Top 10 Captains

What makes a good captain?

First of all you need to be able to lead as being a captain is about being able to lead a group and command a group of individuals.

You also need to have a personality, be vocal, take control of situations and be someone who your teammates can trust.

Not every every captain is vocal or a big personality as they all like to lead in a different way due to the different characters they are.

Some leaders like to bark out orders on the pitch whereas some set an example with their performances on the pitch.

Steven Gerrard was certainly one who set an example with his performances on the pitch with his performance in the 2005 Champions League being one example where he did as he took the game by the scruff of the neck and single-handedly inspired Liverpool to pull off the most unlikely of comebacks. He did this with his leadership as well as his playing abilities.

Gerrard unfortunately isn't on the list and doing it wasn't straight forward as there have been so many great captains throughout the modern era but not all of them could be included.

Tony Adams, Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville, Vincent Kompany and Gianluigi Buffon are among the great names that missed out along with Gerrard.

Now here is the list:

Carles Puyol

Sergio Ramos

Paolo Maldini

Roy Keane

John Terry

Philipp Lahm

Thiago Silva

Patrick Vieira

Iker Casillas

Diego Godin

10. Diego Godin

Godin was one of the best central defenders in Europe on his day and he was also a brilliant leader by being vocal, organising his defence and showing authority with his performances on the pitch.

He was captain of both Atletico Madrid and Uruguay for a number of seasons and his leadership on the pitch was one of the reasons why both teams were very strong defensively.

I had to have him down in 10th because he didn't win as much as the other players on the list and was mostly a vice captain at Atletico with Gabi being the main captain.

But he was still a good captain whenever he wore the armband for both club and country.

9. Thiago Silva

Silva was captain of both PSG and Brazil for many years and was a leader who was vocal and had a calm persona about him.

He also captained Chelsea where both his leadership and experience was massively beneficial for the younger players in the team.

His leadership at the back played a key role in the many titles he won at PSG alongside his all-round solid defensive displays.

8. Iker Casillas

Casillas was captain of both Real Madrid and Spain for a good few years and achieved a lot of success with both.

He captained Spain to two Euros and a World Cup and Real Madrid to two Copa Del Rey's, a La Liga title and the Champions League.

He was a leader who would organise his defence by telling his defenders where they needed to be and he was also a calm presence in that department also.

Being that calm persona and that organiser at the back was key to success he achieved with both Spain and Real Madrid.

7. Patrick Vieira

Vieira was a leader who was vocal, authoritative and a big personality on the pitch as he would bark out orders to his teammates, was passionate and would take control of situations.

He became Arsenal captain after Tony Adams retired and he stepped into his shoes with relative ease because of his personality and the commanding figure he was.

His leadership on the pitch was a major factor for Arsenal during the Invincibles season as he was determined for his team to see results over the line and get the job done.

6. Roy Keane

Keane was an exceptional leader throughout his many years as Man United captain as he was vocal, authoritative and a big personality.

He was a determined individual who had a winning mentality and you could tell with how vocal he was on the pitch because he was a player who loved winning games of football.

He set both himself and his team high standards throughout his time at United and they achieved a lot of success because of this.

5. John Terry

Terry was both a great defender and a great leader as he was vocal, could organise his defence and set an example with his performances on the pitch.

He would tells his defenders where they would need to be in certain situations, take control of situations and was a determined individual with a winning mentality.

He was instrumental to every success he achieved with Chelsea because of his leadership on the pitch as well as his all-round solid defensive displays.

4. Carles Puyol

Puyol was captain of Barcelona for many years where he won everything on offer multiple times including six La Liga titles and three Champions League's.

He was a captain who was vocal, lead by example with his performances on the pitch and determined as he was a born winner with a winning mentality.

His leadership at the back was crucial to every success he achieved at Barca as he would tell players where they would need to be in certain situations and make the players around him better.

3. Paolo Maldini

Maldini spent his entire career at AC Milan and captained them for many years winning every trophy on offer including multiple Serie A titles and Champions League's.

As a captain he was vocal, a calm persona, led by example with his performances on the pitch and determined to win games of football due to the winning mentality he had.

He would tell players what positions to take up in certain situations, keep a level head when his team were on the back foot and step up and deliver authoritative performances when his team needed someone to.

His leadership played a key role in everything success he achieved at Milan alongside his all-round solid displays.

2. Sergio Ramos

Ramos was a captain who was passionate, determined, vocal and someone who lead by example with his performances on the pitch.

He was desperate for his team to win football matches through his determination and his passion, would tell his fellow defenders where what positions to take up in certain situations and would take control of situations.

He captained Real Madrid to three straight Champions League's from 2016 to 2018 and his leadership played a key role in each success as well as his all-round performances on the pitch.

1. Philipp Lahm

Lahm had to be my no.1 because he was an exceptional captain for both Bayern Munich and Germany and in my opinion had an overall bigger influence on his team.

He was a captain who was vocal, could organise his defence, lead by example with his performances on the pitch, and he also had the trust of his teammates.

He would tell his fellow defenders what positions to take up in certain situations by being vocal and an organiser of his defence, and he would take control of situations when his team needed someone to.

His leadership was crucial to every success he achieved with Bayern Munich and to Germany's World Cup win in 2014.

MY TOP 10:

1. Philipp Lahm

2. Sergio Ramos

3. Paolo Maldini

4. Carles Puyol

5. John Terry

6. Roy Keane

7. Patrick Vieira

8. Iker Casillas

9. Thiago Silva

10. Diego Godin