Luke Donald believes no one is more suited to captaining the European Ryder Cup team than Jose Maria Olazabal given his strong history in the event.
Olazabal seven appearances in the biennial clash as a player and famously formed an almost unbeatable partnership with his great friend and compatriot Seve Ballesteros, winning 11, halving two and losing two of their 15 matches from 1987-93.
Indeed, of his 31 matches, Olazabal won 18 and drew five times to make him one of the most successful players to represent Europe.
The Spaniard was the overwhelming choice to succeed Colin Montgomerie as captain and he will now lead the European challenge at Medinah and Donald believes he is the perfect man for the job.
"He always comes to mind when you think of the Ryder Cup, from a European standpoint," Donald said.
"So much passion, so much of that Spanish flair. Obviously his pairing with Seve Ballesteros was probably one of the greatest pairings in Ryder Cup history.
"There was just an amazing flair for getting it done – short game wizards those two were.
"Ollie will bring a lot of passion to this Ryder Cup. Just seeing him a couple of years ago at Celtic Manor (he was drafted in as a late assistant by Montgomerie), he came in late as an assistant captain, and really brought a lot to it and said some really good things in the team room. He knows what it's all about, he'll be very prepared."
With this year's event taking place on American soil there are fears that the home support could get out of hand with but Donald is hopeful they will show respect to the Europeans to avoid a repeat of the scenes at Brookline in 1999.
"It will be extremely raucous but I think every Ryder Cup is," Donald told Sky Sports News.
"I've played in three Ryder Cups and I think this is the biggest city, in terms of the location, and that will make it a little bit more fun.
"The [USA] fans will get behind this Ryder Cup and it will make it tough for the European side as they will be cheering hard. But they're a fair crowd and hopefully they will respect both teams.
"The home team's biggest advantage is the crowd support, and if we can take that away a little bit, not just through my relationship with Chicago but also by playing well, that will be a benefit for us."