The opportunity to captain any side is a prestigious moment for any player - but for Ben Godfrey, being handed the Norwich City armband was one of the proudest moments of his career.
The 22-year-old led the Canaries out in their defeats against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa earlier this season, but is keen to cherish the lessons learnt from taking a more senior role in the side.
Reflecting on his experience of captaining City, Godfrey said: “Captaining Norwich in the games that I did was a big moment. It’s definitely one of the proudest moments of my career.
“Not many people get the opportunity to captain a Premier League team at 21 years old, so it’s something that I’m thankful for.
“I enjoyed having that responsibility and it was nice.”
Godfrey has profited from Daniel Farke’s trust in young talent, with the defender one of four academy graduates to feature for City in the Premier League on a consistent basis this season.
A significant part of Godfrey’s development was his experience in the lower leagues, firstly with York City as a youngster, but mainly with a productive loan spell with Shrewsbury Town during the 2017/18 season.
“I was lucky enough to have those steep learning curves at 16 and 17 whereas some boys have to try and get a loan at 20 or 21 to experience those things,” he said.
“It definitely helped me as a player and as a person as well. The style and the quality is much better in the Premier League, but I still use some of the things I learned back then in my game today.”
City’s central defender was speaking on RisingBallers Instagram page, where he took numerous questions from supporters on a vast range of subjects including his advice to young, budding footballers as well as his toughest opponent to date this season.
Explaining how he retains his motivation as a professional footballer, Godfrey cites his family as integral to keeping him grounded.
“I’ve got my own goals that I’m trying to achieve but I would say, more so, my friends and family,” he said.
“There’s no better feeling than seeing your family at games just buzzing for you. Making them proud is a massive motivator for me.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here