Liverpool have named a heavily rotated side for their Champions League league-phase trip to LASK, and the decision to hand the captain’s armband to Kostas Tsimikas rather than Alisson Becker follows directly from that selection.
Virgil van Dijk remains the club’s established captain. He travelled with the squad after picking up a calf knock in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, but Andoni Iraola has rested him on the bench.
His deputies are Dominik Szoboszlai, Becker, and Joe Gomez while Alexis Mac Allister is considered part of the leadership group.
With the Dutch centre-back unavailable to lead the side, the armband passes to one of the players who are starting.
Alisson is in goal, as expected, but goalkeepers are rarely given the captaincy in modern setups.
The practical reasons are straightforward: a goalkeeper’s primary focus is the penalty area and organising the defence from behind, and he cannot easily communicate across the full width of the pitch the way an outfield player can.
Iraola has previously noted that leadership does not depend on wearing the armband, and the club has not treated Alisson as a regular on-field captain even when senior defenders are absent.
In the starting eleven that remains, Tsimikas is one of the longest-serving and most experienced players.
The Greek left-back joined in 2020 and has made well over a hundred appearances.
He has worn the armband before in pre-season and has the seniority, among the outfield starters, to take responsibility in a side that also features younger players such as Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha.
Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz are important figures, yet neither has the same length of service at the club.
In a match that is being used for rotation—with Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister and others rested ahead of a busy fixture list—Tsimikas offers continuity and a calm presence at left-back.
The choice is therefore a product of the available hierarchy on the night rather than any slight on Alisson.
Van Dijk is preserved for the weekend, the goalkeeper stays in his specialist role, and the armband goes to a trusted senior professional in a changed team.