“The more captains you have on the field the better” (soccer adage)

A soccer team has the positions of “captain” and “vice-captain.” A general adage is that it’s better for a team to have its captains playing on the field.
 
“I’ve said many times that the more captains you have on the pitch the better it is for the team” was cited in 2008. “It’s the old adage; the more captains you have out there the better it is for the club” was cited in 2015. It’s not known who originated the adage.
 
   
Wikipedia: Captain (association football)
The team captain of an association football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team: it is often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game. The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband.
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Vice-captain
A vice-captain (or assistant captain) is a player that is expected to captain the side when the club’s captain is not included in the starting eleven, or if, during a game, the captain is substituted or sent off. Often the vice-captain is appointed the new club captain upon the departure of the incumbent, such as Iker Casillas taking over from Raúl González at Real Madrid and Philipp Lahm succeeding Mark van Bommel at Bayern Munich.
   
Sky Sports
Rio relaxed on captaincy
Rio Ferdinand has played down his chances of being named the permanent England captain.

By Lewis Rutledge
Last Updated: 29/06/08 5:27pm
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“I’ve said many times that the more captains you have on the pitch the better it is for the team.”
 
Seattle (WA) Times
Originally published March 2, 2011 at 7:04 PM | Page modified March 2, 2011 at 10:56 PM
Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit took unusual path to MLS
Jay DeMerit, a 31-year-old World Cup veteran, will provide leadership as captain of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

By Joshua Mayers
Seattle Times staff reporter
VANCOUVER, B.C. — The story of Jay DeMerit’s road to stardom reads like a Hollywood screenplay.
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“A lot has been said about captaincy and things like that, but the more captains you have on the field the better,” DeMerit said.
 
Twitter
Zack Arceneaux
‏@ZackArceneaux
#soccer101withjed the more captains u hav on your team the more goals u will score
6:09 PM - 2 Sep 2013
   
The Mag (Newcastle UTD)
How Many Newcastle Captains Do We Need?
The position of Newcastle Captain is a great honour but who is capable of wearing the armband?

Wednesday 4th December 2013 by Stuart Latimer
It’s said in football that the more Captains you have on the pitch the better you are and you need five in your side to win the League, so how many Newcastle Captains can you spot?.
 
Newcastle have 4 or 5 most games and their experience and leadership are hallmarks of the side.
 
Clarets Mad (Burnley FC)
All things being considered we’ll definitely take the point
Feature by Tony Scholes
Updated Saturday, 8th August 2015
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“Michael Keane, I believe, will grow into that in the future and we still want David Jones to play as a captain. It’s the old adage; the more captains you have out there the better it is for the club.”