Fourteen years ago on February 20th, in the sixth round of the FA Cup, in the 49th minute, John George Terry rose up from a setpiece to head home his first ever goal for Chelsea FC. It was an important goal in an important match against then Second Division side Gillingham F.C. as they had already beaten two other Premiership clubs in their FA Cup campaign, Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday. The dream was over for Gillingham as Terry’s header nestled in to goal and one of the greatest goalscoring defenders in football history began his tally for his boyhood club.

Jump to the 8:20 mark to see John Terry’s first senior goal:

Since that fateful day at Stamford Bridge so long ago, John Terry has gone on to score 57 goals for Chelsea Football Club. Terry’s career began at Chelsea as a 14 year old midfielder who, due to a shortage of center backs at the time, was asked to move in to the heart of defense for his academy side. Four years later at the age of 17, Terry made his first team debut in the FA Cup and his first start just three months later in the League Cup against Oldham Athletic. Did the thousands chanting and signing for Chelsea that day know they had just witnessed history as the clubs future captain, leader, legend made his full debut? Likely not, but it was clear from the start that Terry was a special player.

Fifteen years after his debut, Terry is still the man at the heart of Chelsea’s defense and the team as a whole. From scoring goals to throwing his body around the sixteen yard box, Terry was and is still willing to leave it all on the pitch for his teammates and his club. Scandals on and off the field have taken some of the shine off Stamford Bridge’s golden boy but no matter what happens he will always and forever be a legend at Chelsea and one of the greatest to put on the captain’s armband for the Blues. It started with a simple header, and if the rumors of his departure in the summer are true, one can only hope that it will end with Terry rising above the fray and winning another trophy for the boys in blue.

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