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As with any top of the table team, it’s Chelsea’s galaxy
of attacking players that always catch the eye and grab the headlines.
But Jose Mourinho has made it perfectly plain that he believes that
championships are won by building from solid foundations at the
back. And in John Terry, Chelsea have perhaps the best out and out
defender playing in the Premier League today.
That’s certainly the view of West Bromwich Albion’s Neil
Clement who had the opportunity of studying Terry at very close
quarters when the two of them were young professionals making their
way in the game at Stamford Bridge.
“I first met up with John when I was a YTS at Chelsea and John
was a schoolboy player. He used to come in for training during half-term
and the like when he was still at school, but if we had a youth
team game on a Saturday, he used to play in that because he was
ahead of his age group. You could
see even then that he was going to be some player. He came on really
quickly as a YTS especially in his second year once he’d been
around the place for a while and got to grips with what he had to
do.
“Physical strength is a big part of the game and John did a
lot of work on that as a YTS, he really exploded in terms of his
size, he really filled out, he’s got a great physique for a
central defender, very powerful and you know there aren’t many
forwards who’ll get the better of him in that department.
“He’s a great lad to have around the changing rooms, very
focused, a terrific leader, and a nice lad as well. Everybody likes
John, he’s highly thought of at the club and he’s shown
himself to be a very good captain at Chelsea.”
There are many who also have Terry marked down as a potential England
captain too and he certainly did his case no harm with a series
of impressive displays at the heart of the English defence
out in Portugal in the summer, Terry taking full advantage of Rio
Ferdinand’s absence from the international stage to show just
how good a player he is at that level. In spite of that though,
as soon as Rio was back, Terry had to make way for the rekindling
of the Campbell – Ferdinand partnership, harsh treatment perhaps.
“He was very unlucky with England I think, being left out straight
away once Rio Ferdinand came back into things, because he’s
been outstanding over the last year. Probably John isn’t as
quick as Rio, maybe that’s the one thing people pick out in
his game, but his reading of a game is tremendous, he does it so
well that he’s usually two or three moves ahead and he snuffs
trouble out that way.
“On top of that, he’s very dangerous in the opposition
area as well because he just loves to win headers. Whenever a corner
comes in, John is always a good shout for getting on the end of
it and he loves attacking the ball, he always feels it’s there
to be won, he throws everything at it.”
Terry hasn’t only excelled at England level but in the Champions
League too. He and Frank Lampard were perhaps the pick of the Chelsea
side that made it all the way to the semi-finals of Europe’s
premier club competition last year and there’s no doubt that
he has matured as a player or that experience. Still only 23, Terry
is getting better and better with every game. And there’s one
simple reason behind that improvement. Here’s a man who loves
his job, as Clement testifies.
“I watched Chelsea play Blackburn last week and they were brilliant,
they could have won 8-0, but when Blackburn did break, John was
just rock solid at the back, picked everything off and he’s
a big part of the way that Mourinho is looking to build the team
from the back. They don’t concede many and John is crucial
for them.
“He just loves defending. The middle of the winter, pouring
rain, John will be out there on the training pitch in his shorts
and his t-shirt, throwing himself at everything, just getting himself
in the way. He loves stopping attacks and there aren’t too
many people like that in the game. Working with Marcel Desailly
did him the world of good as well I think, he helped a lot as someone
to look up to. He won the World Cup, lovely calm, composed player
and John has picked up a lot from him I reckon. But he’s helping
himself now - that’s for sure!”
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