Terry's road to redemption

When John Terry trudged tearfully towards the Luzhniki Stadium dressing rooms after Chelsea's Champions League final defeat, the England star felt like his whole world had caved in.

He had just missed the penalty that would have made his club kings of Europe for the first time and now he had to drag himself back to England for another dose of disappointment on international duty.

Since Fabio Capello's arrival in the aftermath of England's failed attempt to qualify for Euro 2008 the Italian coach had been conducting an extensive audition for captain's job that had so far excluded Terry.

Seeing the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard lead the team out was a bitter blow for a player who taken the armband with such pride during the previous two years.

It seemed like his chance to regain the captaincy had gone, so Terry was surprised and delighted when Capello made him the skipper for a friendly against the United States at Wembley a week after that Champions League nightmare.

Terry's spirits were lifted and he responded with a typically inspirational display capped by a goal as England ran out comfortable winners. In that moment Terry began to convince Capello he was the man for the job in the long term.

Capello kept Terry waiting until the eve of this Wednesday's friendly against the Czech Republic before finally announcing that the Chelsea centre-back had won the captaincy race ahead of Rio Ferdinand, who had been widely tipped as the front runner.

Terry wore the look of a man granted a last minute reprieve from the gallows as he faced the media at England's hotel in Hertfordshire on Tuesday.

The tub-thumping that often seems to be the limit of Terry's pre-match proclaimations was cast aside for a more contrite approach.

He spoke only of earning redemption for that Euro 2008 disappointment. There was no bold talk of winning the 2010 World Cup.

Instead he insisted qualification should be England's only aim.

Whether he delivers on that goal remains to be seen. But one thing seems sure, Terry's unfortunate ability to court headlines for the wrong reasons will be consigned to the past.

As well proving a superb leader for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, winning two Premier League titles an FA Cup and a League Cup, Terry has found himself in the tabloids for some off the field indisrections hardly becoming for an England captain.

Capello has been keen to emphasise that his skipper must be a statesman on and off the field, so the Italian's veiled warning on Tuesday that no player is untouchable could well have been designed to keep Terry on his toes.

Sapa-AFP