John Terry, the Chelsea icon, has named Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero, and Harry Kane as the four toughest opponents he faced during his 20-year senior career in the Premier League. The former England captain was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside former Manchester United and Newcastle forward Andy Cole, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in English football history.
Terry was known for his fearless defending and his ability to play the ball out from the back with confidence and composure. He was a nightmare for opposing strikers more often than not, but even he had his struggles against some of the elite marksmen in the division’s history.
When asked to name his toughest opponents, Terry’s initial thought was Thierry Henry. “Thierry Henry was the best I came up against, the one I feared the most,” he said (per the Daily Mail). Many defenders will have felt the same about the Frenchman, who is widely seen as one of the greatest strikers of all time.
Terry was also quick to praise Wayne Rooney, a former England colleague whom he locked horns with on many occasions at club level. “Next has to be Wayne Rooney,” he said. “He was a top, top player and what he achieved was incredible. I don’t know if it gets overlooked a little bit just how good Wayne was when he first broke into the England team. I remember playing against him in the Premier League and having him as a teammate in the England sessions. He was phenomenal.”
Terry also named Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane as two more recent Premier League stars who gave him a hard time on the pitch. Aguero was a prolific scorer for Manchester City, while Kane has been one of the most consistent strikers in the Premier League for several seasons.
In the 2004/05 season, Terry and the rest of his Chelsea backline secured the record for the least goals conceded in a Premier League season (15). Terry has claimed that this campaign was as impressive as Arsenal’s famous ‘Invincible’ season the year before.
“I’m going to upset a couple of people here, but I think that season was as good as the Invincibles season for Arsenal,” he said. “They drew an awful lot of games.” Without being too critical of the Gunners’ achievement, Terry focused on his pride at the record he and his teammates accomplished: “Looking back today. That could have maybe been nine or 10 goals conceded. I don’t think it’s a record that’s ever going to be beaten, if I’m honest. I certainly hope it’s not, and I’m very proud of what we did defensively.”
Chelsea conceded 11 fewer goals and won five more points in the 2004/05 Premier League season than Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ squad.
