The following post was written on June 23rd, 2017.
At the time of writing, it has been quite a while since John Terry played his last game for Chelsea Football Club. On May 21st, John Terry was substituted from his final game in his Chelsea career – this one against Sunderland – around the 26th minute mark.
The rest of the team gave him a ‘guard of honor,’ as Chelsea’s best ever captain made way for a new version of Chelsea. A team that would no longer include any members of the ‘old guard’ (Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Cech, Ivanovic, Mikel, etc.) as they were once called.
As John Terry handed Gary Cahill the captain’s armband one final time, I have to admit that I was about to cry. John Terry, like Drogba, Cech, and Lampard before him, represents the Chelsea team that I didn’t just grow up with, but also the Chelsea team that I’ve always loved.
While I am a big fan of players like Eden Hazard and, especially, Cesar Azpilicueta, they aren’t the same players – the same people (at least, not yet). While I hope that names like Hazard, Azpilicueta, Luiz, and Cahill will become as legendary, there is no guarantee that they will ever do what the men before them did.
While I’m sure there were people that disliked Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, and Didier Drogba, Chelsea’s legendary captain John Terry was booed at pretty much every game by the opposing fanbase. It didn’t matter if it were Sunderland or Arsenal, people were going to boo Terry whenever he touched the ball.
John Terry’s past includes several instances that have made him seem like a bad person. I won’t discuss these instances to great lengths, but they did manage to obliterate his reputation as the best captain in England. But while there are plenty bad stories about Terry, you would be surprised by how many great stories Chelsea fans, players, and academy players can tell you about the captain. John Terry is a one-of-a-kind captain, and a ‘true blue.’ While I’ll probably always say Frank Lampard is the greatest ever Chelsea player, John Terry bleeds blue.
Petr Cech and Frank Lampard meant a lot to me for bringing me to love football and Chelsea, and I don’t have a childhood memory to clue you in on why I love John Terry. But I will say this. I can think of no better captain for any team out there. He has always been here for us, and he has sacrificed so much for this club. When I think of Chelsea, his face is the first I imagine.
When John Terry said his goodbyes to us – the die-hard Chelsea fans – I got very emotional. I had a tough time watching him get choked up in his speech. John Terry is one of our own, and I will miss having him around to steer the club that I love in the right direction.
– Jeffrey Rex
I'm Jeffrey Rex 