Hodgson believes Rooney can be next England captain

London: England boss Roy Hodgson believes star striker Wayne Rooney can follow 32- year-old skipper Steven Gerrard’s footsteps and lead the England soccer team.

“It’s something he’s very proud of and something he wants to do. He does take playing for England ­unbelievably seriously and that’s a good thing for us,” the Daily Mirror quoted Hodgson, as saying. The Manchester United striker has jumped ahead of Frank Lampard to become the permanent vice-captain for the Three Lions squad. “Wayne was my vice-captain in the Euros, at least he was from the moment he could start playing again. Steve was given the captain’s armband and I made it clear Wayne would be the vice-captain,” he said. “Frank has come back in and ­captained the team, but I always had it in my mind that Wayne would be vice-captain,” he added. Rooney, 26, also welcomed the idea, and said he’d be looking forward to the opportunity, whenever it happens. “Of course I dream of ­captaining England to glory one day. As a young player, your dream is to play for England and, once you play, the next step is to captain your country,” he said. “I’ve done it now. It was a great honor and hopefully one day in it can be ­full-time,” he added. ANI