John Terry

John Terry
Terry in 2022
Personal information
Full name John George Terry
Date of birth (1980-12-07) 7 December 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Barking, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
1991–1995 West Ham United
1995–1998 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2017 Chelsea 492 (41)
2000Nottingham Forest (loan) 6 (0)
2017–2018 Aston Villa 32 (1)
Total 530 (42)
International career
2000–2002 England U21 9 (1)
2003–2012 England 78 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his generation,[2][3] as well as one of the best English and Premier League defenders ever.[4][5][6][7][8]

Terry was named UEFA Club Defender of the Year in 2005, 2008 and 2009,[9] PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2005,[10] and was included in the FIFPro World XI for five consecutive seasons, from 2005 to 2009.[11][12][13][14] He was also named in the all-star squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the only English player to make the team. In 2024, Terry was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.[15]

Terry is Chelsea's most successful captain. During his 19 years with the club,[16][17][18][19] he led them to five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Europa League and one UEFA Champions League title. He is one of six players to have made over 500 appearances for Chelsea and is also the club's all-time highest scoring defender.[20] 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 an international goal there, scoring a header in England's 1–1 draw with Brazil.[21] In his final season at Chelsea in 2017, he became the first ever player to captain a team to the Premier League title on five occasions.

Following his departure from Chelsea, Terry spent one season with Aston Villa in the Championship before retiring, ultimately losing the 2018 Championship play-off final. He returned to Aston Villa a few months later as assistant manager to Dean Smith. The side went on to win the 2019 Championship play-off final to be promoted back to the Premier League. Terry left the role in July 2021. When Smith joined Leicester City as manager in April 2023, he appointed Terry to his coaching staff once again.

  1. ^ "J. Terry: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  2. ^ Hayes, Garry (17 October 2014). "John Terry at 500: Is He Chelsea's Greatest Captain?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Ranked! The 101 greatest football players of the last 25 years: full list". FourFourTwo (253 ed.). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Terry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Miller, David (31 July 2007). "The best 20 England defenders". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  6. ^ "The 20 best Premier League defenders ever: where does John Terry rank?". The Daily Telegraph. London. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  7. ^ Hayes, Garry (17 October 2014). "John Terry at 500: Is He Chelsea's Greatest Captain?". Bleacher Report. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Remembering John Terry's PFA Player of the Year Award". Chelsea F.C. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  9. ^ "UEFA Club Defender of the Year". UEFA. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  10. ^ "Terry claims player of year award". BBC Sport. 24 April 2005. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  11. ^ "Lamps and Terry honoured". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  12. ^ "Ronaldinho regains FifPro crown". BBC Sport. 6 November 2006. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2006.
  13. ^ "Kaka wins world players' accolade". BBC Sport. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
  14. ^ "Ronaldo wins world players' award". BBC Sport. 27 October 2008. Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  15. ^ Millar, Colin. "John Terry and Andy Cole inducted into Premier League Hall of Fame". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  16. ^ Emms, Nick. "Chelsea Legend Takes a Step Closer To His Dream Of Managing The Blues". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  17. ^ "John Terry's final minute as a Chelsea player still looks totally bizarre now". GiveMeSport. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  18. ^ "John Terry Names The 'Incredible' Wasted Talent Who Could Have Become A Chelsea Legend". SPORTbible. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Chelsea news: John Terry confirms retirement after 23-year playing career". Goal. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  20. ^ "After the whistle: Backs hitting the back of the net". Chelsea FC. 2 March 2009. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  21. ^ "England come home". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2007.