Leeds United boss, Marcelo Bielsa, has said he lets the players choose their captain.
While some managers will deliberate over who is handed the armband and chop and change over the course of a season, Bielsa does not play a part in the decision-making process, instead leaving it to his players.
“The captains in the case of the teams I manage, the players chose the captain because the captain is a leader, he is the one who conducts his team-mates,” Bielsa explained. “There’s nothing better than for the players themselves to choose who is going to conduct their behaviour than the one they chose.”
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Bielsa has sung Liam Cooper’s leadership praises on many occasions, but identified a crucial trait that Luke Ayling possesses ahead of his stint with the armband.
“Ayling has all the capabilities to be a leader and a conductor for the team,” he continued. “For me, he has the most important virtue. He doesn’t speak too much and he acts in the way it should be. He leads by example.”