John Terry

Name: John Terry
Nationality: English
Date of Birth: 07/12/1980
Height: 6' 2" (187cm)
Weight: 14st 3lbs (90.34kg)
Previous
Clubs: Nottm Forest (loan)
Position: Defender



JOHN TERRY - WORLD CUP
An automatic selection who answered critics of his form in the second-half of the season by having more winners' medals loaded around his neck. John was one of the England players whose club form held up in Germany four years ago (his first World Cup) and he was named in the all-star squad of the tournament.

His global reputation is a big as his spirit - his presence in Uefa and world teams of the year prove that - and all of England's opponents will consider John a major obstacle to their chances, especially if can be fielded in a stable partnership with Rio Ferdinand.

John had six goals from 59 international appearances ahead of the World Cup warm-up games.



JOHN TERRY - CAREER
Chelsea to the core and a true hero to the fans, John is the most successful captain in Chelsea history and in many eyes, he's the best central defender currently in action.

As brave as they come and a superb reader of the game, sound technique and distribution make him more than just a defenders' defender.

Born in east London, John has been with Chelsea since the age of 14 when he was initially a medium-build midfielder.

Filling in as youth team centre-back one day due to a lack of alternatives, he has never looked back, aided by a rapid growth in physical stature.

A short and successful loan spell at Nottingham Forest helped the maturing process and having taken on board lessons first hand from the likes of Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf, he was voted Chelsea Player of the Year just two seasons after his debut.

After putting a short spell of off-field problems firmly behind him, John refocused on his game sufficiently to be handed his England debut in June 2003. He was first choice for his country at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, taking on the captaincy following that tournament.

At Chelsea he had already taken on the skipper's role, having understudied Desailly - and led the club to the elusive title in his very first year with the armband.

With the Carling Cup also lifted, John became one of only four Chelsea captains to skipper the club to major honours and he more than played his part on the pitch in 2004/05 with a succession of world class displays and eight crucial goals.

He was voted PFA Player of the Year by his fellow professionals, the first Chelsea winner of the accolade.

John's incredible consistency continued in 2005/06 when injury in the final week robbed him of a full house of Premiership games as he lifted the trophy for a second time.

He scored seven times in all competitions and was voted Chelsea Player of the Year for a second time.

Chelsea's first homegrown to be capped by England since Ray Wilkins in the mid 70s became our first England skipper of the professional age, although the armband was taken away by Fabio Capello in February 2010 following media stories about John's private life.

Although he already had well over 300 club appearances to his name, the 2006/07 season was interrupted by prolonged injury as a back problem and related difficulties took time to sort out.

However he was back and fighting in plenty of time to become the first to lift the FA Cup at the new Wembley and score the first international goal there.

Injuries limited him to 37 appearances from a possible 62 in 2007/08. Knee, cheek, foot and elbow injuries all took their toll on the man Avram Grant described as 'bionic', but he was still there barking orders in Moscow in our first Champions League Final.

A first league goal in almost two years came with an important near-post header at Sunderland, but John's season will be most remembered for his devastating penalty miss in the Luzhniki Stadium.

Charged with converting our fifth spot kick to bring the trophy back to London, he slipped and saw his effort hit the post, prompting him to apologise to the Chelsea fans, a deed regarded by those supporters as unnecessary

Held in the highest regard by all at the club, JT bounced back quickly in 2008/09 to lead in new eras under Luiz Felipe Scolari and then Guus Hiddink, his form rarely deviating from outstanding.

A number of defensive performances stood out as the captain maintained his best run of games for some time, despite red cards against Manchester City (rescinded) and Everton.

There was also an important Champions League winner against Roma in the group stages, though his greatest hour of the campaign was the near faultless display in the Camp Nou, earning a 0-0 draw against a Barcelona team that had scored freely all season.

Though we were never in the league race after the beginning of February, John still got his hands on silverware as he captained an FA Cup winning side for the second time.

The following summer brought transfer speculation for the first time in his career, Manchester City his suitors, eventually sent packing when Terry signed a new contract until 2014.

Ignoring the pressure and attention thrust upon him in the wake of losing the England captaincy in February 2010 following stories about his private life, JT turned in another season of remarkable consistency in which he was rewarded by becoming the first Chelsea captain to lift the Double.

On the field, Terry did not miss a game through injury, and while others around him suffered with fitness - every other Chelsea defender had a prolonged absence at some point in the season - it was he who played out the entire campaign alongside either Ricardo Carvalo, Branislav Ivanovic or Alex.

Whoever he was paired with, the results were usually the same. Imperious against Liverpool at the Bridge in October, he blocked, tackled and cleared his way to another clean sheet.

After two set-piece goals brought our downfall at Aston Villa, we responded with seven shutouts in eight games, including one against Manchester United, where the captain rose highest to head the game's only goal, and another at the Emirates, where a left-footed Terry pass helped create Didier Drogba's first of the afternoon. His range of passing on either foot has become a valuable attacking weapon, as was shown with Ashley Cole's Goal of the Season against Sunderland in January.

Defeat at Eastlands in early December would have hurt, as would the mistake that allowed Everton back in to draw at the Bridge a week later, but personal and collective form were recovered in January, when the headlines about Terry began to appear.

The response was predictable, as the 29-year-old headed home the winner at Burnley to seize three points, and then his flick-on to Drogba set us on the way against Arsenal at home but low points would follow.

At Everton Louis Saha twice escaped his attentions to seal a win for the Merseysiders - three times this season the Frenchman got the better of JT - and then City profited from hesitation with Carvalho after Wolves had failed to make a missed clearance pay.

That such incidents are remembered now serve only to demonstrate the spotlight under which Terry found himself, there were others too whose form momentarily dropped, and it should be pointed out that no man played more minutes for Chelsea this season than the captain.

He returned to the scoresheet to see us into the FA Cup semi-finals, before watching on with joy as those at the other end began to grab the headlines with their attacking verve.

A red card at Tottenham, where he was unfairly criticised after having to cover out of position team-mates, was the only blot on the rest of the campaign, with other excellent displays coming against United and Liverpool.

Having lifted his third Premier League trophy, he did the same with the FA Cup after overcoming a metatarsal scare, and almost netted after heading against the crossbar.