Wayne Rooney has named the “glorious” former England star as his toughest opponent, given both his tackle abilities and his skills in possessing the ball.
Rooney reveals the toughest enemy
Few defenders were able to make Rooney better on a regular basis, as evidenced by the fact that Manchester United legend is the third-highest scorer in Premier League history and have a whopping 208 goals to his name.
The Liverpool-born forward spent most of his career at Old Trafford, where he was extremely successful, taking part in five Premier League titles for the Red Devils, four EFL Cups, one FA Cup and one Champions League.
During the time of Irish Alex Ferguson, United were very dominant, but given the emergence of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, finishing the top back-to-back in 2004-2005 and 2005-06, it has now come to three seasons without winning the title with the early noughties.
Things like Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, and Petr Cech all cemented themselves as blues legends in the process, but it is the former captain who was named Rooney’s most difficult opponent when speaking in overlap. The 39-year-old said:
“I’ve always said that John Terry is one of the toughest defenders to play against, and he was really good on the ball – he was great, he was great.
Terry was one of the best Premier League defenses of all time.
Given everything the former England star achieved at Chelsea, it’s no surprise that Rooney considers Terry his most difficult opponent.
During the 2004-05 campaign, Mourinho’s team shipped just 15 goals throughout the season, with 78 England Internationals losing only two matches, after which he lavished on the Portuguese manager.
The former Chelsea captain was not only a rock in the back, but he is also the highest scored defender in Premier League history, scoring 41 goals in 492 appearances.
Chelsea need a new centre-back as Levi Colwill sets a long spell on the bystanders due to an ACL injury, but it’s extremely difficult to find anyone who can replicate the impact Terry had on Stamford Bridge.
