Captaincy Material? Eric Dier Probably Is And England Should Hand Him The Armband On A Permanent Basis
England manager Gareth Southgate had announced Eric Dier to captain the Three Lions for the team’s friendly with Germany on November 10.
Dier, 23, who had already represented England over 20 times, was given the armband because Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson and Gary Cahill—Southgate’s usual pick, were all injured.
The Spurs midfielder captained the relatively inexperienced side to good effect, as Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek made their international debuts in an entertaining 0-0 draw against Germany at Wembley stadium.
Dier became the 6th player to captain England under Southgate, who’s clearly very open to outside ideas and original thinking. While Kane is expected to lead the side at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, here are few qualities which make Dier a better fit as a skipper.
High Maturity
At just 23, Dier has earned 22 caps for England and has shown high maturity when compared to most of his England peers.
The midfielder is an established player in the side now and understands the game really well. Having shown a great understanding, Dier is approachable and is tactically smart, capable of communicating well with both his manager and teammates.
Versatility
The young Spurs player has an outstanding work rate, is dogged in defence, and runs for nearly the entirety of the game. He believes his best position is in central midfield but has unselfishly switched between right-back, centre-back and central midfield for the club and country whenever needed.
An intelligent footballer, Dier always puts the team first regardless of where he plays and tries to influence the game by making his presence felt. For all his versatility and selfless attitude, he is a big asset to have in the team.
Good Communicator
Great captains like Carles Puyol at Barcelona or Philipp Lahm with Bayern Munich were not one-paced screamers but were cool minds to handle difficult situations in the game. Puyol and Lahm have earned universal respect and in Dier, one can see the huge potential similarities to that of the duo.
The midfielder is not a star figure someone like Harry Kane but gets along with his teammates and forms strong bonds. The matter of fact is that the current Spurs team under Mauricio Pochettino is heavily stacked with England internationals, which makes Dier a perfect fit for the armband.
Emotional Control
Big captains and inspirational figures generally have emotional control in never letting their necessary passion harm the team. One such emerging figure is Dier; his unpretentious humility makes him a player approachable for everyone at any point in time.
Dier’s controlled altercation with Chelsea’s Diego Costa in the 2015 League Cup final was one of the numerous instances of the player standing up for himself and to protect his Spurs teammates. The midfielder maybe reckless at times with his tackling but rarely loses his calm.
If England wants to make it big in Russia next year, Southgate should understand the traits of Dier and make him the skipper to lead the Three Lions.