Gianfranco Zola taught a young John Terry not only how to be a professional footballer, but how to be a leader on the pitch and in the training room. John Terry continues that tradition with the Blues’ youth today.
Earlier this week Chelsea celebrated the 20th anniversary of the club signing Gianfranco Zola. Zola was nearly 30 years old and had 12 years of professional football behind him when he arrived at Chelsea. Zola immediately became an example, mentor and idol for an ambitious player on Chelsea’s youth and reserve teams: John Terry.
Terry watched Zola’s practice routine, peppered him with questions and absorbed as much as he could from the Italian international.
"[H]e had so much time for everyone. He always wanted to help us younger players and give us advice… [H]e was very much ahead of his time. It was great to pick his brains and we’d always be asking him questions about what he was doing and why he was doing certain things. – Chelsea FC"
From free-kicks to one-on-one drills, nutritional advice to the importance of always showing appreciation for fans, Zola showed Terry what it meant to be a top-level footballer and leader. Much of what Terry remembers of Zola are things that Terry himself does now.
Tammy Abraham said recently that John Terry is one of the most consistent people to check in with the young players on loan. After a game Terry will call or text Abraham and the other loanees with a quick note of encouragement and praise.
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Terry spends a lot of time at Cobham working with and watching the youth teams. Part of this is his work towards his coaching license, but equally it is simply his personal passion for youth football and Chelsea.
Zola told Terry to “always have time for the fans after a game. [H]e stressed to us younger players the importance of doing that.” Despite being Chelsea’s oldest player, Terry is better than most of his teammates on social media. (He’s good, but he’s no Michy.) He takes his fans home with him on Instagram and shares his actual life instead of just canned messages from the PR rep.
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John Terry does all the little things right as Chelsea’s captain and leader. He learned many of these from Zola, and is now sharing that legacy with his teammates and the Academy.
This is a major reason why a club should always have at least one veteran academy product on their roster. The one-club men pass along the club’s unique values. They also have the sense of belonging and ownership that helps them share those intangible moments of leadership and mentoring.
Over the next decade several graduates of Chelsea’s academy will become club leaders and captains. Perhaps even at Chelsea. Without a doubt, a few of them will talk about how everything they know about leadership they learned from John Terry.