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Chelsea to the core and a true hero to the fans, John is the most successful captain in Chelsea history, he is skipper of his country and in many eyes, he's the best central defender currently in action.
As brave as they come and a superb reader of the game, sound technique and distribution make him more than just a defenders' defender.
Born in east London, John has been with Chelsea since the age of 14 when he was initially a medium-build midfielder.
Filling in as youth team centre-back one day due to a lack of alternatives, he has never looked back, aided by a rapid growth in physical stature.
A short and successful loan spell at Nottingham Forest helped the maturing process and having taken on board lessons first hand from the likes of Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf, he was voted Chelsea Player of the Year just two seasons after his debut.
After putting a short spell of off-field problems firmly behind him, John refocused on his game sufficiently to be handed his England debut in June 2003. He was first choice for his country at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
At Chelsea he had already taken on the captain's role, having understudied Marcel Desailly - and led the club to the elusive title in his very first year with the armband.
With the Carling Cup also lifted, John became one of only four Chelsea captains to skipper the club to major honours and he more than played his part on the pitch in 2004/05 with a succession of world class displays and eight crucial goals.
He was voted PFA Player of the Year by his fellow professionals, the first Chelsea winner of the accolade.
John's incredible consistency continued in 2005/06 when injury in the final week robbed him of a full house of Premiership games as he lifted the trophy for a second time.
He scored seven times in all competitions and was voted Chelsea Player of the Year for a second time.
José Mourinho joined those describing John 'the best centre-back in the world' and his universally acclaimed leadership skills were not ignored by incoming England boss Steve McClaren.
Chelsea's first homegrown to be capped by England since Ray Wilkins in the mid 70s proudly became our first England skipper of the professional age.
Although he already had well over 300 club appearances to his name, the 2006/07 season was interrupted by prolonged injury as a back problem and related difficulties took time to sort out.
However he was back and fighting in plenty of time to become the first to lift the FA Cup at the new Wembley and score the first international goal there.
Last season was another mixed one, with injuries limiting him to 37 appearances from a possible 62. Knee, cheek, foot and elbow injuries all took their toll on the man Avram Grant described as 'bionic', but he was still there barking orders in Moscow in our first Champions League Final.
A first league goal in almost two years came with an important near-post header at Sunderland, but John's season will be most remembered for his devastating penalty miss in the Luzhniki Stadium.
Charged with converting our fifth spot kick to bring the trophy back to London, he slipped and saw his effort hit the post, prompting him to apologise to the Chelsea fans, a deed regarded by those supporters as unnecessary
Held in the highest regard by all at the club, JT will be back in 2008/09 to lead in a new era under Luiz Felipe Scolari, and he will be hoping to banish those Moscow demons in Rome in 2009.
Edited by Carla_MrsTerry - 25/2/2009, 14:09
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