Terry named captain

John Terry has been named by England Manager Fabio Capello as permanent captain of the national side, retaining the role he was first selected for in Steve McClaren's first match in charge of the country, two years ago to the month.

The 27-year-old Chelsea defender, capped 44 times and who has led England in 14 games already, had been widely tipped to retain the captaincy, but faced strong competition from Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who was named vice-captain.

"I was shocked," said Terry when he was told by the Italian, who had used four temporary captains since taking charge at the beginning of the year, that he would retain the armband.

"I had heard little whispers that Rio had got it. He has been in awesome form on the pitch.

"It means the world to me to retain the captaincy - it makes me very proud and is extra special this time. I have 14 games experience as captain and now my target is to help England qualify for the World Cup [in South Africa in 2010]."

England will face Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra in Group Six of the qualifying pools. On Wednesday they host Czech Republic in a friendly before travelling to Andorra early next month to begin their campaign to South Africa.

"I will give everything," continued Terry. "We need to concentrate on qualifying. It is our sole target after the disappointment [of not advancing to the European Championship Finals this summer].

"I have shown what I can do on and off the pitch. Messers Capello, [Jose] Mourinho and [Luiz Felipe] Scolari have seen something special in me."

Capello hinted that it had been Terry's strong character that had won him the captaincy over Ferdinand. "When Rio was captain in a friendly he played very well. It was very hard to choose.

"John has a big personality - that's why I chose John [over Ferdinand]. Rio is very important to the team - he will be vice-captain.

"John will be the driver of the team. For the national team it is a very important season. We have to play every game like a final. I know the players better now - we have played four friendlies."