04 November 2023 , 07:15
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John Terry admits he went for Rafa Benitez in the Chelsea dressing room before team-mates leapt in to hold him back.
The Blues legend worked with the former Liverpool boss for the latter part of the 2012/13 season after the Spaniard was hired to replace Roberto Di Matteo until the end of the season. Benitez's past connection by no means endeared him to the club's fans base.
His handling of the club captain also saw tensions rise with Terry, previously a regular, seeing his minutes decline under the Spaniard. He only started five Premier League games under Benitez and was left out for notable cup games.
It was an FA Cup semi-final loss that would see Terry reach boiling point. Chelsea had won the competition 12 months earlier but went down 2-1 to Manchester City at Wembley. Benitez appeared willing to brush off the defeat and turn attention to next week, but Terry wasn't a fan of that mindset.
He told former team-mate John Obi Mikel on the Nigerian’s "We played Man City in the FA Cup, and he wasn’t playing me, so we were at loggerheads, arguing on the training pitch. He was leaving me out of the team, leaving me off the bench, but I insisted on travelling with the team. I was on the bench at Man City, and we lost 2-1.
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“We came in after the game and he addressed the group and said 'Oh well guys, it doesn’t matter, we have another game at the weekend'. At the time, you could feel Man City were doing something, and I’d just had enough. I said, ‘Is that accepted? No chance. You’ve accepted us losing to Man City!'
John Terry and Rafa Benitez clashed while working together at Stamford Bridge“I’m across the dressing room, all the lads are pulling me back, he’s now coming towards me, and I just said ‘That’s not accepted at Chelsea. Maybe at Liverpool losing a quarter-final is acceptable, but at Chelsea, that’s not accepted!’”
Benitez would eventually leave Chelsea having delivered the Europa League and a third-place finish. Terry's peripheral role was about to change as Jose Mourinho returned for a second spell at the club, immediately restoring the centre-half to the heart of defence.
The former England international has previously discussed his time with Benitez in west London. Terry claims his insistence on referencing his time at Liverpool was a problem with the Spaniard determined to stick to his methods.
The defender saw his playing time drop off under the SpaniardHe told Sky Sports: 'The supporters never took to him and wanted him out from day one. You could say he was quite successful, we won the Europa League under him of course, but for me personally, you want to develop and learn. I'd seen tactically how he'd set up against us previously. You give everyone a fair chance and it's down to them to prove to you otherwise, but we just didn't get on from day one.'
Terry added: 'Every meeting we had it was, "We used to do this at Liverpool". I had to have a few conversations with him and say, "Gaffer, you have to forget Liverpool, you can't keep saying we this, we that, you're at Chelsea now, it's not going down well with the lads".