Early career
Terry was born in Barking, east London, and attended Eastbury Comprehensive School. Terry played initially for Senrab, a side that featured many future stars of the English game, including current Premiership players Sol Campbell, Jermain Defoe, Bobby Zamora, Ledley King and Jlloyd Samuel.[12] As a boy he initially was part of West Ham United's youth system, joining them as a midfielder in 1991.[13] He moved to Chelsea at 14, playing for the club's youth and reserve teams. It was due to a shortage of central defenders that he was moved to centre-back, the position he plays today.
[edit]Early time with Chelsea
Terry made his Chelsea debut on 28 October 1998 as a late substitute in a League Cup tie with Aston Villa; his first start came later that season in an FA Cup third round match, a 2–0 win over Oldham Athletic. He spent a brief period on loan with Nottingham Forest in 2000 to build up his first team experience. While playing for Forest, Terry was spotted by then-Huddersfield Town manager Steve Bruce who bid £750,000 for the defender. Chelsea accepted the offer, but it fell through as Terry opted to remain with the Premier League club and learn his trade in the top division.[14] Terry was involved in an incident at a West London nightclub with Chelsea team mate Jody Morris and Wimbledon's Des Byrne. He was charged with assault and affray, but later cleared.[15] During the affair, he was given a temporary ban from the England national side by the FA.[16] Previously, along with Chelsea team-mates Frank Lampard, Jody Morris, Eiður Guðjohnsen and former team-mate Frank Sinclair, in September 2001 Terry was fined two weeks wages by Chelsea after drunkenly harassing grieving American tourists in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks.[17][18] During his early days at Chelsea Terry shared a flat with Andrew Crofts.[19]
[edit]First-team regular
Terry began to establish himself in the Chelsea first team from the 2000–01 season, making 23 starts, and was voted the club's player of the year.[20] He continued his progress during 2001–02, becoming a regular in the defence alongside club captain and French international Marcel Desailly. On 5 December 2001 he captained Chelsea for the first time, in a League match against Charlton Athletic. Chelsea reached the FA Cup final, following wins against London rivals West Ham and Tottenham in the fourth and six rounds respectively, and Fulham in the semi-final – where Terry scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory. A virus denied Terry a place in the starting line-up for the final, although he came on as a second-half substitute as Chelsea lost 2–0 to Arsenal. In season 2003–04, his performances led to him being handed the captain's armband by manager Claudio Ranieri, when Desailly was out of the side. He played well in the absence of the French international, forming a strong defensive partnership with William Gallas.