What an amazing rise to power. It was only in May 2010 that Scott Parker was considered too timid to secure a place in England’s World Cup squad.

Fabio Capello studied the then West Ham midfielder during that pre-tournament training camp in Austria and concluded he could offer nothing to his country in South Africa.

New man: Scott Parker poses in a photoshoot for FHM ahead of being named England captain

Not everyone on Capello’s staff agreed. Franco Baldini thought him the perfect alternative to Gareth Barry and given Barry’s fitness concerns, the then general manager of the England team would have had Parker on the plane.

The player himself, by then approaching 30, thought his chance with England had gone, not least because Capello had not even offered him the chance to impress in the pre-tournament warm-up matches.

But Parker responded by returning to West Ham and impressing week after week in the Barclays Premier League.

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