Terry would die for Chelsea, says Scolari

If Luiz Felipe Scolari gets depressed as he counts the walking wounded in Chelsea’s treatment room over the coming weeks, he can take heart from the reassuring presence of a player he believes would die for the cause.

Scolari has seen his squad ravaged by a series of injuries to Michael Ballack, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Ashley Cole, Ricardo Carvalho and Joe Cole since the start of the season.

But while all about him are dropping like flies, Chelsea and England captain John Terry is once again proving his remarkable ability to play through the pain barrier.

Terry missed England’s World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus with a back problem that continues to bother him, yet the defender has told Scolari he has no intention of taking time off to recover.

It is an attitude typical of player who is always willing to put his body on the line to win a tackle or deny an opponent.

Nothing epitomises Terry’s spirit better than the moment when he was knocked out by a boot to the head from Abou Diaby as he blocked the Arsenal midfielder’s shot in the 2007 League Cup final.

Even Terry’s team-mates feared the worst as he was stretchered off to hospital but he was back at the stadium in time to see Chelsea lift the trophy.

Scolari wasn’t surprised to hear the tale.

“For John Terry if he dies on the field, I think it is glory!” Scolari said. “I like this style. The quality is fantastic because he is my reference for the other players,” Scolari said.

“Some players when you look at them, they seem like they are in pain. For Terry you need to kill him. Maybe he would get up!

“Terry is a different player. Even when we have four against four in training, for Terry it is a game. He always wants to play.”

Terry’s never-say-die attitude has led some to suggest he could suffer a premature end to his career. Scolari has no such concerns and insists, despite evidence to the contrary, that his captain is sensible enough to know his limits.

“He is a captain. He wants to show to the other players that sometimes we need to feel something and give more for the group,” Scolari said.

“If it is dangerous he will talk to me. We are open and discuss it.”

While Terry was recovering from his latest injury, his Chelsea and England team-mate Ashley Cole was enduring a miserable week on international duty.

Cole was jeered by sections of the Wembley crowd last weekend after his mistake gifted Kazakhstan a goal and then suffered a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the next game in Belarus.

Scolari dismissed suggestion that Cole may decide to retire rather than become a target for the boo-boys and claimed the left-back is resilient enough to cope with the abuse.

“Ashley is one of the best professionals,” he said. “When he played against Kazakhstan he made a mistake. He could have made it playing for Arsenal, Chelsea or anyone.

“The reaction from the fans sometimes is more than we expect. He has come back and hasn’t talked about it. For Ashley it is one more thing in his life and not more.

“Sometimes players are liked more than others; because they have blue eyes or a nice haircut. If the player is professional he understands everything about fans.

“It is the same everywhere in the world, not just in England, Portugal or Brazil. When players make mistakes the fans don’t like it. They shout, sometimes because they are angry with their wives or their job.”