MATT LAWTON'S EURO BLOG: Yes, James is a bit eccentric with his Green Goddess fire engine and collection of Raleigh Choppers and Action Men but why can't he be Capello's England captain? It'd be fun

"It's not important what position the captain is, but not the keeper," said England's manager. "I prefer one player near to the referee to speak to him."

Which, to my mind, seemed perfectly fair until I watched that wonderful game between Holland and Italy in Berne and the equally thrilling encounter between Spain and Russia in Innsbruck last night.

Net gains: goalkeeper-captains Edwin van der Sar and Gianluigi Buffon embrace after Holland's 3-0 victory over Italy

The captain of Holland? Edwin van der Sar. The captain of Italy? Gianluigi Buffon. The captain of Spain? Iker Casillas.

All goalkeepers and, in the opinion of Marco van Basten, Roberto Donadoni and Luis Aragones, worthy of wearing the captain's armband. And then I remembered something else.

The captain of Italy when they won the World Cup in 1982? The 40-year-old Dino Zoff. Now Capello, as an Italian, must remember that.

So then I started to wonder. It can't be because Capello thinks his international contemporaries have got it wrong. It can't be because he doesn't think Holland and Spain, compared to his England team, are any good.

Judging by the last two nights, they're a hundred times better than England. It has to be something to do with David James. It has to be because he just can't handle the idea of making England's eccentric goalkeeper his skipper.

Let's face it. Capello has a severe form of managerial OCD. Everyone has to dress exactly the same. Everyone has to leave the dinner table at exactly the same time. That sort of thing.

Leader: David James (front right) jogs at the head of the England football team ahead of their friendly in Trinidad

So imagine if the hugely likeable, if rather scatter-brained, James was captain. He'd want the team bus to be converted from diesel to rapeseed.

He might even urge Capello to let the team travel to matches in the 1950s Green Goddess fire engine he keeps at his house and one day hopes to show off at country fairs.

Once, that is, he's had it converted to rapeseed. And he'd call for players to be able to play on their playstations when Capello has apparently had them banned.

To break up the boredom in international weeks, he might urge Capello to introduce art classes - being a keen artist himself - and even have show and tell sessions.

James could show the lads his collection of Raleigh Choppers, or his private battalion of Action Man figures.  

Personally, I think it would be great if James was captain. He's a terrific bloke and his pre-match press conferences would be hilarious. Come on Fabio.

Where's your sense of fun?

It isn't easy to cross the border between Austria and Switzerland and I blame the Von Trapps

I'll tell you what isn't much fun. Identifying the right motorway exit that enables you to cross the border from Switzerland to Austria and vice versa.

I drove from Zurich to Innsbruck and back yesterday (about 360 miles in total) and for the most part it was a wonderful journey. The scenery was breathtaking, particularly in the Arlberg region that is home to some of the best skiing in the world. St Anton, Lech. Fantastic places.

But there's something that is quite bizarre and something, having done a fair bit of driving on the continent over the years, that you don't find when crossing the borders of most European countries.

A lot to answer for: The Von Trapp family

There is no link between the motorway that takes you from Zurich to the border and the motorway that then takes you from the border to Innsbruck in Austria.

Which means you actually have to come off one motorway and drive down what can loosely be described as the high street of a tiny town before joining another motorway, that actually runs parallel to the motorway in the adjacent country for about 50 miles, on the other side.

Half-way down the high street is a border control with some border guards who didn't seem too keen on three English journalists in a Ford Focus hire car with Swiss plates. Apparently we looked very suspicious and had to be detained while our details were checked.

Driving away, I blamed the Von Trapp family. If they hadn't made such a song and dance about escaping over the border all those years ago, things would be much more relaxed now.