Captain, leader, Spartak Moscow player. Unexpected Chelsea links have hooked John Terry up with a new club to continue his storied career.
It has been over a year since John Terry left Chelsea and the edge and leadership he brought is still missing. In the meantime, the English legend carries on his playing career at the young age of 37.
He was at Aston Villa last season but when they failed to achieve promotion, they lost the funds they needed to resign Terry. Since then, Terry has been a free agent. Rather than hang up his boots as most would have done, he kept training as he waited for some club to come in for him. Sporting CP were heavily linked for a while and made a lot of sense but nothing ever came of it.
But then, something strange happened. An injury crisis hit Massimo Carrera’s Spartak Moscow on the eve of the season. Carrera, a former assistant to Antonio Conte, asked his former boss what to do. Conte recommended Terry and now he is on the verge of signing with the Russian side.
It seems odd, given Chelsea’s very messy break with Conte, that he would be the one to hook Terry up with another club. Especially one fighting for the league in Russia and in the Europa League. But something about Terry must have spoken to Conte, so he made his recommendation.
For Terry, it gives him a chance to continue his career in a challenging environment while also continuing his coaching education in a new culture. Russian football is very insular and has many tactics and strategies that are rarely seen elsewhere due to its mostly closed nature. Terry can add a few of those tricks to his growing catalog.
Like Frank Lampard, Terry had the benefit of learning under several world class closes. The Sporting links made a ton of sense because of Terry’s closeness to Jose Mourinho. But it appears it has been his closeness to Conte that has continued his career and education. Carrera is one of Europe’s best up and coming coaches and played a pivotal role in Conte’s Juventus success. It is a fantastic environment and challenge for Terry.
And one would be mistaken to assume Terry is not thinking about life after football. In a recent interview, Terry said he wants to follow in the footsteps of Lampard at Derby County and Steven Gerrard at Rangers but that he wants to keep playing first. He also spoke of his desire to manage Chelsea one day. Lampard has made similar statements so the two will have to take turns or battle it out for the Blues job if they succeed in management.
Chelsea fans should be happy to see Terry continue his career with a new and difficult challenge. They should be even happier when they see the potential for learning more of the coaching side of the game there. The more Terry is exposed to new styles and tactics, the bigger and better his eventual toolbox will be. And maybe one day, he can bring that to Chelsea for several successful years.