Happy Birthday, John George Terry. Few footballers, few individuals have caused such widely-publicised controversy in British football as John Terry. Few players are so universally attacked, booed or even despised. Now, as Terry turns 36, his career is fading - fading into the background away from the high-pressure atmosphere of the Chelsea first team.
There are murmurings that Terry has been edging towards a coaching career at Chelsea, with his first team minutes more limited than ever in Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3. His future looks to be at the club where he has spent the entirety of his professional career, a place where he has gone from bright young defender to club captain, club leader, club legend.
[ffc_insert title="The most important chart this Christmas" name="Top at Christmas" image="https://www.footballfancast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2016-11-19T165554Z_122576154_MT1ACI14676732_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-SOU-LIV.jpg?admin" link="https://www.footballfancast.com/premier-league/being-christmas-no-1-is-more-important-than-ever-in-the-premier-league" link_text="Christmas Number One" ]
The dark sides of Terry’s career will slowly drift away from the mainstream consciousness with time. Once his career is over, the footballing world will focus on Terry as a footballer. And as a footballer, John Terry has been a colossus, an iconic figure for over a decade at the pinnacle of the game.
Longevity is over-celebrated in football, but Terry’s ability to bounce back has defined his role in the sport. Overcoming hatred aimed in his direction – often using it as a driving force to improve his own performances – and leading Chelsea through some troubled times, Terry has remained at the elite level of the game for far longer than most manage. His standards of performance have seldom fluctuated, with the team so often performing beyond expectation when he is in the side.
Terry’s status as a leader, for Chelsea and England, has never been in question. He was the heart of Chelsea’s title winning sides in 2004/05 and 2005/06, he led Chelsea to their first title in 50 years and changed the face of the Premier League forever. Without Terry, Chelsea would not have won that first title, the dominance of Arsenal and Manchester United may well have continued further and Jose Mourinho’s subsequent career could have been so very different. They were the first of four Premier League titles that Terry has held aloft to date; it was just the beginning.
For all the controversies that followed – that have made Terry such an opinion-splitting figure – Terry was influential for England, too. He would easily have bypassed a century of caps for his country had other issues not intervened; his 78 caps still represent one of England’s greatest ever defenders. A man who would not be found excusing himself from squads when it suited him, Terry was an exception to the rule in that respect. For Terry’s legacy, though, the ending was hurtful. He may not be remembered as one of the best English players, but he was - even if it takes time for the dust to settle on his career.
So here we are. Finally it looks as though Terry has reached his last season as a professional footballer. His career successes speak for themselves, winning a Champions League, a Europa League, five FA Cups, four Premier Leagues and two League Cups. Terry has been the very essence of Chelsea since he broke into the first team, from Marcel Desailly to David Luiz, Terry has been the one constant in one of the world’s most turbulent football clubs.
Terry’s individual achievements are numerous, but they are not something he has ever had great care for. A team man, a fierce competitor, Terry’s 36th birthday will likely be the last he celebrates as a player. While Petr Cech, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard have all continued their careers elsewhere, Terry is set to remain at Chelsea for years to come.
His leading role in Chelsea’s mid-2000s successes changed the English game forever. From then on, he has had to adapt as a player, cope with different managers, and accept his status as a villain. It will take time for Terry’s greatness to be universally accepted, but he surely won’t mind about that.
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