Rio's road to respect: From cradle to England captaincy

Even the Christmas party that brought just as much shame, three months ago, on Manchester United.

Then there was his response when an independent panel rejected his appeal against the aforementioned drug ban in 2004.

'I lost it completely,' recalled Ferdinand in his autobiography. 'I shouted "f***ing hell, why don't you just f*** me, all of you! You might as well. It's a f***ing joke. You are treating me like a druggie and I am not. Why don't you just go out there and tell the Press I'm a druggie, even though I have proved to you lot that I'm not.' Having committed the crime, Ferdinand was not too happy about doing the time.

And yet here we were in Paris on Tuesday, congratulating the impeccably-dressed Ferdinand on his appointment as the new, if only temporary, England captain. 'I'm honoured,' he said. 'And I'm living the dream.'

It represents a remarkable resurgence. A transformation, in the eyes of some, from a 'champagne-slugging, big-mouthed, trouble-making, drug-taker' to role model and respected professional. From a 'footballer without values' to successor to Bobby Moore and Gary Lineker.

Even certain members of the England squad would have almost choked on their lunch when Fabio Capello made the announcement. The same England players who threatened to strike when the FA banned Ferdinand from the European Championship encounter in Turkey, their argument being that their team-mate had not, at that stage, had a fair hearing. That night at the team hotel in St Albans, members of the Manchester United contingent even discussed quitting international football altogether.

Capello dismissed the past as 'the past', and would no doubt dismiss the accusation that he has applied one rule to John Terry and another to Ferdinand.

The Italian would say pretty much what he said on Tuesday. That he made his judgment with his 'own eyes', and the eyes that sit behind those designer spectacles see two very different players. While a slightly sluggish-looking Terry has featured more recently on the front pages as well as the back, the in-form Ferdinand's only apparent misdemeanour was a Christmas party he actually denies organising.

The denial appears to be good enough for Capello. 'From what I've seen in the games he's played and in the five days I've had him train with me, there is a very good professional in him,' said the Italian. 'I believe he can be a very good England captain.'

Even if a black England captain remains a rarity, there is nothing else particularly new about Ferdinand.

Tony Adams went to prison after a serious drink-driving offence and recovered to become a hugely successful England captain, leading them to the semi-finals at Euro 96.

But at a time when the FA are demanding more respect for referees and the England coach wants his players to be role models on and off the field, Ferdinand's selection still amounts to quite a statement.

Capello is saying that, while he does not do sentiment, everyone deserves a second chance. Or, in Ferdinand's case, a third or fourth chance.

Football does, of course, make allowances for the more gifted members of its community. Their value, in this era of the multi-million pound superstar, is just too great to take the moral high ground. But transfer fees mean nothing to Capello and the decision to ignore Terry, to the point where he has not even explained his decision to the Chelsea skipper, would suggest certain values still apply to the England team.

Ferdinand accepts that, just as he accepts the responsibility that Terry perhaps failed to recognise when he left his Bentley in a disabled parking space.

'I think I'd already realised the responsibility that comes with being a professional footballer,' said Ferdinand. 'It took me a long time, but I think I've grasped that now.

'Maturity is part of it. I've got a young family now. I'm not ashamed to say I made mistakes growing up and I might make mistakes again, although hopefully not as costly. I think everyone goes through ups and downs but it's how you come out at the other end. Do you take it on board and learn, and use it to your advantage?

'I've used things and learned from them and come out stronger. And I realise that respect is a big part of being in the England team. We're looked up to in society, so we've got to be role models and respect that people look up to us. We've got to show them the right way.'

He was asked, after the mistakes he has made, if he 'deserved' to be England captain. 'The past is the past,' he said. 'People move on in their lives, they mature and become better people through adverse situations. If someone does something wrong, do you shut the door on them totally? I don't think that's the right way.'

Ferdinand named Roy Keane as the ultimate captain and said he hoped to prove just as effective, both in 'leading by example' and saying the things 'that need to be said'.

He might just emerge as Capello's ideal man. Sir Alex Ferguson clearly thinks he could. 'He wouldn't have captained my side if he wasn't capable of captaining England, I can assure you of that,' said Manchester United's manager recently.

Against France on Wednesday, Capello can see for himself.