World Cup: England’s bizarre list of woe when it comes to captains

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The injury that knocked England defender and captain Rio Ferdinand out of the World Cup a few days ago could almost have been predicted back on Feb. 7. That’s when Fabio Capello, England’s coach, named Ferdinand captain in place of the disgraced John Terry, whose extramarital adventures led to his being stripped of the captaincy.

Before that, however, the list of England captains falling afoul of bad luck or bad judgment just before a World Cup is a long, long one, stretching back 40 years. Consider this list compiled by England’s Guardian newspaper: 1970, Mexico: Bobby Moore was arrested before the tournament for allegedly stealing a bracelet from a jewelry shop in Bogota, Colombia, where the team was playing. He was cleared of any wrongdoing.

1982, Spain: Kevin Keegan suffered a back injury just before the tournament began, missed the first four games and England was eliminated by the hosts.

1986, Mexico: Bryan Robson dislocated his shoulder in the second match against Morocco and did not play again in the competition.

1990, Italy: Robson suffered an Achilles injury in the second match against the Netherlands and did not play again in the competition.

1998, France: Alan Shearer was hobbled by an ankle injury all season leading up to the tournament and England’s top goalscorer had no impact in the World Cup.

2002, South Korea/Japan: David Beckham broke a bone in his foot, recovered in time to play but was not match fit and England bowed out in the quarterfinals.

2006, Germany: Beckham suffered an injury against Portugal in the quarterfinals, left the field in tears, and England was eliminated on penalty kicks.

2010: Terry was removed as captain after his alleged affair with the former partner of England teammate Wayne Bridge made international headlines.

2010, South Africa: Ferdinand is due to fly home on Monday after injuring knee ligaments during England’s first training session on Friday.

Steve Gerrard has been named England’s new captain, and the clock is now ticking.

-- Grahame L. Jones reporting from Johannesburg