Rio to skipper United in SA

Johannesburg - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has named Rio Ferdinand as captain for the team's tour of South Africa, which kicks off this week.

The centre-back was a shock omission from Roy Hodgson's England squad for Euro 2012, although that has allowed the defender plenty of time to work on his fitness ahead of the pre-season campaign.

The 33-year-old will now lead the team against AmaZulu in Durban on Tuesday and Ajax Cape Town three days later, and says the team will be all out for victory against the two Premier Soccer League clubs.

"You don't want to lose a game, simple as that, as Manchester United you want to win every match. You are disappointed losing games in pre-season," Ferdinand told Times Live.

"Each and every player wants to go out there and prove to the manager that they deserve to have a starting position in the team and all players believe that if you do well in pre-season, then the manager will give you an opportunity."

South Africans can expect to senior United players Ferdinand and Paul Scholes in the country this week, although Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra, Tom Cleverley, Ryan Giggs, Nemanja Vidic, David de Gea, Rafael, Nani, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck are all noticeable absentees.