy?

[Gordon]

The problem with Jim Brennan is that we all say "if he is in the starting 11". That is indeed an "if" and it reflects his relative status in Canadian soccer at the moment. Reasonable performance in MLS notwithstanding, he is on the downside of his career, and generally, if he were not in the final 18, it would not be a huge injustice, nor would it be a huge injustice if he did start. He's kind of a "tweener" imo. I also recall that last go around, his position was reported to be "don't select me if I am not starting". So I don't think he is captain material at this stage. I'd go with Julian myself, even if JDV comes back.