We've complained alot, England fans, about friendly matches. Everytime is followed by a round of managers moaning that its pointless having England friendlies, followed by pundits, and to some degree supporters about how they feel a bit of a chore.

Next Wednesday England run out at Wembley to launch their new kit, to prepare for the World Cup group game against Algeria by playing Egypt, their local rivals and recent winners of the African Cup of Nations.

Pre- and post-game rituals are very important. Among other things, the rituals teach sportsmanship and help set the tone for the game as well as for what happens after the game.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates— European champions Inter Milan swept into the final of the Club World Cup with a convincing 3-0 semi-final defeat of Asian counterparts Seongnam Ilhwa here on Wednesday. Argentine striker Diego Milito made one goal and scored another on his return from a five-week absence, as Rafael Benitez's under-performing side set [.

If the grapevine is to be believed then the Kops seem set to lose their Captain and mainstay Steven Gerrard owing to the string of bag performances by the team. Real Madrid seems to be the most likely club that Gerrard is eying for the Summers as he is hoping to be bid in the [...]

John Terry must be the cornerstone of England's World Cup 2010 challenge. In light of recent scandals, it cannot be as captain...

Bad boy captains don't sit well with sporting authorities. Just ask Shane Warne. Aside from being arguably the most skilful bowler in the history of cricket, Warne was blessed with a quite brilliant cricketing brain.

If John Terry is doing the lotto then he might like to avoid the number 12.

Not because he might lose, but judging by the luck he's had with that number in the past week, he'd probably end up being done for fraud.

You see last Friday, twelve minutes was all it took for the gaffer to get all disciplinarian-like with Captain Chav and strip him of his captaincy – his English one that is.

As regular Offside readers may (or may not) know, I also co-host a football/soccer show on public radio, which is also available as a podcast. On the most recent show, the four of us gathered around the studio table and attempted to pinpoint exactly what makes a good captain. You can listen to the show [.

I posted the rumor earlier today over on Twitter, and the Star has confirmed that rumor tonight, and that's that the Wizards have a new captain. His name is Davy Arnaud. Arnaud has replaced Jimmy Conrad as the captain of the Wizards. I'm not sure of the reason behind the change, but I personally have some questions about the move.

--------------"Umm... you say it took 5 years to build this?"
It must have been a great honour and a fabulous challenge when asked to steer such a slow, lumbering, lopsided mess towards glory in the United States – all the while trying to avoid likely disaster. He must have felt like the "King of the World"!

Robin Van Persie was made captain for his first start for the Gunners in five months, but he didn't get many chances to score in a very scrappy game. It was recorded that there was six shots on target but it didn't look like there were even that many! The best highlight would be the standing [...]

Another day of Arsenal transfer rumours, and we have yet another goalkeeper in the frame! The latest one is the Monaco keeper Stephane Ruffier, a 23 year-old who has apparently caught the eye of lots of big teams this year. The bad news is that Inter Milan, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs are also supposed [.

They Think It's All Over... on Rio Ferdinand's injury and its possible benefits for England.

The Cesc Fabregas farce has taken another twist today as the Arsenal captain has now back-tracked and said that he may not leave the Gunners after all, and he loves the club! Fabregas said: "I haven't said that I will definitely leave Arsenal. Everything is possible. Now I have my head and my focus on the [.

Steve Cherundolo has been appointed the new captain of Hannover 96. The Bundesliga side finished 2 points above the relegation zone last season so Stevie C has quite a task ahead of him. He has been at Hannover since 1999 and recently penned a 3-year contract extension.

There are two things Michael Ballack doesn't do:

i. Win tournament finals.

ii. Give up the German captaincy without a fight. Or a half-Nelson.

When Ballack went down before the World Cup, the band was handed over to that 12 year old fullback from Munich and with a good bit of success, in the process deciding he doesn't want to give it back.

