It was a freeze-frame moment; a study of determination that appealed to the core of Fabio Capello and what he demands. Having hurled his body in the way of one fierce Slovenian shot, John Terry scrambled up and projected himself, almost horizontally, towards another.
His nose was just about brushing the turf, his neck muscles straining as he desperately tried to stop the ball. He was engulfed in one aim. They will not score. Terry narrowly missed but maybe he had done enough to unsettle the dangerous Valter Birsa and Glen Johnson was there to hack clear.
It was the 68th minute of Wednesday’s match, thick with tension, a tension that only increased, and it was as close as Slovenia came to breaching the England goal. It was also an episode which captured the essence of why Terry remains a remarkably committed, valuable defender even if his stock has dwindled dramatically off-the-field through recent months.
A man who should be an adjutant to captain Steven Gerrard — and by extension Capello — had developed into an agitator with his ill-judged, outspoken interventions of last weekend and his prickly mood around the camp before that. They revealed the strain at the heart of this England squad but also an opportunism that showed his own discontent and the isolation that he was in danger of placing himself in unless he acted.
But on Wednesday he was back on the pitch — a domain he is always more comfortable on than the podium. There was, in the immediate aftermath of the revelations over his private life last spring, evidence that he can steel himself through adversity — as he did scoring for Chelsea away to Burnley — even if he later revealed in subsequent performances that the pressure was showing.
The affair with Wayne Bridge’s former partner cost Terry the captaincy and that has continued to distract him, eat at him and been a factor in his anger that led to the possibility of a mutiny - by one man at least. Terry has since apologised to Capello, to the squad and also, one by one, to the players he named as having gone for a drink following the soulless draw against Algeria and who were horrified to be implicated by him in some kind of conspiracy.
It has surely been another humbling experience for Terry in the past few days but without Rio Ferdinand and with Ledley King injured and Jamie Carragher suspended, England needed him to step forward especially as, alongside him in central defence, Matthew Upson was beset by nerves, passing the ball haphazardly and appearing almost stage-struck. Terry had sought out Gerrard prior to kick-off for one of those pre-match chest kisses and he produced a performance that banished the doubts about his worth to this team.
Had he been anything less than excellent and it may have even become an issue as to whether Capello would leave him out for the last-16 match.
England still remain one poor performance from a crisis, a day of reckoning and accusation and Terry will be central to that shake-out whatever happened. But not on Wednesday.
He played his part on Wednesday, stamping his mark on the contest — there was a fearless recovery tackle after Upson had allowed the ball to bounce over his head, there was a storming run forward after England had scored and time and again he was there to intervene, push his body in the way and block. It’s what he does best. Terry almost scored, also, reaching a deep corner at the far post only for Slovenia’s impressive goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to push his header out. That would have been too much, surely, but Terry was relentless in his protection of the cause, his desire to keep England’s campaign alive.
Upson reacted too. At the death, Terry faltered, the ball running away from him, trying for one more desperate intervention but as substitute Zlato Dedic shaped to shoot, perhaps pulling the trigger to end England’s hopes, end Capello’s reign, it was Upson who threw everything into an emphatic tackle. It was one of which Terry would have been proud and after days in which he had hurt his own reputation and caused angst here was 90 minutes of redemption, 90 minutes of release. Capello will hope the unease as well as the fear has disappeared.
His nose was just about brushing the turf, his neck muscles straining as he desperately tried to stop the ball. He was engulfed in one aim. They will not score. Terry narrowly missed but maybe he had done enough to unsettle the dangerous Valter Birsa and Glen Johnson was there to hack clear.
It was the 68th minute of Wednesday’s match, thick with tension, a tension that only increased, and it was as close as Slovenia came to breaching the England goal. It was also an episode which captured the essence of why Terry remains a remarkably committed, valuable defender even if his stock has dwindled dramatically off-the-field through recent months.
A man who should be an adjutant to captain Steven Gerrard — and by extension Capello — had developed into an agitator with his ill-judged, outspoken interventions of last weekend and his prickly mood around the camp before that. They revealed the strain at the heart of this England squad but also an opportunism that showed his own discontent and the isolation that he was in danger of placing himself in unless he acted.
But on Wednesday he was back on the pitch — a domain he is always more comfortable on than the podium. There was, in the immediate aftermath of the revelations over his private life last spring, evidence that he can steel himself through adversity — as he did scoring for Chelsea away to Burnley — even if he later revealed in subsequent performances that the pressure was showing.
The affair with Wayne Bridge’s former partner cost Terry the captaincy and that has continued to distract him, eat at him and been a factor in his anger that led to the possibility of a mutiny - by one man at least. Terry has since apologised to Capello, to the squad and also, one by one, to the players he named as having gone for a drink following the soulless draw against Algeria and who were horrified to be implicated by him in some kind of conspiracy.
It has surely been another humbling experience for Terry in the past few days but without Rio Ferdinand and with Ledley King injured and Jamie Carragher suspended, England needed him to step forward especially as, alongside him in central defence, Matthew Upson was beset by nerves, passing the ball haphazardly and appearing almost stage-struck. Terry had sought out Gerrard prior to kick-off for one of those pre-match chest kisses and he produced a performance that banished the doubts about his worth to this team.
Had he been anything less than excellent and it may have even become an issue as to whether Capello would leave him out for the last-16 match.
England still remain one poor performance from a crisis, a day of reckoning and accusation and Terry will be central to that shake-out whatever happened. But not on Wednesday.
He played his part on Wednesday, stamping his mark on the contest — there was a fearless recovery tackle after Upson had allowed the ball to bounce over his head, there was a storming run forward after England had scored and time and again he was there to intervene, push his body in the way and block. It’s what he does best. Terry almost scored, also, reaching a deep corner at the far post only for Slovenia’s impressive goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to push his header out. That would have been too much, surely, but Terry was relentless in his protection of the cause, his desire to keep England’s campaign alive.
Upson reacted too. At the death, Terry faltered, the ball running away from him, trying for one more desperate intervention but as substitute Zlato Dedic shaped to shoot, perhaps pulling the trigger to end England’s hopes, end Capello’s reign, it was Upson who threw everything into an emphatic tackle. It was one of which Terry would have been proud and after days in which he had hurt his own reputation and caused angst here was 90 minutes of redemption, 90 minutes of release. Capello will hope the unease as well as the fear has disappeared.
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