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PARIS : Fabio Capello has appointed Rio Ferdinand as England's captain for Wednesday's friendly with France in Paris, overlooking John Terry's claims to be restored to the role he occupied for most of the unsuccessful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
In the absence of the injured Terry, Capello made Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard captain for his first match in charge of England, last month's 2-1 win over Switzerland.
But the Italian has said he will not name a long-term captain until just before the start of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, which begins with an away fixture in Andorra in September.
A brief statement from the English Football Association said Capello had confirmed that the decision to appoint Ferdinand for the France match continues a policy of rotating the captaincy during the friendlies to be played between now and September.
He had however been widely expected to hand the armband back to Terry, who was the regular captain under his predecessor as head coach, Steve McClaren, and his decision to opt for Ferdinand instead will inevitably be interpreted as a snub for the Chelsea skipper.
The move could also be seen as a sign that Terry will not be regarded as an automatic choice in central defence under the new regime.
The Chelsea defender has not yet recovered his best form since recovering from the metatarsal fractures which sidelined him at the start of Capello's reign and may have slipped behind Jonathan Woodgate, who played under the Italian at Real Madrid, in England's pecking order.
Ferdinand was paired with Matthew Upson for the win over Switzerland but the West Ham defender is not available to Capello this time because of injury.
For Ferdinand, the promotion to the captaincy represents a significant vote of confidence in the maturity of a player who missed the finals of Euro 2004 because he was serving an eight-month ban for missing a drugs test at Manchester United's training ground.
England go into the Stade de France clash looking to extend the positive start to Capello's reign that was made against the Swiss.
The match is also expected to be marked by David Beckham becoming only the fifth player to win 100 England caps, although the LA Galaxy midfielder is expected to have to content himself with reaching the milestone by coming off the bench.
Blackburn's David Bentley was England's outstanding performer against the Swiss and it would be a major surprise if he was not rewarded for that display by making his second international start in what was once Beckham's guaranteed slot on the right of the England midfield.
England's cause has been helped by a string of high-profile withdrawals from the France squad, with experienced campaigners including Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira missing through injury along with the likes of Karim Benzema, the prodigiously talented young Lyon forward.
It is testimony however to France's quality in depth that their coach, Raymond Domenech, has the luxury of issuing a last-minute call-up to a player like the Juventus striker David Trezeguet as additional cover in attack.
France will be looking for some form in the run-up to their Euro 2008 campaign and Arsenal captain William Gallas made it clear that the World Cup runners-up could never take a clash with England lightly.
"For all our players who have played or are still playing in England - and there are a lot of us - there is always that little bit of extra motivation," said the defender. "And between the English and the French there is always a little bit of an edge.
"We respect each other but, on both sides, we always want to show who is best!" - AFP/de
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