Chelsea Legend - John Terry (1998-2017)

John Terry

Early years

Born in Barking, London, Terry attended Eastbury Comprehensive Schooland played for local Sunday league team Senrab, which also featured future Premier League players Sol Campbell, Jermain Defoe, Bobby Zamora, Ledley King and Jlloyd Samuel. As a boy, he initially was part of West Ham United's youth system, joining them as a midfielder in 1991. He moved to Chelsea at 14, playing for the club's youth and reserve teams. It was due to a shortage of central defenders that he was moved to centre-back, the position he plays today. After finishing school, he joined the club on a YTS at age 16 and signed professional terms a year later.

Terry made his Chelsea debut on 28 October 1998 as a late substitute in a League Cup tie with Aston Villa; his first start came later that season in an FA Cup third-round match, a 2–0 win over Oldham Athletic. He spent a brief period on loan with Nottingham Forest in 2000 to build up his first team experience and was the subject of interest from both Forest manager David Platt and Huddersfield Town manager Steve Bruce.

In 2002, Terry was involved in an altercation with a bouncer at a West London nightclub with Chelsea teammate Jody Morris and Wimbledon's Des Byrne, which led to him being charged with assault and affray. In August 2002, Terry was acquitted of the charges in court. During the affair, he was given a temporary ban from the England national team by The Football Association. Previously, along with Chelsea teammates Frank Lampard, Jody Morris, Eiður Guðjohnsen and former teammate Frank Sinclair, in September 2001 Terry was fined two weeks wages by Chelsea after drunkenly harassing grieving American tourists in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks. During his early days at Chelsea, Terry shared a flat with Andrew Crofts.

First-team breakthrough

Terry began to establish himself in the Chelsea first team from the 2000–01 season, making 23 starts, and was voted the club's player of the year. He continued his progress during 2001–02, becoming a regular in the defence alongside club captain and France international Marcel Desailly. On 5 December 2001, he captained Chelsea for the first time, in a League match against Charlton Athletic. Chelsea reached the FA Cup Final, following wins against London rivals West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth and six rounds respectively, and Fulham in the semi-final – where Terry scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory. virus denied Terry a place in the starting line-up for the final, although he came on as a second-half substitute as Chelsea lost 2–0 to Arsenal. In the 2003–04 season, his performances led to him being handed the captain's armband by manager Claudio Ranieri when Desailly was out of the team. He played well in the absence of the French international, forming a strong defensive partnership with William Gallas.

Captaincy and successes

Following Desailly's retirement, new Chelsea manager José Mourinho chose Terry as his club captain, a choice which was vindicated throughout the 2004–05 season as Chelsea won the Premier League title in record-breaking fashion with the best defensive record in Football League history with the most clean sheets and the most points accrued. He was voted Player of the Year by his fellow professionals in England and scored eight goals, including a late winner against Barcelona, in the UEFA Champions League. He was voted the best defender in the Champions League for the season. In September 2005, he was selected as a member of the World XI at the FIFPro awards. The team was chosen by a vote of professional footballers based in 40 countries.

Chelsea defended their Premier League title in 2005–06, earning 91 points, and confirming the title with a 3–0 victory against Manchester United.

In a match on 14 October 2006 against Reading, Terry had to take over in goal for Chelsea in the final minutes of the match after goalkeepers Petr Čech and Carlo Cudicini were injured and Chelsea had no substitutes remaining. Terry kept a clean sheet as Chelsea held out to win 1–0, although he did not have a single save to make and his goalkeeping experience was limited to taking a free kick from inside the penalty area. On 5 November 2006, playing against Tottenham Hotspur, Terry was sent off for the first time in his Chelsea career after receiving two yellow cards as the Blues lost at White Hart Lane for the first time since 1987. Terry was charged with misconduct by the FA for questioning the integrity of match referee Graham Poll after the match. 10 January 2007, Terry was ordered to pay £10,000 for the inappropriate conduct after he changed his mind and pleaded guilty to the FA.

