‘JT Captain, Leader, Legend’ – the words the Chelsea faithful attribute to their most successful ever captain. Many of those fans will be fearful of the tasks that lay ahead of the club whilst he is absent with injury, but former Blues midfielder Michael Ballack argues that John Terry’s influence at Stamford Bridge reaches far more than the playing field.
The German midfielder, now at Bayer Leverkusen, had this to say about Chelsea’s talisman:
“Do not underestimate the role of John Terry, even in the dressing room.
“Even if he is not on the pitch he is still in the squad, he is there every day.
“When he was injured two years ago, he had a problem with his back, he was travelling to every away game.
“So he was so close to the team.”
He added:
“When I saw this I was really surprised with his role as the captain. It is not normal that the captain is so close to the team.”
(Sport.co.uk)
Ballack’s complementary comments just go to show how fortunate Chelsea are to have such a committed skipper, who is firmly entrenched into the club’s DNA and is supportive to those around him…if only Fabio Capello appreciated those qualities as much as Carlo Ancelotti and company do at Stamford Bridge.
A lot has been said about the former England captain’s personal life and alleged misdemeanours, but not enough has been said about his professionalism – which makes Ballack’s words all the more refreshing. Let’s not forget that Terry suffered a bit of a wobble in the second half of last season as well as having a poor World Cup, and many argued that his days might be numbered in the Three Lions’ starting XI.
But up until his injury this season we have seen more of the old JT, whose centre half partnership with Alex is one of the most formidable pairings in the Premier League as Chelsea have conceded only 8 goals in 13 league matches (3 of which were scored when the duo were absent). Now those troublesome and unsettling scandal stories of last season start to seem like a long and distant memory.
Enough bad things have been said about the guy in the media, but what about credit where it is due for being the captain that he is? I say well done to the Chelsea and true England captain. Let’s hope for a swift return to action.
On that note, there has been good news of late on the injury front lately as Terry could be back as early as Tuesday’s game against MSK Zilina despite initial fears that his long-standing nerve injury could become a more serious problem. Brazilian defender Alex is also set for a comeback as he will feature against Birmingham this weekend, but unfortunately will have to go under the knife eventually to correct a knee problem.
Great points about our beloved captain; nice to hear them reinforced by current and past team mates as well. It is a shame that Capello doesn’t appreciate him the way that Ancelotti seems to. The way he devotes himself to the club just reinforces why we call him “captain, leader, legend.”