John Terry Stripped of England Captaincy

In a move that probably surprises absolutely nobody, England national team manager Fabio Capello stripped John Terry of the captain's armband in the wake of his alleged affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the ex-girlfriend of his former Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge.

The affair, which may or may not cause the British media to collapse in upon itself, has been headline material for almost two weeks, leaving Capello with almost no alternative other than to demote Terry from the role he assumed on a full-time basis in 2008.

In his statement, Capello put the interests of England first, issuing fairly straightforward statement.

"As a captain with the team, John Terry has displayed extremely positive behaviour. However, I have to take into account other considerations and what is best for all of the England squad. What is best for all of the England team has inspired my choice."

Considering nearly every four years during the World Cup, England finds itself ensnarled in some sort of controversy, Capello acted proactively, trying to nip this in the bud before it grew into a full-fledged media catastrophe.

Even with Friday's decision, it's doubtful the issue will go away quickly. Instead it will likely linger until England faces the U.S. in the first game for both nations on June 12 in South Africa at the World Cup. The Terry affair, too, provides England with an easy scapegoat should the Three Lions fall short of winning its first World Cup since 1966.

It's doubtful the fallout from the Terry affair does much to help the U.S. in its preparation for the match in Rustenberg. While it might be a major issue for the tabloids, it's hard to imagine that in five months it'll still be a distraction inside the England locker room, though that would depend if Bridge is included in the squad.

And even if England's now ex-captain had a wandering eye, the U.S. still needs to overcome a major talent gap, something that won't be aided by all the clever tabloid headlines and Internet one-liners.

The question for England and Capello now turns to who assumes the captaincy. Terry took over the role in 2008 and his status seemed unquestionable until the news of his affair broke. Despite a wealth of world-class and well-known players, England doesn't appear to have a ready-made alternative.

Reports have hinted that Rio Ferdinand may captain the team in South Africa, but his up-and-down form in the current Premier League season may hurt him, as well as his own personal history of rocky off-the-field behavior. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard figures to find his name in the mix and a certain segment of the English population will try to tout the in-form Wayne Rooney, though he seems a longshot considering his lack of discipline at times.

For some reason it's doubtful that Terry, who is married with children, could have used the old George Costanza excuse (when he was fired from Pendant Publishing in a 1991 episode of "Seinfeld" for having sex with a cleaning lady) when he met with Capello: "Was that wrong? Should I have not done that? I tell you I gotta plead ignorance on this thing ..."

Yes, it's doubtful that would have appeased the bespectacled Italian disciplinarian.