Re-appointed England captain John Terry admits he will divide opinion but insists he has the support of the players in the national team.
The Chelsea centre-back was reinstated as captain by manager Fabio Capello on Saturday, 13 months after being stripped of the armband following allegations he had an affair with former international and Blues teammate Wayne Bridge’s then-girlfriend in 2009.Terry revealed he had received well wishes from the man he is replacing, Rio Ferdinand, while admitting he was not everyone’s favourite for the leadership.”I’m not going to be everybody’s cup of tea,” Terry said ahead of his side’s Euro 2012 qualifying clash with Wales at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.”Rio phoned me, which was a very nice touch and goes to show what a great man he is. We had a 10-minute conversation and he wished me well. He cares about England.””He was naturally disappointed, but said the most important thing was to keep winning.”The 30-year-old said there was a respectful silence when Capello told the team of his decision during training.”Nobody spoke. Nobody said a word to the manager, nobody said a word to me,” Terry said.”Respect for the players around me and the manager have always been there.”Terry said he had to accept the decision to strip him of the armband in February last year, but he did not necessarily agree.”I can’t continue thinking about (losing the captaincy) but the disappointment will stay with me for a long time,” he said.”When I met Fabio and Franco (Baldini) on the day, I accepted their decision (but) that doesn’t mean to say I agreed with it. But I looked them in the eye and told them they would get nothing less from me in training and on the pitch.”He tipped Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney to be the next captain of England, but said club teammate Frank Lampard and young keeper Joe Hart had the potential to be future leaders.Terry said that although Wales are winless and sit bottom in Group G of Euro 2012 qualifying, they had the individual talent to be dangerous.”For us, we must win to put ourselves in the best-possible position,” he said.”Wales have had a bad start but we know first-hand with the players they’ve got they pose a threat individually.”Meanwhile, former captain Gary Lineker said he was surprised by the decision to return the armband to Terry and questioned whether it would have an effect on team morale ahead of Saturday’s qualifier.
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