Former managers speak out in support of John Terry

Strong bonds, despite everything that has happened.

A number of ex Chelsea managers have leapt to the defense of their former team’s captain with Jose Mourinho telling CNN:

“He’s not a racist – that’s 100 per cent.”

“We had a squad where we had 12 African players in the squad. It was a fantastic squad and he always had a great relationship with every one of them.’But in football it can happen during a match, because football sometimes is more than a game and sometimes you have reactions that don’t represent what you are really.

“Probably he had a racist comment or attitude against an opponent. Sometimes in football we do things the wrong way.’If he had that reaction, he should pay – but please don’t say he’s a racist. (Didier) Drogba, (Claude) Makelele…all of them will say he’s not a racist.’I never felt it (racism) in my dressing room. And I have always had African players in every one of my teams.”

Luiz Fellipe Scolari also said that it would be an honour for John Terry to die on the pitch:

“For John Terry, dying in the field would be glory,” said Scolari.

“He likes playing. I like this style. For the coach, it’s fantastic. When you look at some players, they whine. For Terry, no. You’d need to kill him and, maybe even then, he’d still play.’‘He’s a captain. He wants to show to the other players that, sometimes, we need to feel something.”

Stamford Bridge favorite and legend Carlos Ancelotti or “King Carlo” as he is affectionately called, echoed Jose Mourinho’s words -

“This is the decision of the Football Association? I don’t understand. And I think John Terry also doesn’t understand this.

“I think that to take out the armband makes no sense. It is unnecessary. I think John can survive through this because he has strong character. He can survive. But I think it is not right, not correct, in my opinion.”

Ancelotti also wrote a letter to the judges at the trial -

“This is the most important thing. I don’t know what happened on the pitch. Sometimes it can happen to lose control but John Terry is not racist, 100 per cent.”

Even Andre Villas Boas, the current Tottenham Hotspurs manager , defended John Terry and slated that the England have suffered a huge loss -

“JT’s retirement is a massive, massive loss for England,” stated Villas-Boas. “Terry is a player of unbelievable talent and he has done so much for his country and for Chelsea too. In the end, the decision he has made is personal, but from the perspective of the England squad and qualification for the World Cup, it leaves Hodgson in a difficult position looking towards qualification.

“I am not questioning the quality of the players he has at his disposal, but he has lost a player of great, great talent.”