I'll never shy away from taking a penalty - despite the agony of my Moscow miss, insists Chelsea and

01 April 2009 12:31
When John Terry stepped up to the penalty spot on that rainy night in Moscow 10 months ago,  he was one kick away from taking Chelsea to Champions League glory. The Blues skipper, who wears that band on his left arm with such pride, had the chance to capture Europe's premier club prize for the club he has played for as man and boy. But he blew it. The look of agony as he slipped on his standing foot and skewed the ball wide will endure, but Terry is adamant he will still step up to the spot again. 'I'd never shy away from taking a penalty, be it for England or for Chelsea,' he told FourFourTwo magazine. 'I've taken them in big games before, with a different outcome to what happened in Moscow, so it is not an issue for me. 'I'd always step up to the plate. As captain, it's important that you lead by example.' Terry, who is also the captain of England, does not take his role lightly and said he was 'elated' to be given the skipper's armband by Fabio Capello. 'When I was rewarded with the captaincy ahead of the Czech Republic friendly, I remember it vividly because I was told in front of the entire squad and not beforehand in person. 'But if I didn't have the armband, it wouldn't change the way I play.' Time will tell as to whether Terry can follow the example of Stuart Pearce and compensate for a previous error from the penalty spot, as the former Nottingham Forest defender did so memorably at Euro 96, but Terry is convinced past failures will not undermine Fabio Capello's England side. He said: 'Nothing could be further from the truth and I think some people have jumped on the bandwagon with this, simply because we reached a couple of quarter-finals under Sven-Goran Eriksson. 'If you look at our squad, there are a number of players who have been to major finals with their club sides, such as the Champions League final, and you need a certain mentality to get to that level.' The England captain admits he is 'desperate' to reach next year's World Cu pin South Africa, having learnt the hard way that 'England has no divine right to be at either of the two top tournaments'. England's failure to reach Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren hurt Terry so much he struggled to watch any of the competition and he is determined England will not fail again. 'It doesn't matter what you earn,' he said, 'there are two main tournaments you can play in and you don't get that many chances. 'It was an experience that hurt of all of us, but our results since have got the fans back on side and we are all moving forward together again.' England, who beat Slovakia 4-0 in a friendly on Saturday, take on Ukraine in a crucial World Cup qualifier at Wembley on Wednesday night.

Source: Daily_Mail