Yeah: for example, Real Madrid's captain is Raúl, then Guti, then Roberto Carlos then Casillas. All of them have been for a long time in the club. All of them know well the rest of the players, love the shirt and the badge, motivate and give example...
I think it takes three things to be a captain:
- You have to represent the club. Therefore you need a strong bond with it, may it come with years of service or being a young talent raised inside the club (Gerrard or Puyol).
- You have to give example: you're the one who never gives up, who is in command of the team on the pitch and is the right hand of the coach. It takes a lot of personality and strength to be the captain. Raúl will never ever stop running and fighting, no matter his team is winning 3-0 or losing 0-3, he will die every week for the team. Even if he's out of luck, he doesn't score as often or dribble as well as before, with a yell he can turn his teammates switched on, with a race towards a lost ball he can encourage the fans at Bernabéu... That's priceless. He alone can make his teammates perform much better.
- You need to represent the club well outside the pitch. Real Madrid's captain can never get caught in trouble by the press, let it be alcohol, driving @ 100mph, girls stuff... Neither can Chelsea's, United's, Liverpool's... Or at least they should not. He shall be the example for every child that wants to be a sportsman, should be polite with the press and fans, should be Fair Play #1 of the team...
This is the perfect captain. And it doesn't even matter that he plays regularly, as long as he travels with the team, is inside the dressing room and can give breath to the rest of the teammates. There should be two or three players that more or less fit these points to ensure that at least one will play every match.