With Richard Dunne out suspended for the 1-0 win, England’s flavour of the month, Richards took the armband with pride and revealed: “It was a proud moment for me to captain Manchester City against Aston Villa on Sunday.
“I wouldn’t say I was expecting it but, when we had a pre-season match in Sweden and Dunnie was injured, I was captain then - so I was kind of hoping this time but I didn’t know for sure.
“Sven-Goran Eriksson didn’t really say a lot to me about it. He only told me the day before the game and just said, ‘you are captain - make sure you are ready,’ in a jokey sort of way.
“It was a nice feeling but the captain’s armband is just on loan really - Dunnie has been class for us all season and he will lead us out against Fulham on Saturday.
“Hopefully I will become City’s permanent captain one day but I don’t think I am ready for the job just yet!”
Fresh from back-to-back international wins, including a goal for the big defender, he further revealed: “It is weird coming back from international duty - I didn’t get home until 2am on Thursday and had to go in to training that day for a warm-down.
“Then you are building up to the next match and it is hard to get back into the swing of things but, once you get back on to the pitch, it is back to reality and you just play the football that you are used to.”
And it was something else Micah is used to, another home clean sheet, he had to fight for against one of his toughest adversaries yet. He said: “Villa striker John Carew is one of the hardest opponents I have faced this season - it is impossible to dispossess him sometimes.
“You think you have got the ball and then he puts out a shoulder and you have to adjust your position.
“I enjoy testing myself against all sorts of different players - fast, big or skilful.
“Against Russia for England last week they had a really good left winger in Diniyar Bilyatedinov too. He wasn’t just about pace but had good feet as well.
“But the trickiest player I have faced so far was Arjen Robben at Chelsea at the start of last season. His movement was just incredible.”
It’s been a whirlwind time for Richards over the last couple of weeks after a busy period for City backed up with two impressive performances for the Three Lions. The ultimate reward though came as Micah was named the Barclays Premier League Player of the Month for August - a first for any City player.
The 19-year-old finished by telling BBC Sport: “I was just delighted to get the player of the month award for August too.
“A few of our players could have won it to be fair though - we have all been outstanding - and it is not just me who should take the credit, it is down to the whole squad.”
