Gallas hails ‘unbelievable’ Blues captain Terry

William Gallas and John Terry played in one of the Premier League’s meanest ever defences at Chelsea, and the Frenchman admits he immediately knew the former England captain was something special.

The pair won back-to-back Premier League titles together in West London under manager Jose Mourinho, shortly after owner Roman Abramovich arrived at the club.

Gallas was sold to London rivals Arsenal in 2006 after five years at Stamford Bridge, while Terry went on to lead Chelsea to two more league titles and the Champions League.

Terry, who remains club captain, was still breaking into the Chelsea first team when Gallas arrived from Marseille in 2001, but the 39-year-old says the hype surrounding his fellow centre-back was fully justified.

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“When I arrived at Chelsea I spoke with Marcel [Desailly]. Marcel told me: ‘We have one young player who is unbelievable, and his name is John Terry,’” he said.

“He plays with the right foot, the left foot. He asked if I could do it with the left foot and I said, ‘No I can’t’.

“Marcel said this guy is the new generation of Chelsea, he’s the new boy. I thought I am coming to Chelsea and I will be on the bench.

“The first time we trained together I was looking at [Terry] all the time, and I thought, ‘Marcel was right – this boy is good.’

“But we started playing together and the balance was perfect, and that’s why we played so many games together.”