John Terry

John George Terry (born December 7, 1980 in Barking, London) is an England professional football (soccer) player. Terry plays as a centre back and is the captain of both Chelsea F.C. in the English Premier League and England national football team.

Terry is regarded as one of the best defenders in the world. He was voted best defender in the UEFA Champions League 2004-05, PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2005, and was included in the FIFPro World XI for 2005 and 2006. He was also named in the all-star squad for the FIFA World Cup 2006, the only English player to make the team. He wears the number 26 shirt for Chelsea and the number 6 shirt for England.

In 2007, he became the first captain to lift the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium (in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Manchester United), and also the first player to score a full international goal there (in England's 1-1 draw with Brazil).

Biography

Terry was born in Barking, East London, England and attended Eastbury Comprehensive School.

His older brother Paul Terry (footballer) is also a professional footballer, playing for Leyton Orient F.C. in Football League One.

Football career

Terry played initially for Sunday League team Senrab F.C]. The side then featured many future stars of the English game, including current FA Premier League players Bobby Zamora, Paul Konchesky, Ledley King and Jlloyd Samuel. Terry joined Chelsea's youth system at 14, playing for the club's Youth and Reserve teams as a midfielder. It was due to a shortage of central defenders that he was moved to centre-half, the position he plays today.

Chelsea

Terry made his Chelsea debut on 28 October 1998 as a late substitute in a Football League Cup tie with Aston Villa F.C.; his first start came later that season in an FA Cup third round match, a 2-0 win over Oldham Athletic A.F.C.. He spent a brief period on loan with Nottingham Forest F.C. in 2000 to build up his first team experience. Early in his career, Terry was involved in an incident at a West London nightclub with Chelsea team mate Jody Morris and Wimbledon F.C.'s Des Byrne. He was charged with assault and affray, but later cleared. During the affair, he received a temporary ban from the national side, which cost him a place in England national football team's Football World Cup 2002 squad.

Terry began to establish himself in the Chelsea first team from the 2000-01 in English football season, making 23 starts, and was voted the club's player of the year. He continued his progress during 2001-02 in English football, becoming a regular in the defence alongside club captain and France national football team Marcel Desailly. That season saw Chelsea reach the FA Cup final, though a virus denied Terry a place in the starting line-up, although he did come on as a second-half substitute. Chelsea lost the game 2-0.

In season 2001/02, Terry was handed the captaincy for the first time, in a League match against Charlton Athletic F.C. on December 5th 2001.

In season 2003-04 in English football, his performances led to him being handed the captain's armband by manager Claudio Ranieri when Desailly was out of the side. He played well in the absence of the French international, establishing himself as a genuine contender for a first team slot and forming a strong defensive partnership with William Gallas.

Following Desailly's retirement, new Chelsea manager José Mourinho chose Terry as his club captain, a choice which was positive throughout the 2004-05 in English football season as Chelsea won the FA Premier League title in record-breaking fashion with the best defensive record in the Football League history, the most clean sheets and the most points accrued.

Terry was voted PFA Players' Player of the Year by his fellow professionals in England and scored eight goals, including a late winner against FC Barcelona, in the UEFA Champions League. He was voted the best defender in the latter tournament.

Along with Frank Lampard, Claude Makélélé and Petr Čech, Terry is regarded as a part of the "spine" of the Chelsea team. Being an English player who came through the club's youth system, he is especially popular with Chelsea fans. 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.

In a match on 14 October 2006 against Reading F.C], Terry had to take over in goal for Chelsea after both of Chelsea's usual keepers, Petr Čech and Carlo Cudicini were both injured in the game. He wore the number 40 shirt belonging to third-choice goalkeeper Henrique Hilario. However, as the game continued for only a little over a minute, Terry did not have a single save to make - in fact, his goalkeeping experience was limited to taking a free-kick from inside the penalty area. Chelsea managed to hang on to a one goal lead and win the game.

In a match on 5 November 2006 against Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Terry was sent off for the first time in his Chelsea career. He received 2 yellow cards as Chelsea lost at White Hart Lane for the first time since 1987. Later, Terry was charged with misconduct by the F.A. for questioning the integrity of match referee Graham Poll, who allegedly gave Terry different reasons for why he was given his second yellow during and after the game. Poll was also acquitted of saying inappropriate things to Chelsea players. On 10 January 2007, John Terry was ordered to pay £10,000 for the inappropriate conduct after he changed his mind and pleaded "guilty" to the FA. He has been asked to apologise publicly to Poll.

Recently Terry has missed 4 premiership matches for Chelsea due to a recurring back problem. After the tie to Reading F.C] on 26 December 2006, José Mourinho stated that his captain may require surgery to fix the problem. In the games that he has missed, Chelsea have conceded 6 goals, in all this season they have conceded 15 goals (the equivalent to the goals they conceded in the 04/05 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 at the game against Wigan Athletic F.C., Terry was missing once again, due to the recurring back problem. He made his return against Charlton Athletic on February 3, 2007. He played his first 90 minutes of football for nearly three months against Middlesbrough F.C. and received much applause from the Chelsea faithful. Playing in the UEFA Champions league last sixteen away against FC Porto, he suffered another injury, this time to his ankle, and was set to be miss the upcoming Carling Cup Final (2007) against Arsenal, but managed to recover from the injury within days.

