John Terry has recalled the time former Chelsea captain Dennis Wise grabbed him round the throat in a dressing room bust. The incident led to the then-teenage sensation selling his new car and learning a valuable lesson in the process. The altercation between the pair ignited after Terry arrived to training in a brand new car, funded by a Champions League bonus he had received from the west London club. The defender’s admittedly impulsive purchase was not taken well by Wise, who took it upon himself to teach the youngster a lesson. Terry recalled the embarrassment he felt and how, despite losing money, he was better off in the long run.
John Terry said: “He was club captain at the time. I remember I was in the first team and got a Champions League bonus and I went out and stupidly bought a car with the bonus I was on. I was 19 at the time. I come in with my car and Wisey got me up round the throat in the corridor in front of everyone: ‘Who do you think you are? Go and take the car back’. So he made me go and take the car back, which I lost money on, took me around and helped me find a house, buy a house, so it was the best bit of advice,” Terry added. “I was embarrassed at the time but it was the best bit of advice that I could have had. So I’m really grateful for all those little bits along the way, guiding the younger players, and he always not only had his eye on the first team but had an interest in the younger boys.”
Terry is now a coaching consultant at Chelsea. The former captain acts as a figure for the aspiring Cobham graduates to look up to and use as a beacon of guidance. While for the Blues, he’ll act as a voice of reason. The leadership qualities he will have learned from Wise are invaluable, although he might not be able to express his views in so strident a manner as his former skipper.