In the 2006–07 season, Terry missed matches for Chelsea due to a recurring back problem. On 26 December 2006, José Mourinho stated that his captain might require surgery to fix the problem. In Terry's absence Chelsea drew 2–2 at home to both Reading and Fulham over Christmas, draws that were to prove crucial in the destiny of the Premier League title for that season. On 28 December, Chelsea released a press statement saying Terry had had back surgery: "The operation to remove a sequestrated lumbar intervertebral disc was successful." Although he was expected to return in the match against Wigan Athletic, which Chelsea won 3–2 thanks to a late goal from winger Arjen Robben, Terry was missing once again, due to the recurring back problem. He made his return in Chelsea's 1–0 victory over Charlton Athletic on 3 February 2007 coming on in the 88th minute for Claude Makelele. Chelsea won the match thanks to a goal from Frank Lampard. Terry played his first 90 minutes of football for nearly three months in Chelsea's 3–0 victory over Middlesbrough and received much applause from the Chelsea faithful. Didier Drogba scored two goals for Chelsea in that match, while the other goal came courtesy of an own goal from Abel Xavier of Middlesbrough.

Playing in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 away against Porto, he suffered another injury, this time to his ankle, and was set to miss the 2007 League Cup Final against Arsenal, but managed to recover from the injury within days and played in the final. During the second half of the match, at an attacking corner, he threw himself at the ball with a diving header; Arsenal's Abou Diaby, in an attempt to clear the ball, kicked Terry in the face. Terry was unconscious for several minutes, at which point he nearly swallowed his tongue. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and immediately transferred to the University Hospital of Wales. Terry discharged himself the same day and returned to the Millennium Stadium to celebrate his team's 2–1 win. The only recollection he had of the second half is walking out onto the pitch and he did not remember the ten minutes he played prior to his injury. Following the incident, Terry thanked the Arsenal physiologist Gary Lewin for saving his life. Lewin was the first medic that rushed over to assist him after his tongue had blocked his airways. After spending two weeks on the sidelines, he made his return to the Chelsea team against Blackburn Rovers in March. He went on to lead Chelsea to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League, the third time in four years that Chelsea had made it to the final four of the competition. In May 2007, Terry captained Chelsea to the FA Cup, in the first final at the new Wembley Stadium.

Despite failing to agree terms to a new contract immediately following 2006–07, Terry stated on several occasions that he had no intention of leaving Chelsea. In late July, he signed a new five-year contract with a base salary of between £131,000 and £135,000  per week, making him the highest-paid player in the Premier League at the time.  Frank Lampard's contract with Chelsea, signed in August 2008, surpassed Terry's with Lampard earning £151,000 a week to become the highest-paid player in the Premier League.

On 16 December 2007, whilst playing against Arsenal, while going to clear a ball Terry's foot was stepped on by Emmanuel Eboué and Terry had suffered 3 broken bones in his foot He was expected to be out for at least three months but made a speedy recovery and managed to captain Chelsea to the 2008 League Cup Final against Tottenham, which Chelsea lost 2–1. On 11 May 2008, whilst playing in the last league match of the season against Bolton, he collided with goalkeeper Petr Čech and suffered a partially dislocated elbow, which was eventually put back into place en route to the hospital. This injury did not prevent him playing in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United. The match went to penalties, and Terry missed a penalty which would have won Chelsea the match (and the Champions League His standing leg slipped as he took his kick, and the ball missed the goal. Chelsea lost the shootout 6–5, which Terry reacted to by breaking down in tears. On 28 August 2008, Terry was awarded the Defender of The Year award from UEFA at the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco, together with Frank Lampard and Petr Čech, who received the award for their respective positions.

On 13 September 2008, Terry received the first straight red card of his career against Manchester City for rugby-tackling Jô. However, this was later rescinded on appeal. Despite being a defender, he occasionally scores important goals for Chelsea, such as in the Champions League Group A home match against Roma.^[45] However, Chelsea went on to lose the away leg 3–1.

Double and Champions League

In July 2009, Manchester City made a third bid for Terry, but Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted Terry would remain at Chelsea. Before the start of the season, Terry was again awarded with UEFA Defender of the Year, his third time winning the award. He made his debut for the new season against Premier League team Hull City, a match Chelsea won. On 8 November 2009, Terry scored the decisive goal in Chelsea's match against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge to preserve their perfect home record for the season.

On 9 May 2010, Terry captained Chelsea as they won their fourth Premier League title after an 8–0 win against Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge. A week later, on 15 May 2010, Terry captained Chelsea as he won his fourth FA Cup medal, defeating Portsmouth in the final by 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.

On 31 December 2011, in a home match against Aston Villa, Terry captained the Chelsea team for the 400th time of his career, a record for the club.

Terry was the world's third best passer in 2011 for players with over 1,000 passes, with a 91.6% pass accuracy rate. Only Barcelona player Xavi (93.0%) and Swansea City player Leon Britton (93.3%) were better.

