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There are two personalities to any sportsman in the world: his off-field and his on-field one. In this week’s Shady View, iSporter Pulasta Dhar debates on John Terry, who has been impeccable on field, but will it be enough for forgiveness from the fans?

We saw it happen to Tiger Woods in one of the most famous cases of infidelity the world has ever seen in the sporting arena. The man was an icon and simply stunning when it came to handling a golf stick. But when it came to getting it from his wife, the man ran as if a mad dog was running behind him.

Now we have Mr. Chelsea, a man idolized by all the Chelsea fans and of course, the English ones too. The club and country captain has been a symbol of resilience while defending his team. Many have said that John Terry defends with his heart. So much is his loyalty to the Blues that people have forgotten that he is a boyhood Manchester United fan. Well, that was a surprise to me, so I will not be taken aback at some looks this line is going to get!

When it came to the selection of the England captain once David Beckham had resigned, the race was between two people. These two people were so similar in leading their own club sides that only the slightest could have worked against the other man in contention. The two men I am talking about are John Terry and Steven Gerrard. Respected by fans for all that they had given their clubs, no one would have scoffed if either was selected captain of one of the most underachieving national football teams in the world. What got John the nod was that he had led a squad full of footballers whose wages got compared more than their goals and assists.

When it comes to being the captain of your national team, there is a behaviour that one has to display. Now we know why David was loved so much, because his moral conduct was always good. He might have seen a few reds in his time, but his comebacks are all for the DVD rack. Look at John’s face….does it give you any clue that he could have cheated on his wife? I do not think so, but looks can be deceiving.

What has played against JT is that the girl he got caught for was the girlfriend of one of his own teammate and this…..this is unbelievable! After the initial uproar, papers began to dig deeper, since they were also freed from their gagging order and found gold. The gold in this case were 10 more girls linked with the center back. Not only that, details of what he did and where also came out with pictures of all the wannabe WAGS splashed across British tabloids.

I have one piece of advice to all the footballers who want to do something like this. By the something, I mean have fun. Do not get married till you’re done with what you want to do!! It is natural to be hit on by the hottest models in the United Kingdom if you are one of the richest footballers. And mark my words, it is not easy to let go all of them. JT may have stopped himself once or twice but maybe the urge got overwhelming to such an extent that cheating became a habit.

Do not get me wrong, but it is human enough to err when you are one of the guys in the lingerie flaunting girls’ list of “Wanted”. If JT would not have been captain of both his squads, then maybe the media attention would have been a lot less. But captains are expected to behave within the ‘moral code of conduct’ if something like that exists at all in the British A-Class circles.

This is when the comparisons to Stevie G and David Beckham start going against you. I do not know what your take on this one is (I’m sure you’ll put it in the ‘comments’ section), but I would still like to see him wear the armband and avoid all controversy so close to the World Cup. When it comes to playing football, he’s one of the best. Let us leave him alone in his bedroom. Or is he really alone?

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