John Terry, left, and Wayne Bridge pictured during an
England training session in 2006. Photograph: Andrew
Yates/AFP/Getty Images
Wayne Bridge's dramatic international
retirement has caused the simmering tension between the Manchester
City left‑back and his former best friend John Terry to erupt into open
warfare.
As Bridge effectively confirmed he could not bear the thought of
playing alongside his England team-mate, friends of Terry
responded by suggesting Bridge had long been considered a "bottler"
in the dressing room.
The pair are expected to meet on Saturday with Chelsea playing
City at Stamford Bridge, when all eyes will be on what is normally
the formality of a pre-match handshake between the players.
Bridge, enraged at Terry's affair with his former girlfriend,
Vanessa Perroncel, the mother of Bridge's son, had seemed in line
to start for England at the World Cup finals in South Africa
because of a serious ankle break suffered by the first-choice
left-back, Ashley Cole. That would have led to him taking his place
alongside the central defender Terry but, despite pleas from the
England manager, Fabio Capello, and his assistant, Franco Baldini,
Bridge has declared himself unavailable, saying that his position
in the squad had become "untenable and potentially divisive".
Bridge telephoned Baldini to inform him of his decision, which
was reached after weeks of soul-searching. Terry's apparent failure
to apologise is believed to have been a factor in Bridge's
thinking. The pair are understood to have had a brief telephone
exchange, ended abruptly by Bridge, who wants nothing more to do
with the former England captain.
Capello retains hope that Bridge might yet reverse his decision
and the England manager last night said that the door remains open
for the defender to return to the squad. "I was flying back from
Milan when Wayne Bridge announced that he would not be with us for
the Egypt match and also in South Africa for the World Cup," said
Capello. "It surprised me but I respect the decision of all the
players. But the door is always open for him.
"We have time, there is still three months until I will decide
my final squad for South Africa. I hope that Wayne Bridge will be
with us at the World Cup but I respect his decision."
Capello will now name Aston Villa's Stephen Warnock and
Everton's Leighton Baines in his squad for next Wednesday's World
Cup warm-up game against Egypt at Wembley. Baines is expected to
start. Kieran Gibbs, the Arsenal left-back and another England
contender, is out for the season with a fractured metatarsal.
Bridge, capped 36 times, released a statement that pointed
towards the turmoil he has suffered. "I have thought long and hard
about my position in the England football team in the light of
reporting and events over the last few weeks," he said. "It has
always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful
thought, I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and
potentially divisive.
"Sadly, therefore, I feel for the sake of the team and in order
to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided not
to put myself forward for selection. I have today informed the
management of this decision. I wish the team all the very best in
South Africa."
Bridge, essentially a shy character, has felt uncomfortable in
the eye of the media storm, which he felt would not abate leading
up to and during the World Cup finals. Bridge realised the
attention might have undermined the harmony and the best efforts of
the England squad and, in one respect, he has stood down for what
he perceives to be the collective good. Yet the bitterness lingers.
Bridge sorely wanted to play at the finals and, with Cole facing a
race against time to be fit, he had begun to imagine himself in
Capello's starting line-up. That he will not be, Bridge believes,
is down to him being placed in an impossible situation by the
actions of others, Terry in particular.
The Manchester City player has not forgiven Terry, the Chelsea
captain and his one-time Stamford Bridge team-mate, and all eyes
will be on the pair at lunchtime on Saturday, when their clubs meet
in the Premier League. The reaction of the Stamford Bridge crowd to
Bridge, always a popular player in their eyes, will be interesting,
as will the issue of whether Bridge chooses to shake Terry's
hand.
Terry, for his part, is angry at the timing of Bridge's
statement ahead of such a high-profile game. Those close to him
have suggested that he feels Bridge has long been considered a
"bottler" in the dressing room and, also, that Bridge has been
guilty of an attempt to curry public sympathy. Terry has already
been stripped of the England captaincy by Capello for his part in
the affair with Perroncel.
Members of the Chelsea dressing room have insisted that Bridge
and Terry will, in time, be able to patch up their differences.
"It's between Terry and Bridgey," said the midfielder Mikel John
Obi. "They are adults and they will sort themselves out. They have
been best friends for a long time and it's unfortunate something
like this has happened. But they will go into the game as
professionals and just play the game. Whatever happens,
happens."
The striker Salomon Kalou said: "We are going to play a football
game and the other problems should be on the side. They are good
professionals and they are going to try and fight for their teams.
Maybe it is a big story but, for us, it's just about getting on the
pitch and playing against Manchester City. The talking should be on
the game and as players, we are more focused on the game. What
happened before is in the past."
The Professional Footballers' Association's chief executive,
Gordon Taylor, revealed that efforts to broker a peace foundered.
"The PFA contacted both parties to act as mediators but neither
came back to us," Taylor said. "I am surprised and saddened that
this matter could not be resolved."