PARIS (AFP) - Fabio Capello has appointed Rio Ferdinand as England's captain for Wednesday's friendly with France in Paris, overlooking both John Terry's claims for a return to the role and the Manchester United defender's history of having been banned for missing a doping test.

In the absence of the injured Terry, Capello made Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard captain for his first match in charge of England, last month's 2-1 win over Switzerland and the Italian intends to rotate the role until just before the start of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers in September.

He had however been widely expected to hand the armband back to Terry and his decision to opt for Ferdinand instead will inevitably be interpreted as a snub for the Chelsea skipper.

For Ferdinand, the promotion to the captaincy represents a significant vote of confidence in the maturity of a player who missed the finals of Euro 2004 because of the eight-month ban he was given for leaving Manchester United's training ground when he was supposed to submit to a pre-arranged drugs test and failing to make contact with the testers until 24 hours later.

"It is a cliche but when you are a young kid, you dream of playing and captaining your country and I am able to live out the dream," the 29-year-old said.

"Obviously the manager is using a rotation policy, so it is not set in stone. But to be thought of in these terms is fantastic, not only for myself, but for my family and my club."

Ferdinand shrugged off a suggestion that some people would, as a result of his ban, regard him as unworthy of a role that has been filled, in the past, by figures like the late Bobby Moore, Sir Bobby Charlton and, more recently, Kevin Keegan, all of whom were rarely reproached for their conduct off the field.

"Everyone goes through ups and downs in life and your career, it is how you come out of those situations," he said.

"Do you learn from them? I think I have. I've matured a lot as a person and it is adverse situations that help you to do that."

Capello said he had had no hesitation in giving Ferdinand the responsibility of captaining the side.

"What's past is past," Capello said. "He served his ban and he has since proven himself to be a great professional. In the five days he has trained with me, he has shown me he can be an England captain."

Ferdinand's promotion could also be seen as a sign that Terry will not be regarded as an automatic choice in central defence under the new regime, and Capello conspicuously declined an opportunity to confirm that the Chelsea defender would get his chance at captaining the side in either of the two friendlies England will play at the end of this season.

Terry has not yet rediscovered his best form since recovering from the metatarsal fractures which sidelined him at the start of Capello's reign and Wednesday's team-sheet may confirm that he has slipped behind Jonathan Woodgate, who played under the Italian at Real Madrid, in England's pecking order.

Ferdinand was paired with Matthew Upson for the win over Switzerland but the West Ham defender is not available to Capello this time because of injury.

England go into the Stade de France clash looking to extend the positive start to Capello's reign that was made against the Swiss.

The match is also expected to be marked by David Beckham becoming only the fifth player to win 100 England caps, although the LA Galaxy midfielder is expected to have to content himself with reaching the milestone by coming off the bench.

Blackburn's David Bentley was England's outstanding performer against the Swiss and it would be a major surprise if he was not rewarded for that display by making his second international start in what was once Beckham's guaranteed slot on the right of the England midfield.

England's cause has been helped by a string of high-profile withdrawals from the France squad, with experienced campaigners including Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira missing through injury along with the likes of Karim Benzema, the prodigiously talented young Lyon forward.

It is testimony however to France's quality in depth that their coach, Raymond Domenech, has the luxury of issuing a last-minute call-up to a player like the Juventus striker David Trezeguet as additional cover in attack.

France will be looking for some form in the run-up to their Euro 2008 campaign and Arsenal captain William Gallas made it clear that the World Cup runners-up could never take a clash with England lightly.

"For all our players who have played or are still playing in England - and there are a lot of us - there is always that little bit of extra motivation," said the defender. "And between the English and the French there is always a little bit of an edge.

"We respect each other but, on both sides, we always want to show who is best!"