John Terry has named the player who was ‘very lucky’ to be at Chelsea, lasting only one season at the club before being sold to Manchester City.
Blues legend Terry played with many different players in the 19 years he spent in Chelsea’s first team, and there’s one ex-teammate who stands out.
That player is Tal Ben Haim, an Israeli defender who spent the 2007-08 campaign at Stamford Bridge, playing a total of 23 games for Chelsea.
The west London side announced the signing of Ben Haim on a Bosman transfer in 2007 after his exit from Bolton but he didn’t last long at the club.
Ben Haim became better known for his off-field antics and was exiled from first-team training by Avram Grant, who was Chelsea manager at the time.
‘Tal was a funny guy,’ Terry said on The Obi One Podcast. ‘I think he knew he got very lucky with his move to Chelsea. He and Avram Grant were at each other’s throats every single day.
‘They obviously knew each other, speaking their own language. And then Avram threw him out of training and told him “you can’t train with the group”.
‘He just banished him from the ground and said “you’re not allowed in when the first team are here”.’
Terry, who was Chelsea’s captain, stepped in and told Ben Haim to stop being a ‘d***head’ so he could return to training with the first team.
He added: ‘We got everyone together and I said “listen, it’s a big year for us… everyone calm down. The boys want you involved in the group, don’t be a d***head, don’t keep arguing with the manager, if you are then you can go. But come in and train well with the group, we need you as part of the group”.
‘Avram let him back in and he trained well. But there’s just moments like that that are funny stories.’
Terry then recalled the time Ben Haim had a scuffle with teammate Andriy Shevchenko during a Chelsea training session.
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‘[Tal] kept tackling and kicking everybody and, you know, Shev never speaks,’ Terry explained.
‘He was very quiet. But Tal kept going at it, kept kicking and Shev just absolutely lost it.
‘So after the last one, Shev just stood up and went boom! They both started punching each other and we all jumped in, it was crazy.’
After being sold to City for £5m, Ben Haim again only lasted one season and was loaned out to Sunderland before he joined Portsmouth permanently.
He later played for West Ham on loan from Portsmouth and then had permanent spells at Queens Park Rangers and Charlton.
Ben Haim, who eventually retired in 2021, played 96 times on the international stage for Israel.
