After 22 years, 16* major trophies, and more than 700 appearances, John Terry is to finally
leave Chelsea as perhaps the club's greatest ever legend.
Over the course of more than two decades, he has lifted every major piece of silverware
in domestic and European football, and his on-pitch exploits
have earned him a reputation as one of the finest
defenders and captains of the modern era.
Terry was born in east London, on 7th December 1980, and was a product of the same Senrab
youth side that turned out future Premier League
stars Sol Campbell, Jermain Defoe, Bobby Zamora, Ledley King and Jlloyd Samuel. At the age of 14, he joined Chelsea's academy:
initially as a midfielder, only later moving to central defence due to a shortage of players there in his age group.
Terry's ball-playing style, and impressive distribution from defence have often been
put down to his early exposure to the needs of playing further up the pitch.
He went on to sign professional terms for the club three years later, and made his Chelsea
debut on 28th October 1998, as a late substitute in
a League Cup game against Aston Villa.
As a junior player, he was given the low-order squad number of 26, and later said he decided
to keep it as he felt it had brought him luck.
Terry's breakthrough season at Chelsea came in 2000-2001 when, under the tutelage of French
World Cup Winner Marcel Desailly , he made 23 appearances – and was voted the club's
Player Of The Year.
A group of players, led by Desailly, spotted Terry's leadership skills early, and approached
then manager Claudio Ranieri recommending him as captain material.
And, on 5th December 2001, two days before his 21st birthday, he wore the captain's armband for the first time.
Terry went on to make his name as a tenacious and commanding defender, with remarkable aerial
presence, insightful positioning, and perfectly timed tackling skills.
But it was his leadership abilities which lifted him above many other defenders of his
generation: captaining Chelsea for two decades with a
commanding presence, a never-say-die attitude, and a
unsurpassed ability to play through pain.
UEFA named Terry the best defender in Europe in 2005, 2008 and 2009; and his fellow professionals
voted him PFA player of the year in 2005.
Terry's involvement in defensive partnerships has been at the heart of what has brought
Chelsea so much success on the pitch.
Whether working alongside William Gallas, Ricardo Carvalho, David Luiz, Gary Cahill or Kurt
Zouma – the latter of whom was born after Terry signed
for Chelsea's academy – he has been a master at
marshalling a tight back four, and switching play into the attacking mode.
One of the most under-appreciated aspects of his game, and the one that has lifted his
captaincy above that of many others, is his match management.
His ability to control big personalities on pitch – be it team-mates, opponents or officials
– has often given Chelsea a competitive advantage that
is difficult to reflect using mere statistics.​ Anther key aspect of Terry's game has been
his goalscoring: and his total of 40* Premier League career goals is a record for a defender.
For Chelsea he has made 713* appearances, with only Peter Bonetti and Ron Harris having
surpassed this figure; and he can add another 78 England caps to that total – many of them as captain.
Not including anything Chelsea might win this season, Terry has led his side to four Premier
League trophies, five FA Cups, three League Cups,
two FA Community Shields, a Europa League, and in 2012
a Champions League trophy.
He leaves as the last of a generation of players who ushered in the hugely successful Roman
Abramovich era at Chelsea, and will be most succinctly recalled at the club using only
three words: 'Captain, leader, legend'.