As normal during the international break there's not much going on at club level so discussions on message boards tend to slide towards formations, tactics, dream signings and occasionally pornography. We're lucky that we managed to sign Van der Vaart at the last minute, not only on the playing side of things but he's given us plenty to talk about, not excluding whether his wife is now the best looking WaG at the club.

The young Englishman Jack Wilshere has been speaking about his admiration for his captain Cesc Fabregas, and how he hopes to emulate his success at Arsenal. He doesn't believe there is anyone better equipped for him to learn his trade from, and he would love to follow in his footsteps. Wilshere said: "Watching Cesc when he [.

The Arsenal midfielder Andrei Arshavin is captain of Russia, and led them to a crucial win over the Republic of Ireland this week, but a legend of the Russia side that won the European Championships, Viktor Ponedelnik, doesn't think he is passionate enough to be captain. When Ponedelnik won glory with Russia, Igor Netto ruled the [.

We've had 60 hours or so now to let Saturday's excellent result sink into the subconscious and come to terms with not having to hear about what an awful record we have away from home against our rivals and the other members of the Sky hierarchy. Thanks to the goings on at Chelsea we didn't really have the normal press coverage that the result and manner in which it came would've got but there was still enough to warrant some comments.

VILLAREAL, Spain Villarreal CF powered into the round of 32 thanks to a 3-0 win against NK Dinamo Zagreb. Two goals from Giuseppe Rossi and one for Marco Ruben left the Yellow Submarine top of Group D and looking strong UEFA Europa League contenders. The victory could have been greater had Marcos Senna not [.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil The captain of the Flamengo team that won the Brazilian championship in 2009 has been found guilty of kidnapping his former lover and trying to force her to abort the child she claimed he'd fathered, officials said Tuesday. Bruno Fernandes — known in the football world just as Bruno [.

ROME, Italy — Former Italy defender Marco Materazzi has confirmed that a meeting and handshake between himself and Zinedine Zidane in Milan last month did take place. The pair have had a long-running feud since the 2006 World Cup final when Zidane was sent-off for headbutting Materazzi in the chest.

MANCHESTER. England Carlos Tevez has filed a written request for a transfer from Manchester City according to British media reports on Saturday. The British Press Association says it confirmed the move, even though Tevez and the club have made no official announcement. Since his controversial move from Manchester United 18 months ago, Tevez has [.

MANCHESTER. England Carlos Tevez has filed a written request for a transfer from Manchester City according to British media reports on Saturday. The British Press Association says it confirmed the move, even though Tevez and the club have made no official announcement. Since his controversial move from Manchester United 18 months ago, Tevez has [.

Cesc Fabregas may be the captain of Arsenal in name, but this season he has been a shadow of his former self and has hardly inspired his team-mates either in his play or his leadership. But the fall of Cesc has been matched by the meteoric rise of Samir Nasri, who has been playing out of [...]

LOS ANGELES, Cal. The January issue of Outside Magazine is featuring soccer star Landon Donovan. In the issue, the L.A. Galaxy captain talks about the fatigue of performing at peak intensity, the difficulties of vegging on the couch, and the real advantage of being one of the top runners on the soccer field.

Arsene Wenger made eight changes from the Arsenal team that beat Chelsea on Monday, and they failed to beat Wigan again. But Le Prof doesn't think that that was the cause for the loss of points, it was simply that Wigan made it hard for them, and nobody took charge of the defence at the [...]

Is it time Arsenal had a new captain?

And if so, who should it be? Someone already in the squad? Or a transfer market move for the missing leader so many people have been craving?

This debate has been prompted by some of the points raised in response to Micky's "Looking Ahead – 2nd Half Term" post.

So Ledley King has signed a new contract meaning he'll remain at the club until 2012, at which time he'll be approaching 32 and probable retirement.

What a difference a few months make! I was one of the many who believed the club captain and only current graduate of our academy should be offered a "pay-as-you-play" type of contract before being asked to take a more active role in coaching rather than playing.