Carlo Ancelotti gives support to troubled Chelsea captain John Terry

Posted Sunday, January 31, 2010 by theguardian.com

Carlo Ancelotti gives support to troubled Chelsea captain John Terry
Chelsea captain John Terry applauds the crowd after heading the winning goal against Burnley.

Carlo Ancelotti has given his unequivocal backing to John Terry after the Chelsea and England captain was accused of having an extra-marital affair with the former partner of his international team-mate, Wayne Bridge.

Terry, married since 2007 to Toni, whom he met growing up in Barking, was booed every time he touched the ball at Burnley. And yet, perhaps inevitably, it was his header that decided the game and sent Chelsea four points clear of Manchester United and five of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

"There has been no discussion about him not being captain of Chelsea," said his manager in the wake of a 2-1 victory on a ground where United and Arsenal have dropped points. "I don't know why you are asking me this question."

Reports last night, however, suggested that Terry, who is expected to speak on the phone to England's manager Fabio Capello today, could be stripped of the captaincy of his country and that his Chelsea club-mate Frank Lampard is the frontrunner for the job. There were more lurid headlines about Terry in today's tabloids which will hardly help improve Capello's mood as he recovers from a knee operation.

As the Chelsea squad gathered at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel in the bleak, beautiful countryside between Blackburn and Burnley on Friday, Terry knew that once his injunction against the News Of The World was overturned, his relationship with Vanessa Perroncel, the mother of Bridge's child, would be horribly exposed. And yet Ancelotti said there had been no debate with him about standing down.

"It was never discussed," he said. "I need only worry about his professional life and he has done well in every game for me. I am not worried. On Friday, he had an excellent training session so it was not necessary to speak with him." Having been brought up on Italy's strict privacy laws, Ancelotti looked bewildered at the amount of questions directed at his captain's private life, and dismissed suggestions that the conduct of a man recently voted Dad of the Year was an embarrassment. "The professionalism of John Terry improves the club," he said. "He scored the winning goal and as a manager that is what is important." Had Terry moved to Manchester City in the summer, he and former Chelsea player Bridge would again be team-mates. Yesterday, the England left-back issued a statement through his club, saying: "I have read the press reports in the last two days, they deal with matters which are of a deeply personal and private nature. My primary concern is the welfare of my son. Therefore, I intend to make no public comment either now or in the future."

As the headlines piled up, there were concerns that Terry's conduct might divide the dressing room at Stamford Bridge. However, as he ran to the stands, his fist clenched after heading home the winner, Petr Cech dashed almost the length of the pitch to congratulate him in a conscious show of support.

The publicist Max Clifford, who, perhaps predictably, has become involved – representing Perroncel – said that while the affair was unlikely to cost him the England captaincy, Terry would have to be prepared for some "banter" from the stands. This he received at Turf Moor, although the most vicious booing was reserved for Ashley Cole, who was howled off when substituted, presumably for being Ashley Cole. Mostly, Terry received a rolling, leery jeer.