Iron Men - 5 Captains Any Teammate Would Die For

Picture yourself sitting in a dressing room getting psyched up for one of the most important matches of the season. The manager has given his instructions, discussed tactics and told you what you can and cannot do. It’s just you and your team now. As you make your way to the tunnel, you start to hear the crowd in a packed stadium. It’s a full house and the expectations are high. Nerves start creeping in, but you don’t want to let your teammates or your opponents know how you feel. In that moment, when you start doubting yourself and begin questioning your own abilities, you are caught in his sight. He fixes you with a stare that both says ‘don’t worry, you’ll be fine’ as well as ‘don’t you dare mess up’. From that moment on, you realize that you are in the presence of greatness. A true leader. A captain worth dying for.

These captains have imbibed the qualities that their clubs stands for. They live and breathe every single moment that they have on a football field. They are men that show few emotions, while stirring the very souls of both teammates and opponents. Colleagues fear them as well as respect them. They are ‘Iron Men’, with steely determination and courage that only a handful possess. The following are a select few from that handful.

1) Roy Keane:

Roy Keane

The physical embodiment of Sir Alex Ferguson’s beliefs, Roy Keane was a general in every sense of the word. Never one to back down from a challenge (or controversy), Keane would put his body on the line every time he stepped foot on to a football field. With the golden generation of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and the Neville brothers coming through the ranks, there couldn’t have been a better man to show them what it takes to be a winner. His defining moment was his header in Turin which sparked the Manchester United comeback against Juventus in the Champions League semi-final that set the team on their way to only a second ever European Cup triumph. Apart from the Champions League, Keane also won seven Premier League medals and four F.A. Cups during his time at Manchester United. He represented the breed of tough tackling, box-to-box midfielders that are dying out in the modern game.

2) John Terry:

John Terry

Captain of Chelsea and former captain of England, there can be no denying the leadership qualities of John Terry. Jose Mourinho put his faith in the right man, and as in his very first season as captain, Terry led his team to their first league title win in over fifty years in world record fashion, where Chelsea won the Premier League with the best defensive record in Football League history with the most clean sheets and the most points accrued. Apart from marshaling what came to be known as the meanest defence in English football, Terry would strike crucial goals with frightening regularity for both club and country, proving once again that a leader arises when he is needed most. Regardless of his off-field controversies, John Terry remains a towering figure of leadership on the field.

3)Paolo Maldini:

Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini is one of the most distinguished, longest-serving captains the game will ever see. One of the greatest left-backs of all time, and also more than adept at centre-back, Maldini has one of the most enviable medal collections in world football. He has won seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia and five Champions Leagues. One regret, if any, would be that he did not win anything with the Italian national team, though that does little to diminish his qualities as a leader. Calm and composed, he represented the basis upon which Italian football is played – a solid defence.

4) Stevan Gerrard:

Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard has been inspirational for Liverpool since he made his debut in 1998, no more so than in Istanbul, as his headed goal sparked the Reds’ comeback from 3-0 down to win the Champions League against AC Milan. Gerrard is the archetypal captain, driving his side on and providing moments of inspiration when they are most needed. Now at the age of 32, Gerrard is already assured a place in Liverpool’s history as one of the club’s greatest players and a contender for its greatest captain; the only thing missing is a Premier League winners medal.

5)Oliver Kahn:

Oliver Kahn

‘The Titan’, as he is known by his colleagues around the world, Oliver Kahn embraced that ability which came naturally to him – intimidation. There are few players in the world who could send a shiver down their opponent’s spine before a ball was even kicked, but Kahn did it everyday for twenty years of his professional playing career. His muscular frame camouflaged his agility, a trait that made him famous around the world especially when it came to saving penalties. Throughout his career, Oiliver Kahn won eight Bundesliga titles, six German cups, one UEFA Cup, one Champions League trophy and one Intercontinental Cup. His individual contributions have earned him four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards and two German Footballer of the Year trophies. At the 2002 Fifa World Cup, he became the first and only goalkeeper in the tournament’s history to win the Golden Ball.

Honourable Mentions: Lothar Matthaus, Didier Deschamps, Fernando Hierro, Stefan Effenberg, Franco Baresi.