Alisson Named Liverpool Vice-Captain: New Rules Impact Armband

Alisson Becker has been promoted into Liverpool’s official leadership group as vice-captain – yet he still won’t be the man wearing the armband when Virgil van Dijk is off the pitch.

That is a deliberate call from Andoni Iraola, and it has nothing to do with status or influence in the dressing room. It comes down to a law book.

Under Premier League regulations, only the captain is allowed to speak to the referee about contentious decisions. For Iraola, that makes it a clear disadvantage to hand the armband to a goalkeeper.

“I explained to Alisson that it's not going to be possible that he wears the armband because with the new rule I think there is a big limitation if a goalkeeper wears the armband,” Iraola said. “Because basically, if something happens in the opposition box the referee has to explain to the captains what's happening, all the decisions.”

The solution is pragmatic. Alisson gets the formal recognition as vice-captain. An outfielder gets the armband on the day.

Dominik Szoboszlai, last season’s player of the year, is expected to step in as captain whenever Van Dijk is absent, with Joe Gomez – now the club’s longest-serving player – also part of a refreshed leadership core following the summer departures of Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah.

Iraola has been here before. He pointed to his spell at Bournemouth, where Neto’s status as captain became an administrative headache as much as anything else.

“I had one season with Neto in Bournemouth and then you have to start every game to say a different player that can act as a captain, and this is not viable,” he said.

So he sat down with Alisson and laid it out. The Brazilian, at the club since 2018 and now into the final year of his contract, remains central to the hierarchy. The armband issue is about logistics, not trust.

“I wanted him to feel like we value him,” Iraola explained. “I've had enough time and we will have more time to know each other, but I had to explain also the decision about the armband to Ali.

“Because he is a goalkeeper and unfortunately they are putting the rules in a way that there is a lot of disadvantages to having a goalkeeper as a captain.”

The shake-up comes at a time of transition. Robertson and Salah, towering figures of the Klopp era, have gone. Their experience and presence are not easily replaced.

Iraola doesn’t deny the scale of that loss. He leans into it.

“We lost a lot in terms of experience, high-level players who have performed so well for so many years here,” he said. “But I think it is also a natural thing in clubs.”

The response, in his eyes, has to come from below. From the next wave.

“I think we have a lot of young players willing to take those minutes and ready to take those leadership roles. Overall, I am very happy with the attitude of the players in the pre-season.”

The armband may sit on Van Dijk’s sleeve, or Szoboszlai’s when required, but the message from Iraola is clear: leadership at Liverpool now has a new shape, and Alisson is still right at the heart of it – whether the referee talks to him or not.