Liverpool have named a heavily rotated side for their Champions League league-phase trip to LASK, and the decision to hand the captain’s armband to Kostas Tsimikas rather than Alisson Becker follows directly from that selection.
Virgil van Dijk remains the club’s established captain. He travelled with the squad after picking up a calf knock in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, but Andoni Iraola has rested him on the bench.ADVERTMore
His deputies are Dominik Szoboszlai, Becker, and Joe Gomez while Alexis Mac Allister is considered part of the leadership group.With the Dutch centre-back unavailable to lead the side, the armband passes to one of the players who are starting.More on
Alisson is in goal, as expected, but goalkeepers are rarely given the captaincy in modern setups.The practical reasons are straightforward: a goalkeeper’s primary focus is the penalty area and organising the defence from behind, and he cannot easily communicate across the full width of the pitch the way an outfield player can.Iraola has previously noted that leadership does not depend on wearing the armband, and the club has not treated Alisson as a regular on-field captain even when senior defenders are absent.More
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