John Terry and Wayne Rooney’s farewells were so sharply polarised they could have come from different dimensions. The Manchester United skipper’s one of understated, almost unnoticed humility; his Chelsea counterpart’s, on the other-hand, a world of shamelessly orchestrated self-indulgence.
Indeed, whereas Rooney sheepishly entered the fray during the dying embers of a European cup final his side had sewn up well before the hour mark, both teams prioritised Terry’s ultimate appearance at Stamford Bridge over the result, Sunderland enacting on a pre-arranged agreement to kick the ball out of play after 26 minutes and Chelsea’s remaining ten men performing a guard of honour as the tear-soaked Blues skipper trod over the west London touchline for the last time.
The co-ordination involved has sparked controversy, and not just because of the three men who not-so-coincidentally placed sizeable bets on Terry to be subbed off in the same minute as his iconic kit number. We’re used to utter humility from the Premier League’s departing greats, especially the English ones – Paul Scholes retired twice yet his exits were so absent of fuss hardly anybody noticed until the following season – but Terry was unabashed by the near-nauseating saccharinity of his final goodbye.
In fact, after the full-time whistle, he revealed it was his own idea, symbolic passing of the armband to Gary Cahill included, colluding with his own manager Antonio Conte and Sunderland’s David Moyes to ensure his send-off loosely echoed a scene from Gladiator. Alan Shearer quite rightly asked whether Terry’s farewell impeded the integrity of the game on Match of the Day and former Liverpool striker turned pundit Stan Collymore has since dubbed it ‘vomit-inducing’. It certainly wasn’t easy for some neutrals to stomach.
Yet, the controversy surrounding what will likely be Terry’s final moments on the pitch as a Chelsea player (assuming he won’t be involved in this Sunday’s FA Cup final) is exactly what makes the send-off so perfectly befitting of footballer who has consistently divided opinion like few of his peers throughout an affluent Premier League career. Whilst doubters of his ability have only really come to the fore over the last few seasons, Terry’s talent and exceptional leadership has always been juxtaposed by a penchant for mindless trouble.
At this point, Terry’s misdemeanours as well known – sex scandals involving a former team-mate’s better half, allegations of racism and a fair few brushes with the law – but when a player is hanging up his boots, it feels almost spiteful to trawl through their indiscretions once again. Nonetheless, the controversy surrounding Chelsea’s send-off slots into that narrative, and perhaps highlights why – albeit, paradoxically – the wider Premier League audience should have a lot more respect for Terry, even if his actions do often lead us to question his moral code.
After all, with perhaps the exception of his former team-mate Ashley Cole, it’s hard to think of a figure more actively detested by fans of rival clubs. Since a drunken incident on 11th September 2001, practically the start of his career, Terry has been the pantomime villain, the primary target of jeers and abuse from opposing fans and the pejorative poster-boy for the tabloids, ever-looking to lament the disgraceful ungratefulness of the modern-day money-mad generation. They don’t know they’re born, and all that.
Terry’s had to contend with that for his entire career and there’s been plenty of infamy on the pitch as well; the missed penalty in the Champions League final shootout against Manchester United, the sending off against Barcelona in the same competition five years later, his shock axing as England captain, not to mention the attempts of several managers – namely Andre Villas-Boas and Rafa Benitez – to dethrone him from his place in Chelsea’s starting XI. Along the way, there have always been murmurings of Terry’s sinister influence on managerial sackings, questionable behaviour in night clubs and unruly incidents of affluenza. Even his family have been pushed into the firing line, in the coarsest manner possible.
Whereas other players would have buckled under such intense, relentless and long-standing scrutiny, however, Terry has always battled on, returning better and tougher-skinned than ever before. To not only produce the near-impervious form he has over the last 19 years but also perform his duties as a captain and leader to such an impeccable standard is not only commendable under those circumstances, it verges on extraordinary. Not simply a public hate figure refusing to shy away, but consistently excelling in defiance of the angst endlessly vented towards him. That requires a unique kind of character and a truly elite quality of footballer.
And thus, the paradoxical respect we have for Terry suddenly becomes evident; whilst his actions may appal many, his undying ability to persevere through the criticism, the abuse, the media pressure and the anger – all of which have reached near unprecedented levels for an England international playing in his own country – and still maintain his status a world-class player for majority of his career undoubtedly deserves our recognition.
Terry’s indiscretions may leave a sour taste, ones that induce dry heaving when combined with his sickly-sweet send-off, but the 36-year-old’s ability to bounce back over the last two decades – albeit, mostly from self-inflicted episodes – has been genuinely remarkable. Ever-defiant until the end, Terry’s shared his thoughts on the division over his send-off. Unsurprisingly, he’s got no time for the haters.
“I couldn’t care less, I promise you. I couldn’t care. All I care about is celebrating with my Chelsea fans. Me and them have an unbelievable rapport and have had for 22 years and no-one, whatever you write or someone says or someone’s opinion, can ever get in the way of that. So if that’s the way I wanted to go out, that’s the way I go out. You know what, because I’ve been 22 years here, won so many trophies, if I wanted to play one minute and come off I would have done. I wanted to play 26 minutes and come off because it, the shirt number. The supporters, as long as they are happy, I am over the moon with the reception I got. I promise you I couldn’t care a less.”