Former Chelsea star John Terry is one of the numerous legends to represent the club over the years.
Throughout Chelsea’s history, there are so many special footballers that have graced the pitch at Stamford Bridge. In particular, the current generation of supporters are very fortunate to have seen so much success during the 21st century.
During a dull March international break, Chelsea have asked for their fans to vote on the official website for the club’s best ever XI made up of players from across their entire 120-year history.
Interestingly, club legend John Terry has also taken part with a selection of his own. Even though the retired defender omitted himself from his XI, we fully expect to see him in the final team when the results are posted.
Former Chelsea captain Terry, who spent over two decades at the club, is symbolic of the football club.
Terry recently spoke to Reece James to advise him about his own captaincy at Chelsea, which must be invaluable for the current Blues star.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
John Terry picks his best Chelsea XI of all time
On Chelsea’s website, Terry has talked through every one of his selections for the club’s best ever line-up.
One glaring omission is his former teammate Ricardo Carvalho, who he formed an extraordinary centre-back partnership with in the 2000s.
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During his defensive selection, Terry explained: “I don’t know whether to go back and put Ricky (Carvalho) and Gaz (Gary Cahill) in. Oh my God, that’s really tough. You know what? I’m going to avoid all of them and go with Thiago Silva… I don’t want to upset the others either and I’m sure they will get a lot of votes as well!”
Name Position Chelsea appearances
Petr Cech Goalkeeper 494
Cesar Azpilicueta Right-back 508
Marcel Desailly Centre-back 222
Thiago Silva Centre-back 155
Ashley Cole Left-back 337
Frank Lampard Midfielder 648
Claude Makelele Midfielder 217
Cesc Fabregas Midfielder 198
Eden Hazard Forward 352
Gianfranco Zola Forward 312
Didier Drogba Centre-forward 381
John Terry’s selections for Chelsea’s best ever XI
As you can see above, Terry picked an outrageously talented side. That’s without the likes of Carvalho, Branislav Ivanovic, Ray Wilkins, N’Golo Kante and Peter Osgood. Of course, we could go on and on about the omissions.
Fans may be slightly surprised to see retired midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the team. His talent and impact speaks for itself, though.
Even though he shined at Arsenal and Barcelona throughout his long playing career, he also had a glorious spell in Chelsea colours between 2014 and 2019. This included winning two Premier League titles with the Blues.
During a recent interview, Danny Drinkwater waxed lyrical about Fabregas by claiming he was sensational in Chelsea’s training sessions.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
John Terry names Frank Lampard as Chelsea’s best ever player
When Terry picked Frank Lampard in his best Chelsea XI, he went one further by labelling him as the greatest in the club’s history
Terry said: “I think Frank’s our best-ever player. And again for longevity, goals, repetition year after year. Lamps falls in that category. (Eden) Hazard’s our most talented-ever player, but in terms of what he achieved, Lamps goes right at the very top for me.”
We suspect that Terry’s opinion will be the same as many Chelsea fans.
In 648 Chelsea appearances, Lampard scored 211 goals and created 146 assists from central midfield. He won 13 major trophies, too.
According to John Obi Mikel, Lampard was Chelsea’s best trainer, which is no surprise when you see the type of career he achieved.