Story highlights
John Terry made his Chelsea debut against Aston Villa in 1998
Terry led the club to a first English championship in 50 years in 2005
He became the first Chelsea captain to win a league and FA Cup double in 2006
Terry is the current England captain, having been stripped of the role in 2010
Chelsea captain John Terry is an iconic figure with the English football club’s fans as a result of his on-field achievements in more than 15 years at Stamford Bridge.
The center-back is the most successful skipper in Chelsea’s history, having led the London side to three Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two League Cups since 2004.
Terry, who turned 31 this month, has made more than 500 appearances for the club since his senior debut in 1998, one of only five players to do so, and has represented his country 72 times since 2003.
After a brief spell on loan at second division Nottingham Forest, Terry established himself in Chelsea’s starting line-up as a 20-year-old during the 2000-01 Premier League season.
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His rise to prominence continued in June 2003 when he made his first appearance for the England national team, as manager Sven Goran Eriksson introduced him as a second-half substitute in a 2-1 win over Serbia and Montenegro.
When former France defender Marcel Desailly left Chelsea in 2004, Terry was handed the captain’s armband by then manager Jose Mourinho.
His first year as skipper ended in glory, with the Blues lifting their first English championship in 50 years – a feat that was repeated the following season.
In 2006 Terry traveled to the FIFA World Cup with England, his second major tournament with the team having also played at Euro 2004. Both events ended at the quarterfinal stage for Eriksson’s side.
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The defender was named England captain by Eriksson’s successor Steve McClaren, and scored in his first match wearing the armband – a 4-0 defeat of Greece at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium.
It was against United that Terry experienced one of the most dramatic lows of his career, in the 2008 European Champions League final .
Terry missed the chance to clinch Chelsea’s first European crown when he slipped while taking a penalty in the shootout, and his effort hit the post. United went on to triumph at a rain-soaked Luzhniki Stadium.
In 2009-10, Terry became the first man to lead the Blues to a Premier League and FA Cup double.
Off the pitch, 2010 was a turbulent year for Terry. Revelations about his personal life were widely reported in the British press and he was also stripped of the England captaincy before the World Cup in South Africa.
Terry’s second World Cup with England ended in humiliation as Fabio Capello’s team crashed 4-0 to Germany in the round of 16.
Capello reinstated Terry as England captain in March 2011 as a result of an injury to United center-back Rio Ferdinand.
Terry has made 502 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 46 goals. He has also found the net on six occasions for England.