Source: Manchester_EveningNews
Captain's job suits Rooney
WAYNE Rooney would love another go at skippering his country. That's despite the morale-sapping friendly international defeat against the superstars of Brazil in Doha when he wore the captain's armband for the first time. The United ace was bitterly disappointed not to mark the latest milestone in his glittering career with a victory as England's second string line-up went down 1-0 to the the five-times world champs. New dad Rooney's honour came after central defender John Terry failed to recover from an ankle injury suffered in training last Thursday. And Rooney, 24 - he's skippered the Reds twice in the Champions League - is now looking for another chance to cement his place as Terry's long-term successor as captain. Delighted He said: "I am really proud to have been captain. I was delighted to get the job. It was a great thing for me to lead the England side out although I wanted the win. "You dream when you are a kid of doing that and don't think it will ever happen - but it has - and my family will be full of pride. "Fabio Capello told me on Friday on the training pitch that if JT wasn't fit, I would be captain. I wanted JT to be fit but I am delighted when the manager praises me. "He is a top-class manager who has won trophies and it is nice to hear." Rooney added: "I'd love to have another go at the captaincy if the chance ever came. But I wanted the win and I think we can play a lot better. They scored early in the second-half when we were a bit slow but we had a lot of players missing. "The first-half was quite even but in the second-half they were the better side and deserved the victory. "I try my hardest. That is the kind of player I am. I did not change my game too much. It wasn't going my way at times but at least I tried my hardest." Rooney reiterated his belief that England could overcome Brazil with a full strength side. He said: "When you look at it, that was probably Brazil's strongest side bar one or two but we had nine or 10 regulars not available. "Any team would find that difficult to overcome, missing so many quality players, especially playing against someone like Brazil. "But at full strength we definitely would give them a better game and could match them." ARGENTINA coach Diego Maradona has been handed a two-month ban from "any football-related activity" by a FIFA disciplinary committee for his outburst following the World Cup qualifier against Uruguay last month.
