Cristian Romero is the new Tottenham Hotspur captain and it is a decision by new head coach Thomas Frank that will be as popular inside the dressing room as it will be among the supporters.
The 27-year-old Argentine has an honours list that most players dream of, with a World Cup, two Copa Americas, a Finalissima as well as that Europa League triumph all to his name. The centre-back trains like he plays matches, with fire and desire, and for every manager he worked for, Romero has been a key figure for club and country.
Lionel Messi once called him the best defender in the world and with the departure of Son Heung-min to LAFC last week, Romero will be the one this Spurs team looks to for guidance.
Those who have worked with the centre-back, known as Cuti, over the years all shared a similar theme as they told football.london that what makes Romero such a strong leader is that not only do his team-mates respect him as a player and person, but he also intimidates the opposition which for a young group is very important and sets an example not to be passive or overly respectful to anyone they come up against.
Another key aspect of Frank selecting Romero as his captain is that it puts to bed any suggestions that his future this season might lie elsewhere. When the Dane took over as head coach this summer, he called all of the senior players in the squad and only Son indicated a desire to leave Spurs.
Frank quickly took to Romero and could see his effect on his team-mates, even if fully aware that Tottenham would need better availability from the Argentina international and his defensive partner Micky van de Ven this season. The duo only played 26 and 22 games respectively of Spurs' 60 matches last season due to injury.
Frank made it clear that he was going to select the new Tottenham captain rather than let the players do it - something that has backfired over the years at Spurs - and the head coach had a clear vision for who he wanted it to be.
"I had a good conversation with Cuti, and he’s going to be our captain," said Frank. "He was very honoured and very happy about it. It’s a big thing and should be to lead this wonderful club out on the pitch, not just for this Super Cup, but also throughout the season.
"I think he has all the right qualities. He leads from his behaviour on the pitch, driving the team forward in every way, and outside the pitch he’s always pushing the team.
"I want a leadership group as well. Of course, one will wear the armband and be the captain, but I would like to have as many leaders as possible, four to five in the leadership group who can help, because it’s the same with me, I can’t do everything on my own and need a superb coaching staff around me. I will name that leadership group after the window to give me time to assess everything."
Romero seemed genuinely proud to be handed the armband by the Dane.
"I’m very happy to be the first team captain of the club. It’s amazing for me," he said. "Today, we (he and Frank) spoke before training. Maybe before the start of the season I’ve spoken a lot with him. He’s a good coach and I said, ‘thank you’ for this, also.
"It’s a big responsibility. I spoke with the players and tomorrow is also another big night for the club, for the players, for the fans, we need to enjoy this moment."
On social media, he posted: "Today begins a new season for us, one that is truly special to me. Becoming the first captain of this beautiful club is an incredible honour.
"I arrived here four years ago with a single dream: to write my name into the club’s history and leave my mark by winning a trophy, and I achieved that. Now, a new journey is in front of us. A beautiful season lies ahead, and together we will work to relive the joy of that unforgettable day, May 21, 2025.
"Whatever happens along the way, I ask only one thing: stay united. There will be highs and lows, but together, nothing is impossible. Come on you Spurs."
The replies underneath from his team-mates showed their feeling towards the appointment. The injured James Maddison responded with "My skipper", while Destiny Udogie said "Capitano" and Dominic Solanke responded simply with a "C" and a saluting emoji. Pedro Porro replied 'Que capitan metimos cheeeeee' which loosely translates to "what a captain we've picked, mate'.
football.london wrote last week about Son's qualities as a unifying leader. The South Korea is a talker and those within the dressing room say his greatest strength as a captain was bringing together the squad. He would be seen with his arm around anyone, whether it was another leader like Romero or a youngster like Mikey Moore or an even fresher wide-eyed recruit sent from the academy into a first team session for the first time.
Son would bounce between the various friendship groups, as a legend and a friend to all of them, and they naturally gelled together with him as their leader. During one particularly difficult period for Spurs, as negativity threatened to seep into the camp as the media hammered the club for their sub-standard Premier League performances, Son called a meeting with the playing squad at Hotspur Way. During it he made it clear that they had to all stick together.
It was seen as a show of real leadership at an important time and many within the squad saw it as a defining moment to galvanise a beaten, battered and injury-riddled side and set them on the path that would end with a trophy.
During Son's absences through injury or when playing at the Asian Cup, Romero made a concerted effort to step into that role as unifier.
