After
captain, leader, legend John Terry extended his time with Chelsea by signing a
new one-year contract last week, we look back at some of the defender's
proudest moments from his time at Stamford Bridge so far...
After impressing during his time in the
Chelsea youth team, it was finally time to see Terry take to the pitch in
senior football. His first match came as a late substitute at Stamford Bridge
in a League Cup tie against Aston Villa in October 1998. His debut may have
only lasted for four minutes plus stoppage time, and involved some rapid
adjustment as the Blues went down to 10 men when Dennis Wise was sent off in
Terry's first minute on the
field, but a Gianluca Vialli hat-trick and a goal from Tore Andre Flo made
sure it was a winning start to life in the first-team.
The summer
of 2004 saw big changes taking place at Stamford Bridge, with a new manager and
several new players arriving. It also saw captain Marcel Desailly depart, with
one of Jose Mourinho's first decisions as Chelsea boss being to hand the
armband to the England man. The centre-back's era as skipper couldn't have
gotten off to a better start, as the Blues defeated Manchester United 1-0 in
front of an ecstatic home crowd. A tight match saw Terry show off the very best
of the defensive resilience that he has brought to the team for so many years
and the leadership required to hold on to the lead after Eidur Gudjohnsen's
goal banished any doubts that Mourinho had chosen the right man
After 165
frantic see-sawing minutes of our 2005 Champions League last 32 meeting with
Barcelona, the tie was finely balanced in the Spanish side's favour. We were
3-2 ahead on the night at the Bridge, but over the two legs Barcelona were
winning courtesy of the away goals rule. The visitors were looking like the
most likely to score the next goal and extend their lead, but then John Terry
met Damien Duff's corner and powered it past goalkeeper Victor Valdes to decide
the match and put Chelsea into the quarter-finals.
One of the
many honours that sets John Terry apart as one of Chelsea's greatest-ever
servants is his status as the club's first and only Double-winning skipper. The
Blues had already claimed the Premier League title in style at the Bridge, beating
Wigan 8-0 in our last match to break the Premier League record for most goals
in a season and highest goal difference, when we arrived at Wembley Stadium to
take on Portsmouth in the 2010 FA Cup final. Needless to say that 90 minutes
later it was Terry who was proudly lifting the famous old trophy for the crowd
and celebrating another item of silverware won under his captaincy.
Only four
players had ever reached 500 appearances for Chelsea in the club's history
until John Terry added his name to the list in April 2011. Given the loyalty he
has shown to the club over the years and the strength of the bond between Terry
and the Blues fans, it was fitting that his 500th game fell on a London derby
against local rivals Tottenham. Even better, that match saw us beat Spurs 2-1
in dramatic fashion, with Salomon Kalou getting the winner in the 89th minute
after a goal from another Chelsea stalwart, Frank Lampard.
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