Wayne Rooney says former England teammate John Terry was the most difficult opponent he faced during his career.
The Manchester United and England legend has recently taken his next step in management, being announced as Plymouth Argyle’s new boss over the weekend.
Despite having a mixed time in the dug out so far, Rooney‘s reputation as one of the best English players lives on.
He terrified defenders in his stunning playing career that took in England caps, Premier League titles and Champions League crowns all while the best stoppers attempted to stop him scoring goals.
Not many did, but some made it tough as he explained to former Man United and England teammate Gary Neville on the latest episode of The Overlap.
“I’d probably say John Terry [was the toughest]. You used to always think you could do him for pace, but he’d put himself in good positions and he was always physical and strong.
“So yeah I think John Terry was the most difficult.”
Aside from representing England together, Terry and Rooney went head-to-head on numerous occasions in the Premier League and in cup competitions.
Terry, who is regarded as one of England’s best ever centre-halves, made 717 appearances for Chelsea and earned legend status as he helped the Blues win the Champions League in 2012 and five Premier League titles amongst other accolades.
Rooney clearly knew just how talented Terry was, with him admitting he wore ‘maximum length’ studs against him when Man United needed to win to stop them from lifting a second successive title in 2006.
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Terry left Stamford Bridge that day in crutches – but he has since laughed off Rooney’s admission of his intention to injure him.
The former Chelsea captain isn’t the only defender Rooney still has nightmares about.
AC Milan legends Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini also ensured he worked his socks off for 90 minutes to try and find the back of the net.
“I always remember playing AC Milan in the semi-final of the Champions League,” he told TNT Sports in March. “Obviously, we went on to play in finals, but that was the first semi-final.
“I remember when we beat them 3-2 [at Old Trafford in 2007], and after 10 minutes, I could hear them breathing, and I remember thinking: ‘we’ve got them.’
“And then when we went to the San Siro, they were like Rolls Royces. I don’t know how they did it.”
Milan won 3-0 on their own patch to progress to the final and win the whole thing by beating Liverpool.
However, Rooney and United made it to the final the following year and beat Terry’s Chelsea on penalties.