Footballmedia.net Exclusive- Rashid Saadlou: When the cat is let out of the bag, it is so hard to handle the situation; particularly if the case is about John Terry who is England's skipper and arguably the best central defender in the world. Now that everyone knows about John Terry's relationship with his former team mate's ex-girlfriend, let us not slam Chelsea's leader in the way that English newspapers have done in the last few days. Right now, we are confronted with two facts here:
First of all, is an out-of-order relationship a means to take the captain armband away from JT? Second of all, does anyone care who will lead out England on the pitch as long as they play well and get their favorable results?
From English papers' point of view, there will be a "Yes" to the first question. They have excruciated John Terry during the last few days and a glance at their front pages can be a clear proof. It wasn't just about the papers though; even the English government and its Sports Minister sprang into action and asked FA officials to depose Terry as the team's captain.
The second question is a tough one, but at the same time, a simple "No" will do. A prime example to elaborate on your "No" answer is taking a look at the latest clash between Arsenal and Manchester United irrespective of how Man U thrashed The Gunners 3-1 at the Emirates. With the absence of Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand in the United's starting line-up, you would have expected to see Wayne Rooney or Edvin van Der Sar as the skipper, but you and I were all quite wrong as Patrice Evra led out Manchester United for the very first time in the Premier League during his high-profile United career. Need another example to get my point? Take a look at Real Madrid or Barcelona. When Barcelona play a heavenly game and you see Lionel Messi having the world at his feel, do you really care if Barcelona's captain is either Carles Puyol or Xavi Hernandez? I bet my life you don't. Even the staunch supporters of Real Madrid would not care tuppence if Raul or Guti is responsible for the team's captaincy as long as Real can win against their opponents.
Well, everybody except for anti-English football fans wished that John Terry's relationship with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend had been revealed in another time since FIFA World Cup 2010 is due to be held in less than five months time. However we want to get down to the nitty-gritty of all this fuss and see if we can puzzle anything out:
Turn a blind eye to what has happened about John Terry and answer this question to yourself honestly: Is he the best central defender in English football? Of course, there will be a group of yeas and a group of nays. If your answer is a Yes, well then the case is closed. But, if you happen to be a naysayer, I have to remind you that John Terry's case is not the first and possibly it will not be the last in English football. Looking back, everybody might remember that Paul Gascoigne or as the English media called him "Gazza" was one of the most polemical British footballers in the 90's and his Autobiography book Gazza: My Story was selling like hot cakes, thanks to his bizarre and troublesome lifestyle; but I assure you that people refer to Gascoigne as a dynamic and versatile former English midfielder rather than a trouble-making man off the pitch.
Even those who castigate Diego Maradona's ill-behaved morality and talk about how he used to be an addict or dead drunk would never ever dare to deny the fact that El Diego is a second-to-none footballer.
At this phase, some reports suggest that England's manager Fabio Capello is likely to stand by his captain after a meeting this weekend; but even if the converse is true, John Terry's personal affairs off the pitch will never affect his contributions towards both his club and national team on the pitch as Bruce Lee once said: "The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering." From my perspective, John Terry's life has been worth of remembering so far. What is your take on this?
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