CAPTAIN, LEADER, LEGEND: JOHN TERRY IS NOT A RACIST!

If there is a single player in recent club football history who has been so unfairly treated and vilified by English fans, John Terry, Chelsea’s most decorated captain quickly comes to mind.  Stripped off his captaincy right before the world cup 2010 in South Africa for allegedly having an affair with Vanessa Perroncel (the ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge) despite both parties having denied it blatantly, Terry is viewed as the most unfaithful husband and footballer. I remember when U.S.A ex-president Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky was uncovered, a United States citizen said when interviewed on CNN that “I voted for a president not a Pope”. No one seeks to justify any act of immorality but who also has the right to judge on morality? Maybe the angels and saints of this world have the ordained moral right as well as the impartial fans of Ryan Giggs, a player who has been handed the Great Britain Olympic football team’s captain despite his alleged horrific affair with his blood brother’s wife Natasha Giggs (leading to abortion according to Natasha’s own account). I can go on and on but that is not the crux of the article.

The article is about a person who, despite all the numerous unsubstantiated accusations and the resolve by some rival fans to run down his career, he still remains strong and refuses to give up. That is John Terry, one of the few fantastic English football talents whose life and strong character represents the club he dearly loves, Chelsea. The latest of his accusation was the just ended court case for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, brother of Rio whose captaincy was taken from him and given back to Terry. Well, the legendary footballer and Chelsea captain could not have said it any better in his statement that “I have been accused of many things but never racism”. So after the court acquitted Terry of racial charges, is it wrong to ask the F.A who jumped the gun and controversially stripped JT off his captaincy (despite Capello’s resistance), to hand him back his captaincy? This was a wrong step by the F.A in the first place which violates the basic law of justice that “a person is not guilty until proven guilty by a competent court of jurisdiction”. Never mind because we all know the English F.A is made up human beings who also have their own personal idiosyncrasies just like any football fan but we expect the people who are supposed to be the authority of football to rise above the ‘court of public opinion’ and abide by the same laws which empower them as leaders. The best thing for every well-meaning person who does not seek to persecute or crucify John Terry is that despite all the insults and accusation leading to his English armband being taken off, the court has ruled that Terry is not guilty of being a racist after all, although he has already suffered the punishment due a guilty person.

So, who is this john Terry at all who has been at the constant receiving end of opposition fans and biased media taunts and insults and still remains strong and glorious? To me, in terms of character, professionalism, commitment and strong mentality and fighting spirit, there is none like him in England and in the world. According Jose Mourinho John Terry “has an uncanny mental strength that when there are some bumps in his personal life he is able to go on the football field and do his job as though nothing is going on”. As far as the “Special one” is concerned, “other people have it, but I have never seen it like John Terry has it”. This was part of Mourinho’s statement to the court and he clearly added;   “I am certain that John Terry is not a racist”.

 After making his debut for Chelsea in a Carling cup match against Nottingham Forest in 1998 and a brief loan spell at the same club, John Terry has gone on to make a stunning 379 league appearances for Chelsea and 98 European competitions at the age of 31. Not only has he achieved such a remarkable feat for his club, Terry has also made 77 England caps and he could well be the only English Centre-back since Bobby Moore to make over 100 caps for the Three Lions. His commitment to even risk putting his head and body down to defend his club and country distinguishes him from his peers and any other. You can hate him for whatever reason but his football sense is undoubted, fantastic in the air, tough on the ground and tactically excellent. These obvious features about Terry make him by far the most resolute and consistent English Centre-back and in 2006 he was the only England player to have been named in the 2006 world cup team of the tournament by FIFA. Maybe this is among why he has being the target of opposition fans who can hardly have a player close to the ilk of the legendary captain of Chelsea and the always-would- be-leader of the Three Lions of England no matter what

.

John Terry, born and bred through the Chelsea academy is one of the few players in the modern game to have played for only one club and this also is surely among the cause for opposition fans’ jealousy. His leadership qualities are outstanding as demonstrated by the number of years he has captained Chelsea and won every trophy there is to win in club football; 3 premier League titles, 4 F.A Cups, 2 League Cups and 1 Champions League trophy. A player a top manager Like Fabio Capello(a man who is known for his tough management style) respects so much and would hand him back his captaincy after taking it from him, according Capello and the players who went for the 2010 world Cup, although Terry did not have the captain’s armband, he was still seen as the leader both on and off the pitch. No wonder when the English F.A took the arbitrary decision of stripping Terry of his captaincy without informing the manager, Capello took the respectable decision of resigning. The confidence managers who have worked with Terry have in him in his leadership abilities go a long way to testify to his inspirational leadership skills.

 With all the media agitation and highlight one man, a man totally loved by his own, a man Bruce Buck (Chelsea Chairman) will fully back him throughout his five-day trial in court, a man who has been inscribed in the heart and mind of his fans, a man who has the thickest skin to accommodate all rival taunts and silence them by scoring against them (QPR), a man who has lifted the most trophy in his time as captain, a man with character and zeal, passion and commitment to what he does and stands for.

John George Terry, hated by his rivals cherished by his own; He will forever remain the Captain, Leader, Legend of his generation.

KTBFFH! And share your views about the Living Legend.

Seth Aborah Adusei (twitter @sethaadusei)

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