HE has been overlooked for the role of England captain more times than he would care to remember - but Euro 2012 is Steven Gerrard's opportunity to be the chosen one at last.

Gerrard's 12-year career in a Three Lions shirt has featured four summer tournaments, 20 goals and 90 caps - but of those caps the midfielder has sported the armband just 15 times.

For a man considered a natural leader on and off the pitch, it is surprising that Gerrard has not been the obvious choice for captaincy up to now.

Making his debut against Ukraine in May 2000, Gerrard has seen Alan Shearer, David Beckham, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand installed as permanent skippers during his time in the England setup.

While his failure to get the nod in 2000 after Shearer's retirement is clearly understandable - Gerrard was still a wet-behind-theears 20-year old at the time - being overlooked in 2006 and 2010 will have been a hammer blow to the Liverpool man.

Peter Taylor's decision to appoint Beckham as skipper in the wake of Kevin Keegan's departure in 2000 was a curve-ball considering his status as a hate figure following his sending-off against Argentina just two years previous, but did wonders for England's marketability in terms of sponsorship deals.

Asuccessful World Cup qualification in 2002 under Sven-Goran Eriksson, including scoring at the Olympiastadion in England's 5-1 demolition of Germany, ended in disappointment for Gerrard as he missed the World Cup in Japan and Korea because of a groin injury.

Beckham once again skippered England in Portugal for Euro 2004, in Gerrard's most successful tournament yet where he started all four games and scored in England's 3-0 demolition of Switzerland in the group stages before a defeat on penalties to the tournament hosts.

Gerrard was up against Terry for the captaincy in 2006 following Beckham's decision to stand down after another tournament defeat to Portugal, but was overlooked by Steve McClaren, who went with the Chelsea centre-half.

In the light of Terry's annus horribilis in 2010, with the Wayne Bridge controversy, his public fall from grace led to renewed calls for Gerrard to be handed the armband.

And again he was snubbed, Fabio Capello choosing Ferdinand to lead the side bound for South Africa.

Gerrard ended up captain at the World Cup in Ferdinand's predictable absence - he was injured when Capello made the decision to hand him the captaincy - and further humiliation was to follow in Stuart Pearce's first and last match as caretaker manager against Holland earlier this year. Scott Parker was given the responsibility that day, despite Gerrard starting the match.

Perhaps Pearce had considered that Gerrard would not play the full game considering just days before he had been involved in a penalties win over Cardiff City in the Carling Cup final - and as it was, Gerrard limped off after 30 minutes.

However it seemed the natural, almost default setting for Roy Hodgson to hand Gerrard the honour, and the decision was accepted by all when England's squad was announced on May 16.

There were only three players that would rival Gerrard - Frank Lampard, who has had to pull out through injury, Wayne Rooney, who will miss the first two games in Poland and Ukraine, and Joe Hart, although the last goalkeeper to captain England was Peter Shilton 22 years ago.

At 31, it remains to be seen just how many tournaments Gerrard has left in him, and while the case for Rooney and Hart's defence would have been a nod to the future, Hodgson knows that he is the choice for the summer at least.