According to ESPN, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been full of praise for the way his club captain John Terry has gone about resurrecting his career from the days when off-the-pitch troubles surrounded his career, and believes that the former England international has begun recovering his self esteem.

Chelsea were boosted by the news of Mourinho’s return to the side in the summer, but results have certainly not shown a drastic change, with the Blues struggling to find the winning touch in several games this season. The Portuguese boss knew that he came back to Stamford Bridge with expectations sky high considering his past successes with the club, but the former Real Madrid boss was quick to suggest in his early press conferences that he was no magician who could instantly deliver results, and that supporters were going to have to learn to be patient with results over the season. The squad taken over by the manager had several players from the last time Mourinho managed Chelsea, and that included the club skipper Terry, who has been a tower of strength at the back for the club ever since. Another player who is arguably Mourinho’s most preferred midfielder in the world is Frank Lampard, who has been touted by the boss as one of the world’s best in his position.

Terry’s career has Chelsea written all over it. Even though the highly rated defender began his career in 1991 as a youth academy player at West Ham United, he was soon scouted by Chelsea, who signed him up to join their youth academy in 1995. After maturing into a steady center back, Terry was offered a professional contract by Chelsea in 1998, and the player accepted it, beginning his long run with the Blues. The season in 2004 brought a notable mark in Terry’s career as he was selected as the club captain, and to date still leads the side out.

Controversies have included allegations of an extramarital affair in 2010, followed by claims that he racially abused Anton Ferdinand in a Premier League encounter.

Mourinho said, “He’s recovering his self-esteem,

“In the last few years, he was not playing a lot — he had problems on the pitch, he had problems outside the pitch, he had suspensions for different reasons, he had injuries, he had managers who didn’t trust him enough. And it looked like his career was going in the wrong direction.”