Vermeeren second youngest captain ever in Champions League: “Coach thought I should set an example” | Porto-Antwerp 2-0

A gesture that can count. In the absence of Toby Alderweireld, senior leader Ritchie De Laet, rather than Arthur Vermeeren, wore the captain’s armband around his left upper arm. “I talked to Ritchie about it,” said coach Mark van Bommel. “I chose Arthur because he is making so much progress. He can do it, even though he is only 18.”

“The coach told me about it during the meeting in the morning,” said Vermeeren. “He thought I should set an example on the field and lead the team. Not necessarily with words, but by showing that I wanted to fight for the team.”

At 18 years and 273 days, Vermeeren was the second-youngest captain ever in the Champions League. His colleague across the street, Pepe, was more than twice as old at 40. Record holder Rúben Neves was 52 days younger when he captained Porto in 2015. And to think that it was not much more than a year ago that Vermeeren joined the team at ‘The Great Old’. You can bet that it will increase its market value even more.