Manchester United will start its 18-19 Premier League campaign this Friday at Old Trafford against Leicester City. The Red Devils will do so with a new official captain as Antonio Valencia was given that role by Jose Mourinho less than a month ago after Michael Carrick’s retirement.
Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Carrick are the last five players to assume this role. As you can see there is a trend, all are European and this trend goes back to the 1800’s as all of United’s captains, before Valencia, have all been European.
Valencia will break this trend as he looks to replicate the immense form he had last season in his right-back role. There is a drought of talented fullbacks in the Premier League and in the world of football and the Ecuadorian player can definitely be considered elite in his position.
The 33-year-old has been playing with The Red Devils since 2009 and has already amassed over 200 Premier League appearances with the team and over 300 total appearances. Now he will be doing it as the official club captain of the team in front of a sold-out crowd at Old Trafford.
Leicester does not have the same spark it did in its magical season under Claudio Ranieri and should struggle in this match. Mourinho is looking to do important things this season as Antonio Valencia now serves as his messenger to try and convey his game plan to his teammates.
