John Terry Appointed England Captain

John Terry has been appointed England captain by manager Fabio Capello. Having given a number of his senior players the opportunity to show their capabilities as captain during his first four games in charge, Capello has made his decision.

McLaren Appoints Terry as Captain

At the end of the last World Cup Finals in Germany, a tearful David Beckham relinquished his captaincy, a role he had held and performed with much dignity and patriotism. With the departure of manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, the new coach, Steve McLaren, decided on the appointment of Chelsea’s John Terry as Beckham’s successor.

After McLaren’s unsuccessful time as manager and England’s failure to reach the finals of Euro2008, Fabio Capello was put in charge of the England team. Rather than rush to announce who his captain would be, Capello decided to take time and assess potential candidates during his first four games in charge. So for those games Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham and Gareth Barry had the opportunity to stake their claim for the position.

Capello Makes His Decision

On the eve of the match against the Czech Republic at Wembley, the final warm-up game ahead of the World Cup qualifying matches, Capelllo announced that Terry would captain England for the World Cup campaign which starts with games against Andorra and Croatia next month.

Terry's England Career

John Terry has been appointed ahead of Rio Ferdinand who was widely tipped for the position. Terry has won 44 England caps and first represented his country in June, 2003 making an appearance as a second half substitute in a friendly game against Serbia and Montenegro. England won that game by 2-1 with a goal in each half from Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole. Terry has scored four goals for England.

Chelsea Career

John Terry made his Chelsea debut as a substitute in a League Cup tie against Aston Villa in October, 1998. His first appearance in the starting line-up at Chelsea was later that season in an FA Cup 3rd Round tie against Oldham Athletic. He later spent some time with Nottingham Forest to gain experience and became a regular member of the Chelsea team in season 2000-01. He was appointed club captain in 2004-05 by manager Jose Mourinho on Marcel Desailly’s retirement. Terry led Chelsea to their first Premier League title, only their second league success in fifty years. The club has had considerable success and Terry has proved himself a worthy captain who has led from the front and is fully committed at all times.

Terry’s promotion to England captain under Steve McLaren saw him overcome early problems in his career when he was given a temporary ban from the England team by the Football Association for off the field incidents. Since those early difficulties he has overcome a lack of pace by showing total commitment for both club and country.

Overcome Disappointments

It was a disappointment to Terry that England failed to qualify for the Euro2008 Finals and that he wasn’t immediately confirmed as England team captain by new manager, Fabio Capello, earlier in the year but he accepted the situation and applied himself to impressing the new manager. He has put these set-backs behind him as well as the disappointment of missing the vital penalty in the Champions League Final penalty shoot-out against Manchester United in Moscow and can look forward to the new season as Chelsea endeavour to reclaim their league title and as England embark on their World Cup qualification.

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