John Terry

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, as well as one of the best English and Premier League defenders ever.

John George Terry was born on 7 December 1980 in Barking, Greater London.

He attended Eastbury Comprehensive School and played for local Sunday league team Senrab.

As a boy, Terry was part of West Ham United's youth system, joining them as a midfielder in 1991.

He moved to Chelsea at 14, playing for the club's youth and reserve teams.

It was due to a shortage of central defenders that he was moved to centre-back, the position he played throughout his career.

After finishing school, he joined the club on a YTS at age 16 and signed professional terms a year later.

Terry made his Chelsea debut on 28 October 1998 as a late substitute in a League Cup tie with Aston Villa; his first start came later that season in an FA Cup third-round match, a 2–0 win over Oldham Athletic.

Terry spent a brief period on loan with Nottingham Forest in 2000 to build up his first-team experience and was the subject of interest from both Forest manager David Platt and Huddersfield Town manager Steve Bruce.

Terry began to establish himself in the Chelsea first team from the 2000–01 season, making 23 starts and was voted the club's Player of the Year.

Previously, along with Chelsea teammates Frank Lampard, Jody Morris, Eiður Guðjohnsen and former teammate Frank Sinclair, in September 2001 Terry was fined two weeks wages by Chelsea after drunkenly harassing grieving American tourists in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

During his early days at Chelsea, Terry shared a flat with Andrew Crofts.

He continued his progress during 2001–02, becoming a regular in the defence alongside club captain and France international Marcel Desailly.

On 5 December 2001, he captained Chelsea for the first time, in a Premier League match against Charlton Athletic.

Chelsea reached the FA Cup final, following wins against London rivals West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth and six rounds respectively, and Fulham in the semi-final – where Terry scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory.

A virus denied Terry a place in the starting line-up for the final, although he came on as a second-half substitute while Chelsea lost 2–0 to Arsenal.

In 2002, Terry was involved in an altercation with a bouncer at a West London nightclub with Chelsea teammate Jody Morris and Wimbledon's Des Byrne, which led to him being charged with assault and affray.

In August 2002, Terry was acquitted of the charges in court.

During the affair, he was given a temporary ban from the English national team by The Football Association.

In 2003–04 season, his performances led to him becoming vice-captain by manager Claudio Ranieri when Desailly was out of the team.

He played well in the absence of the French international, forming a strong defensive partnership with William Gallas.

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

He was voted Player of the Year by his fellow professionals in England and scored eight goals, including a late winner against Barcelona, in the UEFA Champions League.

He was voted the best defender in the Champions League for the season.

Terry was named UEFA Club Defender of the Year in 2005, 2008 and 2009, PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2005, and was included in the FIFPro World XI for five consecutive seasons, from 2005 to 2009.

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.

He was also named in the all-star squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the only English player to make the team.

Terry is Chelsea's most successful captain.

During his 19 years with the club, 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.

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.

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.