Question of the Week: Who Should Get the Captain's Armband?

The departure of Justin Braun, Rodrigo Lopez, and Nemanja Vuković, has left the Republic without a captain or apparent next-in-line for much of the offseason. With the official first kick of the preseason friendlies coming up this Saturday, the ICS staff decided not to wait for the team to announce who gets the armband and instead have our own say on who we think should be the next Republic captain.

According to a recent Sacramento Bee article, Paul Buckle is supposedly looking at Dominik Jakubek, Danny Barrera, Derek Foran and Ivan Mirković as options for the new captain. Although there is always a chance that another player could be chosen, we have limited our choices to just these four.

After reading our answers, vote in our poll and leave your response in the comments below.

Josh Beeman (@josh_beeman)

I believe I've said this a few times on Beeman's Republic, but Ivan Mirković is who I believe is the best choice to receive the captain's armband. He has been a mainstay with the team since the inaugural season, is a strong presence in the middle of the field, and is certainly not afraid to stand up for his teammates.

He has had issues with yellow card accumulation in the past, but I'm not sure that is too much of a problem. After all, Justin Braun got only 2 fewer cautions last year.

Evan Eyster (@IronPonyChef)

I think the answer to this one is clear: Ivan Mirković . He is a Republic veteran and (apart from the occasional card accumulation game or games he has missed) is always on the field. While there are other players with lots of experience that could likely fill a mentorship role, such as Foran and Jakubek, I believe that the captain should be a starter and be on the field as much as possible.

If Buckle is going to make the somewhat unexpected move of making Foran or Jakubek starters, I think the choice is no longer as clear and that is suddenly a new discussion to have. As it currently stands though, I cannot see anyone but Mirković  being the choice.

George Shiel (@GeorgeMShiel)

Now that Justin Braun and Rodrigo Lopez are no longer with the team, I feel that the captain should be Ivan Mirković . His leadership on the field and his competitive nature embody the spirit of a captain. 

The case could be made for the other candidates Dominik Jakubek and Danny Berrera. Jakubek clearly has great leadership skills and experience, but his lack of starts for the last two years hurts his chances. Berrera is a great talent and the heir apparent for Lopez, but he is relatively new to the team and for me his youth disqualifies him.

Mirković  can bring more energy and excitement to the team. I feel he would be a great captain.

Jeff Shunta (@JTShunta)

As boring a response as this may seem, the only logical choice is Mirković . Given the gutting that has occurred this offseason, Ivan is really the only player who has both the tenure and the production to back up such a selection. In fact, I am not even sure there is a close second.

Now that we've voiced our apparently unanimous opinions, let us hear what you think in the poll and in the comments.