Former England captain John Terry has praised the foul on Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka during the Euro 2020 final, describing Giorgio Chiellini as a legend for his actions.
The incident stands out in the minds of England fans around the globe, who saw the foul knowing that it was to deny us our best chance of levelling the score as we chased the Italian’s 1-0 lead, but one Englishman could only muster praise for his actions.
Terry gave an interview this week to talk of his admiration for Azzurri defenders over the years, naming Paulo Maldini as his idol, before going onto claim that it was legendary for Chiellini to have used his quick-thinking to decide how to stop Saka.
“I studied Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini. Maldini is my absolute idol, he made everything look easy. Nobody has ever had his style,” JT told La Gazzetta (via FootballItalia).
“Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are the best players of his generation, they are two legends already.
“To do what Chiellini did on Saka… It’s not easy. If you just think about it, it’s clear that you are a legend.
“To me, England were superior to Italy, but the Azzurri had something special. When I saw them sing the national anthem during the group stage, I thought: ‘This is what the fans want, fight together, with passion and sacrifice.’ The experience did the rest.”
I still believe that the referee should have punished the obvious foul with more than a yellow card, although there is no guarantee that would have helped the Three Lions to overturn the result. I struggle to praise the actions of Chiellini, and struggle to understand why I’m hearing an Englishman say such a thing, although the Chelsea defender is never going to be a fans favourite after his antics for his former club regardless.
Do you believe Chiellini deserves praise for his quick-thinking? Or were his actions simply wrong and over-the-top?
Patrick
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