It looks as if Cap'n Bobby may start on the bench, with his starting central defender spot taken by Sean Franklin. If so, does the squad get a new captain? And who should that be? Franklin is experienced and, as a defender, is not likely to be subbed out, so I suppose he is a candidate. But wouldn't it be rubbing salt in Boswell's wounds to make his replacement the captain? My guess: Marcelo Sarvas, with Franklin stepping up when Marcelo is subbed out (which may happen regularly since he's 35).
Yeah, I can see them in that role, as long as Hamid keeps his temper under control. Birnbaum is pretty new but he's not a kid (26) and has played his way onto the USMNT. Which means he will miss some matches, I suppose.
Yes, I can see it. I think he has leadership qualities and his USMNT call ups give him prestige. And as far as age goes, Perry Kitchen just turned 25 and he's captain of Hearts.
I am not sure I'm in favor of "a" captain - but Birnbaum seems the #1 choice for one of the main captains over the season. I like someone in midfield, but not sure I'd pick any one of those guys consistently. Not sure Jeffrey has the cachet Sarvas does, but also a strange temper. Acosta has better things to worry about. Sam and Nyarko will be running too hard to be wasting breath arguing with refs and barking orders at players Is there any real purpose to a soccer team's captain these days other than picking heads/tails? Are they the only ones who can question a referee's family's marital status without receiving a card?
Def not a high level (just high school, competitively), but as with any leadership role, you want someone who everyone respects. Hard to respect your captain if you don't as a person and player. Important too to be on the field. I think if Bobby wasn't getting benched, he'd still be captain.
I've always liked the idea of a defender captain. You usually need the motivation factor to support defense. Nobody has to yell that hard to get people to push into the attack!
Psyched to see Birnbaum get the armband. Solid player. Also good to see one of ours have a regular slot on the USMNT.