Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has been talking about his Chelsea days quite a lot recently, with recent comments with The Daily Mail regarding former Chelsea hard man and current Chelsea hard man.. “I saw Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink fly!” Zola says while laughing as he remembers John Terry’s early days at Chelsea.
“We were training in a two-versus-two game. It was me and Jimmy Floyd against Terry and another young boy. Jimmy was getting very frustrated because he couldn’t score and he kicked this boy. John didn’t like this. When training continued, Terry switched opponents and went to mark Jimmy Floyd. The first tackle, I’ll never forget it – Jimmy flew through the air! It was an unbelievable tackle, so strong and ruthless. Nothing was said, but the next attack, exactly the same thing happened. I’ve never seen anything fly so high! That summarised Terry’s character. Jimmy was a big man, a senior player. Not any young lad could have done that.”
Hasselbaink was known as the man with the most powerful free-kick, a guy with this label wouldn’t be looked upon as soft, he was a powerful centre forward standing at 6 foot, yet a young John Terry showed he fears nobody as he went toe-to-toe with the strongDutchman.
Now John Terry’s the big man, after winning accolade after accolade, trophy after trophy, he’s one of Chelsea’s most decorated players and when after ninety minutes of football on Sunday, he’ll be leading the team to lift the Premier League trophy once again.
Some people outside of Chelsea were surprised at Terry’s rise to stardom, yet Chelsea icon Zola who played aside Terry was not surprised at all. He knew he was witnessing a star being born. “Knowing his temperament and character as I do, I haven’t been surprised” he said.
“When you get to his age, it isn’t just about that – it’s about physique. You need to do everything properly and it takes a lot to do that. I always rate my last season playing for Chelsea as my best because I got prepared and I did everything properly. I worked a lot, but I’m very proud of that year.”
The Italian Genius had a fantastic season scoring 14 goals, a personal best in the Premier League.
He continues: “I had no doubt Terry was going to become a superstar. His character and personality impressed me straight away.He stepped in as a young player and looked as if he’d played forever – never scared. He would stand up to anyone, no matter their status.”
Zola continues to analyse the youngster that John was, seeing his as a future leader from the get go. “I saw so many young players who came to play with us, but they didn’t learn anything. They kept their bad habits, they spoiled their talents. John wasn’t like that. He wanted to learn and that’s so important. He was so young when he came to play with us but so willing to learn and pick up experience for him to use on and off the pitch.”
High praise from Zola towards Terry, yet no less than he deserves, both are regarded in the top five greatest ever players to pull on the royal blue and just like Zola, John Terry will leave football when he’s ready with his legacy shining brighter than ever.
