How are captains selected?

Question

I've watched a lot of EPL matches lately, and I've realized how awkwardly the captains are chosen. The captains sometimes don't have many key qualities, or assist their team much.

What criteria make a player more worthy of being captain than others?

Here are some criteria I considered, and their exceptions:

Popularity

West Ham's captain is Mark Noble who is a stranger to neutral fans compared to Dimitri Payet.

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson is injury-prone, and with an FPL score of 7, might as well be another benchwarmer.

Position

Manchester City selected Vincent Kompany, a central defender who rarely moves up the pitch, as their captain.

Arsenal has Per Mertesacker, also a central defender, as their captain. Being the slowest on the team makes him an unlikely playmaker. The previous captain, Mikel Arteta, played as a defensive midfielder, which is slightly more reasonable for the position criteria.

Communication / Chemistry

Manchester City's Yaya Touré is one of few professional soccer players from Côte d'Ivoire. Based on KSI's gameplay video with him, it can be said that his English is not perfect.

Tottenham Hotspur has their goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, as their captain, despite being the only French player on the team.

Are there any specific properties that make a player more suitable as captain?

Answer 1

The captain is usually picked by the manager, and it's up to him to decide based on what he thinks is best for the team. There is a lot of different reasons for choosing a captain, all based on different managers preferences. Some reason might be these (not a complete list):

1. Experience
2. Age
3. Leadership abilities
4. Position
5. Influence on others
6. Tactical knowledge
7. Good relations with the manager
8. Fighting spirit
9. How well a player is liked by the rest of the team
10. Pleasing the ego of a star
11. Years played in the team

Answer 2

Captaincy can be considered as a symbolic responsibility. Technically on the pitch, he's just another player who's subject to the rules. But there are some unwritten rules that he's also subject to.

He is expected to calm his mates when they get unnecessarily aggressive on the field. He's supposed to take care of his team's diplomacy (The ceremony at the beginning of the games is an example)

Also, it is said that captain is the player that other ten look at when things get out of their hands.

So it can be told that there are multiple factors about how a captain is selected. How long is he a part of his team? How's his relations with his mates, coach, opponent players, referees and fans? Is he respected and respectful? Can he act correctly when others can't? List goes on and on. The player that manager believes he suits the parameters the best, gets the captaincy.