Terry made the starting line-up for Chelsea in the Football League Cup Final 2007. Going forward for a corner in the second half, 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 swallowed his tongue. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and immediately transferred to the University Hospital of Wales, where he was successfully treated. Terry discharged himself the same day and returned to the Millennium Stadium to celebrate his team's 2-1 win. The only recollection Terry has of the second half is walking out onto the pitch and does not remember the 10 minutes he played prior to his injury.

After spending two weeks on the sidelines, Terry made his return to the side against Blackburn in March. He has since captained Chelsea to the semi-finals of the 2006-2007 UEFA Champions League, the third time in four years that Chelsea have 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 the 2006-2007 season, 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 British Pound131,000 and £135,000 per week, making him the highest-paid player in Premier League history.

England

Terry is the current captain of the England national football team national team and he made his debut in June 2003 against Serbia and Montenegro national football team. He played for his country at 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, and England Manager Sven-Göran Eriksson stated that Terry was the first-choice centre back, ahead of Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell.

In a FIFA World Cup Qualifying match against Poland national football team, Terry had the honour of wearing England's captain armband, replacing Michael Owen as captain after the latter was subbed.

He has cemented his place in the England squad by being selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In a warm-up match for that tournament against Hungary national football team on May 30 2006, Terry scored his first goal for England, the team's second in a 3-1 victory. Despite an injury scare in a Friendly match against Jamaica national football team, he recovered to play in England's opening fixture against Paraguay, a 1-0 victory.

In the next match against Trinidad and Tobago national football team, he made perhaps the most spectacular save of the tournament. In the game's 44th minute, Carlos Edwards beat England's Paul Robinson (goalkeeper) to a cross and as Stern John bundled a header towards the goal, Terry cleared the ball off the line with an overhead kick.

In the quarter-finals match against Portugal, Terry played the entire match, but England lost on penalties and he was left in tears with his fellow players. Six days later, he was the only English player to be named in the tournament's all-star squad.

On 10th August 2006, Steve McClaren named John Terry as the England national football team captain, succeeding David Beckham. McClaren said "Choosing a captain is one of the most important decisions a coach has to make. I’m certain I’ve got the right man in John Terry. I’m convinced he will prove to be one of the best captains England has ever had."

John Terry scored a goal on his debut as the England captain, in a friendly international against Greece national football team. This was the first goal of the match and, as such, the first goal during McClaren's reign as manager. When celebrating he kissed his new captain's armband.

Terry is one of five national team captains in the current Chelsea team, along with Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast national football team captain), Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine national football team captain), Michael Ballack (Germany national football team captain) and Claudio Pizarro (Peru national football team captain).

On 1st June 2007, Terry became the first player to score an international goal at the new Wembley Stadium when he scored England's goal in a 1-1 draw with Brazil.

Sponsorship

John Terry is the main face alongside Michael Owen for the Umbro sportswear brand often introducing new brand lines and products as well as new England kits. He has also appeared in adverts for Samsung and Nationwide, as well as being in a sponsorship deal with football gaming series Pro Evolution Soccer. On the UK version of Pro Evolution Soccer 6, he appears on the front cover with Brazil international Adriano Leite Ribeiro.

Personal life

Terry currently lives in Oxshott, Surrey. He and his wife Toni Poole are the parents of twins, a boy (Georgie John) and a girl (Summer Rose) born on 18 May, 2006. Terry celebrated their birth when scoring for England against Hungarian national football team, when he performed a "baby-rocking" celebration.

The couple married at Blenheim Palace on 15 June, 2007 in a magazine coverage deal, and requested Harrods gift vouchers as wedding presents. After the wedding, the couple enjoyed a two week honeymoon on Roman Abramovich's super yacht Pelorus (yacht) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Honours

Chelsea
- FA Premier League (FA Premier League 2004-05, FA Premier League 2005-06)
- FA Cup (FA Cup Final 2000, FA Cup Final 2007)
- Football League Cup (Football League Cup Final 2005, Football League Cup Final 2007)
- FA Community Shield (2005)

Personal honours

- PFA Player of the Year (2004-05)
- UEFA Champions League 2004-05 Best Defender
- 2006 FIFA World Cup FIFA.27s World Cup squad of the tournament (2006)
- FIFPro World XI Team (2005, 2006)
- Captain of England national football team (2006-present)

Quotes

In the July 2007 edition of World Soccer Magazine, players from a variety of clubs were asked who they thought was the perfect captain. The following are a selection of quotes from players who chose John Terry.
- "Even from the outside the game you can appreciate that John Terry is the boss of the Chelsea side in all ways."-Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal F.C..
- "You can see that everybody always looks for John Terry on the pitch. He is vital for Chelsea."-Gabriel Heinze, Manchester United.
- "...what you need is a good communicator and organizer, such as John Terry, who obviously cares deeply about his club."-Christoph Metzelder, Real Madrid.
- "John Terry is the perfect skipper. It's obvious Chelsea means everything to him. When he makes those last ditch blocks, team-mates can't help but be inspired."-Kasey Keller, Fulham FC.

International goals