Chelsea players formed a guard of honour as John Terry left the Stamford Bridge pitch in the 26th minute of the club’s Premier League win against Sunderland
In the context of a glorious campaign, and a glittering career, it was hard to begrudge Chelsea and their departing captain all the pomp and circumstance. Passages of this occasion were heavily choreographed, from John Terry’s substitution as the clocks on the big screens at either end of the arena displayed 26 minutes, to the post-match hoisting of the Premier League trophy. Others, like Sunderland’s utter capitulation, might as well have been. Throw in a golden glove for Thibaut Courtois and this was as close to the perfect afternoon as the locals could ever have envisaged.
It has been a pristine season. Each of Chelsea’s champions was cheered as he stepped forward on to the plinth, erected on the centre-spot here, to be rewarded for a year when everyone at this club has bought into the manager’s mantra of “work, work, work”. Antonio Conte was hidden at the back of the throng, stage right, when Gary Cahill and Terry finally hoisted the trophy and the pyrotechnics, streamers and ticker tape exploded all around. It is not his style to hog the limelight, even if the players soon sought him out. The Champagne sprayed thereafter probably ruined the Italian’s second suit of the day given he had already been drenched, albeit largely in energy drinks and water, at the final whistle.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the afternoon was that Terry, a player who has always worn his heart on his sleeve, kept it together until well over half an hour after the final whistle and they had finished playing the montage of his greatest moments. He finally cracked when he had the microphone in hand and, with the home support hanging on his every word, was addressing “one of the most difficult days of my life”. He offered thanks to those he has worked under and with, and to Roman Abramovich, up in his box, who “really cares about this football club from the under-8s to the first team”.
The sight of his wife and children in tears finally pushed him over the edge, the speech rather stumbling as he faced those up in the Matthew Harding stand. “Lastly, you guys the fans, the best supporters in the world without a shadow of a doubt,” he said. “You’ve given me everything from the age of 17 when I first started out. You picked me up when I was down, sung my name when I’ve had bad days and disappointed you as well. [Saying] thank you will never ever be enough, but I tell you: I’ll be back here one day. I’m going to be supporting the players and the club from the bottom of my heart. I love you all.” Thank you and goodnight.
The farewell ceremony had effectively begun far earlier in the afternoon when, at about 3.26pm, Conte delivered a nod and a wink from the sidelines, Diego Costa passed on the message to a pre-warned Jordan Pickford, and the goalkeeper obligingly sliced the ball out of play. The fourth official duly lifted the substitutes’ board and Terry’s time, as well as his number, was up. There were hand claps and hugs with all his team-mates, with the Chelsea players meandering over to the touchline to form a guard of honour for the departing captain. By the time Terry actually made it off the pitch, via a ceremonial transfer of the armband to Cahill, the game was actually closer to 29 minutes old.
David Moyes later admitted Sunderland had been aware of the plan, and did not seem offended that a Premier League contest had descended into stage managed sentimentality. It was not as if Chelsea were setting a precedent. This was Terry’s 717th appearance for this club, 580th as captain, and 345th and last at Stamford Bridge, with 15 major trophies claimed over 22 years on the books. This club may never see his like again. If anything had rested on the game, then it might have felt less appropriate. Yet Chelsea are champions, and Sunderland had long since been condemned. The locals would not have had it any other way.
In truth, this whole occasion was always more celebration than contest. The visitors had actually joined in themselves for a while, thankful a miserable season is finally drawing to a conclusion. Javier Manquillo had volleyed them into an early lead while Terry was still on the pitch, though they were never likely to end life in the top flight on a rare high. Willian, belting a shot through Pickford after Marcos Alonso had struck the angle of post and bar with a free-kick, swiftly drew the hosts level before Sunderland wilted completely in the final half-hour.
Eden Hazard scythed the champions ahead, then, with the visitors’ broken, Cesc Fàbregas’ pass was nodded over the on-rushing goalkeeper by Joleon Lescott with Pedro sprinting on to the loose ball to head into the unguarded net. The concession was farcical, with the substitute, Michy Batshuayi, then permitted to add his own brace in the dying moments. Moyes is due to meet the Sunderland owner, Ellis Short, at his Chelsea home on Monday with his own future as manager up for discussion. His tenure has been traumatic to date.
“I’m gutted we’ve been relegated and really disappointed with the way the season has gone,” he said. “But what do you do? Football has winners and there are people who lose.”
Chelsea, with the FA Cup final still to come, fall into the former bracket. There were other departures to note here, with Steve Holland serenaded by the crowd and thanked publicly by Terry as he leaves to join Gareth Southgate’s England staff on a full-time basis. Costa, too, had made a point of waving to all sides of the arena, fuelling suggestions his three-year stint at this club could also be over. The Brazilian spent the last half-hour mucking about on the bench, squirting the coaching staff with bottles of water and frantically signalling to Courtois that Hugo Lloris had conceded at Hull to ensure the Belgian’s 16 clean sheets of term could not be caught. This was Chelsea demob happy. They had earned their delight
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