(bbc.co.uk)

A thank you to the man who helped restore a teen’s love for the game and gain at least some semblance of a “football career.”

I woke up, face down in the grass, gasping not only for air but for answers. Why was I so out of breath? Why was I surrounded by dozens of laughing high schoolers? As each fast-drawn breath entered and exited my body, the circumstances of my fall quickly flooded back into my consciousness, accompanied by dread.

I, Alex Moss, a fourteen year old freshman, had just feinted during my school’s JV soccer team tryouts while making the second half descent during one of America’s great pastimes. Running hills. Never mind the fact that I’d gone ahead with the tryout despite having blood drawn at my doctor’s appointment earlier that day. Or the fact I’d missed the initial summer tryouts in the first place and this normal, every day practice for the rest of the guys represented to me my last chance of making the team. None of my peers knew why or how this had happened. All they knew was that Moss had just passed out during warmups and it was hilarious. As I limped away from that hill, nursing the embarrassment of what had just happened more than any one injury, one thought crossed my mind: “I’ll never play for my school’s soccer team.” Yes, that may not sound like the most outlandish of dreams, but to me it had always been one that year after year was never realized. So after suffering one of the most embarrassing incidents of my young adult life, I was ready to never step back on a soccer field again.

Now I was no where close to being free of blame in this situation. I was as young as I was naive about my chances of success. I was out of shape even for someone who hadn’t had their blood taken that day and wildly delusional when it came to my overall ability as a soccer player. To make matters worse I began to convince myself that maybe my body type — 6'3, slow, and on the bulky side (and not in a good way)—was simply not conducive to being a successful soccer player even at the high school level. Maybe I wasn’t good enough.

(Mervyn Paine images)

Through all those years of failure, school soccer seasons came and passed from sixth grade to freshman year without making the team, yet every weekend I watched a man with physical deficiencies somewhat similar to my own claim success after success at the highest level. It was during the remainder of my freshman year as my love for the game was waning that John Terry helped restore my belief that I could still play the game and with it, my passion that still exists today. I began to consume soccer at the exorbitant rate that has led to this point in my adult life, but along the way I realized that if I was going to have any chance of playing the game that I would have to adapt by molding my game from JT’s and become the physical, crafty, and admittedly annoying to play against center-back that the Chelsea captain had always been. If I wasn’t able to outrun opponents or stay in front of them 100% of the time, I’d have to improve my ability to read the game and learn to put in a nasty tackle or two to deter opponents from crossing me again. It certainly wasn’t a stylish way of playing the game, but that, coupled with a slightly more in shape Alex turning up to tryouts the following year, rewarded me with a place on the team.

Now I won’t lie to you and tell you some story about how I went on to achieve a sparkling high school soccer career, but I did make the team every year after that while experiencing varying levels of inclusion. To me that was the success I had dreamt of all along. I did this all while modeling my own style of play off of a man who had been the embodiment of Chelsea for almost half my years of fandom. So you can imagine how the news of such a legend’s departure from the club at this season’s conclusion struck me.

What stood out to me least about JT yet perhaps contributed most to his success on the pitch was his reaction time in any situation defensive or in the opposition box, his ability to read the game two passes ahead of everyone else, and his knack for snuffing out almost any ball into the box before it had a chance to pass the near post. All these world class abilities pale in comparison to what made John Terry the captain, leader, and legend that so many Chelsea fans will talk about for decades. His leadership qualities and most importantly, commitment to the Chelsea cause, are what make him arguably the club’s most important player along with the likes of Ron “Chopper” Harris, Gianfranco Zola, and JT’s beloved teammate Frank Lampard.

(DailyMail images)

The boy who arrived at a club with only one league title, two FA Cups, and a few league and European Cup Winners cups to its name, will leave it with four (maybe five?) league titles, five (maybe SIX?) FA Cups, one Champions League, three league cups, and a Europa League trophy to add to the club’s now undeniably existing history. Criticize Roman Abramovich’s sudden insertion of funds into the club all you like, but no team’s star has risen quiet so quickly and successfully without its premier talents being swiped away from them since then. And while the ability to compete financially with the Real Madrid’s, Manchester United’s, and Barcelona’s of the world certainly helped, it was pivotal at such an important juncture of the club’s development for its leader and academy product to buy in to the project and help lead what many considered a group of footballing mercenaries to domestic and european glory over the coming years.

When we look back on John Terry’s career, we’ll remember the man who represented the ultimate defensive marshall. Despite his antics off the pitch and at times deplorable conduct on it, if you needed a man to organize a group of ten players to batten down the hatches and defend deep for ninety minutes, there was no one in the history of football you’d rather have. His performance in the first leg of Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona remains one of the quintessential “park the bus” performances against a team that’s considered one of the greatest to ever grace a football pitch. Though he’d go on to see red in the second leg, causing him to miss the victorious final through suspension, JT’s proven since then that the influence of his leadership permeates through a squad whether he’s included on the team sheet or not.

(DailyMail images)

As Chelsea’s march to a sixth domestic title draws to a close along with JT’s career there, whether the silverware is claimed or not will do little to change the fact that the skipper has continued to influence and lead his teammates from a diminished playing role. His commitment to and leadership of Chelsea Football Club through good times and bad will be what stays with me long after his last appearance at the Bridge.

So from the teenager who was ready to give up on not only playing football, but following it forever, thank you JT. Thanks for proving along with all-time greats like Lionel Messi and athletic anomalies like Peter Crouch, that footballers can come in all shapes, sizes, and personality types, as long as you learn to love the game and commit yourself to taking advantage of your own strengths while limiting your weaknesses. I got to have some semblance of a football career while watching you have one of the great ones.