On 24 April 2012, Terry was sent off for violent conduct after driving a knee into Barcelona's Alexis Sánchez in an off-the-ball incident in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Camp Nou. Chelsea's 3–2 aggregate victory over the holders qualified them for the final against Bayern Munich, for which Terry would be suspended. Terry later apologised for letting his teammates and Chelsea fans down. Terry scored his sixth league goal of the season, seventh in all competitions, in the final match of the season, a 2–1 victory over already-relegated Blackburn.  The goal meant that it was Terry's most prolific season and he told the Chelsea website, "I am delighted with seven... It's always good to end a league season with a win."

Even though Terry was suspended for the Champions League Final, along with teammates Ramires, Branislav Ivanović and Raul Meireles, he took part in celebrations at the final whistle after Chelsea triumphed 4–3 on penalty kicks, with striker Didier Drogba netting the decisive penalty. His celebrations led to a popular internet meme lampooning the fact that Terry wore a full kit despite not playing in the match.

Later career

Terry was snubbed by Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in the pre-match handshake against QPR. Terry was banned for four matches when he was found guilty of racially abusing Ferdinand.

On 11 November 2012, in his first match back from the four-match ban, Terry scored his 50th goal for Chelsea against Liverpool. He went off injured in the 39th minute of the same match and was suspected to have ligament damage on his right knee, but a scan the next day showed that there was "no significant damage." On 7 December 2012, new Chelsea manager Rafael Benítez confirmed Terry would not be back from injury in time to play in the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup. Terry's knee injury kept him out of action for 16 first-team matches in total, including the Club World Cup defeat. He made a 45-minute comeback for Chelsea's under-21 team on 10 January, before returning to the first team in a 2–2 draw away to Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round on 24 January.

On 17 April 2013, Terry scored twice in the derby match against Fulham that ended 3–0. On 13 May 2014, Terry signed a new one-year deal with the Blues.

On 18 October 2014, Terry captained Chelsea for the 500th time against Crystal Palace. In the next match, on 21 October, Terry scored in Chelsea's record Champions League win against Slovenian team Maribor. Later, he scored Chelsea's fastest-ever goal in the Champions League by heading in a goal after 90 seconds against Schalke 04.

In the League Cup final on 1 March 2015, Terry opened the scoring was named Man of the Match in Chelsea's 2–0 victory over Tottenham. On 26 March, Terry signed one-year extension to his contract. On 26 April, Terry, along with five of his Chelsea teammates, was voted into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year. On 29 April, Terry became the joint highest-scoring defender in the Premier League with 38 goals, having scored the second goal in a 3–1 win over Leicester City. On 10 May, Terry surpassed David Unsworth as the highest-scoring defender in the Premier League after scoring his 39th in the opening five minutes against Liverpool, an eventual 1–1 draw.

On 23 August 2015, Terry received his first league red card for over five years, being dismissed for a foul on Salomón Rondón in a 3–2 win at West Bromwich Albion. On 15 January 2016, Terry scored an own goal in the 50th minute as well as his first goal of the season in the 98th minute, earning a 3–3 draw against Everton. On 1 February 2016, Terry announced that he would leave Chelsea in the summer of 2016, saying "It's not going to be a fairytale ending."

Although Terry announced in February that there were no talks held to discuss a new contract, on 18 May 2016, Terry signed a new one-year contract to remain at Chelsea until the end of the 2016–17 season. Ten days previously, Terry had been sent off in a 3–2 loss to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in what was widely believed to have been his final appearance for the club.

During Antonio Conte's first press conference as the new Chelsea manager, Conte confirmed that Terry will remain the club captain. On 11 September 2016, during the closing minutes of the match against Swansea City, Terry suffered an ankle injury and required crutches to leave the pitch after the final whistle.

On 8 January 2017, making his first start for Chelsea since an EFL Cup defeat to West Ham United in October 2016, Terry was given a straight red card for a foul on Lee Angol as Chelsea beat Peterborough United 4–1 in the FA Cup third round. On 17 April, he announced that he would be leaving Chelsea at the end of the 2016–17 season. After Chelsea celebrated their Premier League victory, Terry played his 717th and final match for Chelsea on 21 May in a 5–1 home win over Sunderland, coming off in the 28th minute (the substitution board went up in the 26th minute, the same as that of his shirt number), and received a guard of honour from his teammates.

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