Terry has been a more prominent figure in Mourinho’s Chelsea line-up this season after a number of troubled seasons that culminated in the centre-back struggling to hold his place in the team when Rafael Benitez was in charge last season.
The former England international has been revived following Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge for a second spell as manager and will captain the Blues on Saturday for the visit of a Cardiff side anxious to focus their efforts on the pitch following a week of off-field upheaval.
And Mourinho is confident Terry has moved on from the succession of problems on and off the pitch that included the loss of the England captaincy and the FA ban for directing racial abuse at QPR’s Anton Ferdinand. ‘He’s recovering his self-esteem,’ Mourinho said. ‘In the last few years he was not playing a lot, he had problems on the pitch, he had problems outside the pitch, he had suspensions for different reasons, he had injuries, he had managers who didn’t trust him enough.
‘And it looked like, at a certain moment, his career was going in the wrong direction. ‘Even I was questioning, from far away, what was happening to this guy: physical problems, psychological problems, what is going on? I’m happy he’s proving he’s still a top player. ‘He plays in defence and age doesn’t make a difference.’
The former England international has been revived following Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge for a second spell as manager and will captain the Blues on Saturday for the visit of a Cardiff side anxious to focus their efforts on the pitch following a week of off-field upheaval.
And Mourinho is confident Terry has moved on from the succession of problems on and off the pitch that included the loss of the England captaincy and the FA ban for directing racial abuse at QPR’s Anton Ferdinand. ‘He’s recovering his self-esteem,’ Mourinho said. ‘In the last few years he was not playing a lot, he had problems on the pitch, he had problems outside the pitch, he had suspensions for different reasons, he had injuries, he had managers who didn’t trust him enough.
‘And it looked like, at a certain moment, his career was going in the wrong direction. ‘Even I was questioning, from far away, what was happening to this guy: physical problems, psychological problems, what is going on? I’m happy he’s proving he’s still a top player. ‘He plays in defence and age doesn’t make a difference.’