Veteran Terry, returnee Drogba, many stars

Chelsea’s centre back John Terry has worn the London jersey for 16 years (Photo: getty)
First Team
Monday, 28.07.2014 / 16:54

Clemens Fritz has played for SV Werder for eight years and the Erfurt native has worn the captain's armband for the past three years. Another world footballer was born on the the...



Clemens Fritz has played for SV Werder for eight years and the Erfurt native has worn the captain's armband for the past three years. Another world footballer was born on the the same day as the 33-year-old, on 07 December 1980, nearly 800 kilometres to the west in England's capital London, who will be squaring off against Fritz on Sunday - John Terry. The former English international and FC Chelsea will be taking on Bremen on the "Day of the Fans" at Weser Stadium.

But Fritz and Terry have more than just their birthday in common. Both are defenders, both are captains for their teams, both are former internationals and they will face off for the third time in their careers. Terry is engrained in the history of Chelsea. He played for them in 2006 when Werder and the London club were in the same group in the Champions League. Terry has worn the Chelsea shirt since 1998, having also gone through the club's youth system.

For his coach José Mourinho, Terry's experience of nearly 100 Champions League matches, 78 caps for England and well over 400 Premier League matches is extremely valuable. But not just for the Portuguese coach, who has won two league titles and one FA Cup. The many youngsters in the club also benefit from his experience.

Di Santo: “Drogba helped me a lot”

Back home: Didier Drogba returns to FC Chelsea after being away for two years (Photo: getty).

Whether it's Mitchell Beeney, Nathaniel Chalobah, Lewis Baker or Izzy Brown - all of them can and want to learn from Terry. From him and the other greats with the club - such as Didier Drogba. The Ivory Coast international only just retuned to Stamford Bridge a few days ago. He wore the Blues jersey for eight years from 2004 to 2012 before the striker legend left for China. But not before helping the club to the greatest success in its history. Drogba scored a late 1-1 equaliser in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich to eventually send the match to a penalty shoot-out.

The 36-year-old Drogba is back and one person who knows him well is Franco Di Santo. When Werder's Argentinean arrived in the English metropolis at 18 years old from South America, Drogba helped him greatly to get used to things. "I learned a lot from him. Everyone knows that he's an unbelievable player, maybe one of the best central strikers in history. But for me, who knows him, he's even better as a person than as a player," said Di Santo. "For me, it will be a great pleasure to play against him this weekend."

Even though some internationals like Eden Hazard and Andre Schürrle are still on break after the World Cup, a number of other World Cup players like Drogba will be coming to Bremen. Fernando Torres, Cesar Azpilicueta as well as new acquisitions Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa all played for Spain in Brazil while Gary Cahill played for England. Werder fans can experience them up close and personal on Sunday 3 August 2014. There are still tickets available for the big test match.

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