Antonio Conte opens up about what coaching Chelsea legend John Terry meant to him

Photo credit: Chelsea

Few players have brought happiness to Chelsea fans the way John Terry did throughout his incredible career. The club legend and former Blues captain will go down in history as one of the best ever. 

During his nearly 20 years with Chelsea, Terry appeared in more than 490 games

and was a stalwart on defense from his center back position.

And while former manager Antonio Conte was only with Terry for a short time, he informed Sky Sports just how much their time together meant to him in an interview this week. 

"It was a great privilege for me to be the coach of a Chelsea legend like John Terry," Conte said.  "We are talking about a top man, a really good man and then a top player. He helped me a lot in my first season in and out of the pitch."

 

With Conte in charge as manager and Terry as the club captain, Chelsea went on to win the English Premier League title in 2016-17. It was the perfect goodbye for Terry, who also won the Champions League with the club in 2012 and so much more. 

 

Though Terry saw less and less time on the pitch during that final campaign with Chelsea, Conte said the former Blues skipper took everything in stride and handled his reduction in minutes with total class. 

 

"I will never be able to thank him enough," Conte said. "He was very important for me and our team."

 

To this day, fans are thankful for the greatness Terry provided on the pitch. He'll go down not only as a Chelsea great, but an EPL titan as well.