Captain, leader, legend! John Terry will wear the Chelsea armband for the 500th time against Crystal Palace on Saturday By Anthony Hays #viaDailyMail John Terry will captain Chelsea for the 500th time against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday. The 33-year-old, who has been labelled captain, leader, legend by the Stamford Bridge faithful for his terrific service to the west London outfit, has been praised by former Blues stars Marcel Desailly and Ron Chopper Harris. Both Desailly and Harris, who were speaking in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report, highlighted the importance of Terrys role at the club. Terry established his place at the heart of Chelseas defence during the 2000-01 season when he formed a partnership with fellow club legend Desailly. The Chelsea man, who made his senior debut in October 1998, replaced Desailly as club captain at the start of the 2004-05 season after the Frenchman decided to seal a move to Qatar. I had the privilege of seeing him arriving on the scene as a very young player, said Desailly. He was very motivated and was already ready to become an elite player. Every day he was first at training. He would talk to the older players. He was young, but he was a leader. He was already a captain. Harris, who is Chelseas record appearance holder having represented the club 795 times, has praised Terry for the way he has dealt with issues away from football during his 16-year professional career. The saying has always been that when the going gets tough, the tough get tougher, added Harris. John’s always been in the thick of things, putting himself about and leading from the front. What more can you say about the fella? I can’t speak highly enough of John and everything he has done for Chelsea Football Club. It’s a proud moment for me to see him making his 500th appearance as captain. Like me, he has come through the ranks and gone on to captain the club to win major honours. Terry returns to Selhurst Park for the first time since he netted an own goal past Chelsea team-mate Petr Cech to hand Crystal Palace all three points at the end of March. The Blues skipper will be hoping he is able to leave south London with a smile on his face this time around. TERRYS IMPRESSIVE TROPHY HAUL Three Premier League titles One Champions League medal One Europa League medal Five FA Cup winners medals Two League Cups Two Community Shields CHELSEA’S CAPTAIN FANTASTIC John Terry is set to captain Chelsea for the 500th time on Saturday. The only current Premier League captain who comes close is Steven Gerrard, who has led Liverpool in 443 games. But in terms of trophies, Terry leads the way compared to some of English football’s greatest leaders. He was won 13 trophies as Chelsea captain, a number only Tony Adams can match. John Terry Chelsea 2001-present 13 Tony Adams Arsenal 1988-2002 13 Bryan Robson Man Utd 1982-94 11 Steven Gerrard Liverpool 2003-present 3 Terry first led Chelsea as a 21-year-old back in 2001 and is way out in front in Chelsea’s list of top captains. John Terry 499 Ron Harris 324 Dennis Wise 298
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 11:59:15 +0000
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