08/ FEATURED UMBRO SPONSORED PLAYER– JOHN TERRY

John Terry was born in Barking, East London and attended Eastbury Comprehensive School. Terry played initially for Senrab FC. The side then featured many future stars of the English game, including current Premiership players Bobby Zamora, Ledley King and Jlloyd Samuel. Terry joined Chelsea’s youth system at 14, playing for the club’s youth and reserve teams as a midfield stalwart. It was due to a shortage of central defenders that he was moved to centre-half, the position he plays today.

John Terry was the captain of the England national team under Steve McClaren and he made his debut in June 2003 against Serbia and Montenegro. His main defensive partner is Rio Ferdinand. He played for his country at Euro 2004, and England Manager Sven-Göran Eriksson stated that Terry was the first-choice centre back, ahead of Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell.

In a FIFA World Cup Qualifying match against Poland, Terry had the honor of wearing England’s captain armband, replacing Michael Owen as captain after the latter was subbed.

He cemented his place in the England squad by being selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In a warm-up match for that tournament against Hungary on May 30, 2006, Terry scored his first goal for England, the team’s second in a 3-1 victory. Despite an injury scare in a friendly against Jamaica, he recovered to play in England’s opening fixture against Paraguay, a 1-0 victory.

In the next match against Trinidad and Tobago, Carlos Edwards beat England’s Paul Robinson to a cross and as Stern John bundled a header towards the goal, Terry cleared the ball off the line with an overhead kick. In the quarter-finals match against Portugal, Terry played the entire match, but England lost on penalties and he was left in tears with his fellow players. Six days later, he was the only English player to be named in the tournament’s all-star squad.

On 10 August 2006, Steve McClaren named John Terry as the England captain, succeeding David Beckham. McClaren said “Choosing a captain is one of the most important decisions a coach has to make. I’m certain I’ve got the right man in John Terry. I’m convinced he will prove to be one of the best captains England has ever had”. Terry scored a goal on his debut as the England captain, in a friendly international against Greece. This was the first goal of the match and, as such, the first goal during McClaren’s reign as manager.

On 1 June 2007, Terry became the first player in the senior England team to score an international goal at the new Wembley Stadium when he scored England’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Brazil. He scored from a header in the box after a free kick cross by David Beckham.

John Terry is the main face alongside Michael Owen for the Umbro sportswear brand often introducing new brand lines and products as well as new England kits. He has also appeared in adverts for Samsung, Nationwide and Swedish betting company Svenska Spel, as well as being in a sponsorship deal with football gaming series Pro Evolution Soccer. On the UK version of Pro Evolution Soccer 6, he appears on the front cover with Brazil international Adriano.