"There's definitely a void there but with all these things there's definitely opportunities. That's where Romero has really stepped up," former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said last year. "You just feel it around the place. He knows that Sonny's not here and he knows what Sonny does on a daily basis. Sonny gets around everyone in the building and says, 'how you going?' and Cristian's doing that now.
"I can see that. In training he's a lot more vocal than he was in the past. That's the beauty of it. There is a void because you're missing one of your leaders, but for me, on the outside [of the dressing room], you're kind of waiting on, 'is anyone going to step up here? Because we're going to need someone to, or do I need to interject myself into it', but he's stepped up."
The curious aspects of naming Romero as captain are the two questions marks over Romero's captaincy which are also somewhat paradoxical as both come down to public communication. For Romero does not speak much publicly - he admitted that during his club interview on Wednesday - but when he does he often makes a big noise, saying things that won't always go down well with the powers-that-be at Tottenham as he has criticised decisions made over the years.
With the first point, a club captain is often the one to speak after games, particularly after difficult defeats. Romero does not do interviews after matches to either the English-speaking media or even the club's own channels. Even his chats with Argentinean journalists back home, while often containing plenty of big quotes, are few and far between.
Wednesday's interview about the captaincy, conducted in English for the club for the first time, was a step in a different direction and his language skills were excellent. There has always been a perception inside Spurs that his understanding of English was high but masked by not being willing to speak publicly.
Whether that interview is the start of something new will soon become apparent and if it's not and Romero does remain as the voice inside the team rather than outside it, then the leadership group to be built around him will contain plenty of big voices.
Guglielmo Vicario and Ben Davies spoke to the media on Tuesday ahead of the UEFA Super Cup against PSG, with Frank having told football.london earlier this month that he has already earmarked a role for the experienced Welshman among his leaders, even though no manager in Davies' 11 years at the club had yet done so.
That Frank is waiting until the end of the transfer window before announcing the leadership group perhaps leans towards waiting for some final clarity over Davies' future as he is now approaching the remaining 10 months of his contract.
There is also Maddison, who is set to miss much of the season through injury, but will be a voice behind the scenes as will Rodrigo Bentancur who, like Romero, does not give English-speaking interviews.
Dejan Kulusevski was also emerging last season as a potential leader within the dressing room and Solanke led by example for periods of the campaign. Some believe that Porro, while a joker in the group, could grow like Son into someone the team follows.
Yves Bissouma is as far down the list of captain candidates as you would expect despite turning 29 at the end of this month. The Mali international was left behind at home by Frank from this big European night after another string of late arrivals at Hotspur Way this summer. It is now the third season in a row that the midfielder has done something before the campaign has even begun to disappoint his head coach.
While in Antonio Conte's time at Tottenham Bissouma was not known for his tardiness, it was more about getting him moving a bit more with the desired tempo in training that would infuriate the Italian and his staff.
There is a new experienced player at the club in Joao Palhinha. The 30-year-old has not been a skipper for club or country in the past but will bring a wealth of knowledge to the group, whether he is here for the short or long-term from Bayern Munich.
Romero is the captain and others will follow his lead, both in training and during matches and he will need to deal with that extra responsibility. His disciplinary issues on the pitch have mainly been very much a thing of the past, despite having that reputation as a hot head.
Postecoglou said of the Argentine after the final game of last season: "Romero is absolutely important to keep at this football club. You just saw the way he’s been in the last few weeks and he hasn’t been fully fit to be fair with his toe, but you’ve seen he’s a World Cup winner.
"He is a winner. You saw that in all the big games we’ve had and the lads certainly respect him very highly. He makes them walk a bit taller, so yeah from my perspective it is a no-brainer that making sure players like him stay, because if he goes, who do you replace him with? There is not too many out there like him. It will be very important for the club to try and retain him, and retain him for the longer-term I think."
Romero's long-term future is the next question on the table but being the captain will only bond him closer to the north London club and how he fares under Frank will go a long way to deciding what comes next. First up is a huge test against Paris Saint-Germain and the new skipper had some words for the supporters ahead of his 125th game for the club.
"Enjoy this match, enjoy this moment. The last 20 years, the club is sometimes good, close to winning, so enjoy this moment. To win another trophy at the start of the season would be amazing," he said.
"It's football. Sometimes bad moments, sometimes good moments, but the most important thing is to be all together like this, starting with another big night for the club, then Saturday, the start of another season for us, the most important thing is to stay all together. We want to win."
