
Beckham as England captain
John Terry has described the England captaincy as his "ultimate ambition".
Chelsea defender Terry and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard are tipped as new national boss Steve McClaren's main candidates to replace David Beckham.
"Hopefully, with the experience I've gained over the last couple of years it will give Steve something to think about," said 25-year-old Terry.
"When I got the Chelsea armband it meant so much and I've kicked on to another level as a player since then."
Terry has lifted the Premiership trophy in each of the last two seasons and has wasted no time in pushing forward his credentials as captain.
McClaren steps into the England hot seat on 1 August and names his first squad for the friendly against Greece on 12 August.
And Terry, while lavishing praise on the new man, has also been conservative in his criticism of outgoing England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's regime - of which McClaren was a crucial component.
"I don't think it will be difficult to impose himself because of the way Steve is," added Terry.
"Every manager is different and I am sure that he will be very different to Sven.
"Sven was a little quieter and I am sure Steve will be in your face more.
John Terry says "In my career I would think it would be a failure if I never won the Champions League".
"Some of us like to see that. It is great to see the passion as well in him and hopefully that will rub off on us.
"He and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho are very similar. For me, he would be my ideal manager."
But as well as fulfilling his ambitions with England, which include leading his country to World Cup glory after being "absolutely gutted" at their quarter-final defeat in Germany this summer, Terry is also eyeing more silverware with Chelsea.
"Everybody talks about the pressure of being champions but we have won it two years running and the pressure eases off a little bit," he said.
"Hopefully we can return the Premiership title for the third time.
"And in my career I would think it would be a failure if I never won the Champions League.
"It is very important to win it. It is something we will be remembered for in many years to come. We're doing very well and we want to improve on that year after year.
"Every player in the squad is desperate for that and the chairman and manager's ambition, with the players they have brought in, say it all. We all have that hunger and desire to win the competition.
This summer's two big-name additions at Chelsea - to date - are Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack but Terry has warned that while they can help the club there is no place for 'Big-time Charlies' at Stamford Bridge.
John Terry says "I don't think the new signings will change things at all - I'm sure Sheva and Ballack will fit in".
"We've set the tone with the players we've brought in that we really want to win the Champions League," he stated.
"We've got the backbone now and there are not many weaknesses in the side at all, if any.
"Everyone is desperate for the Champions League and when you look at the experience that the players who have come in have got, they know what it takes.
"If you look at Shevchenko and Ballack's goalscoring records, that will be important in the Champions League. In the past couple of years we haven't scored a lot of goals in Europe and that's something these guys might change.
"We'll be like family for the next 10 months so it's important that we don't have any egos in the team. It's not about big stars.
"No-one has come in thinking 'I'm better than these boys' and if they do we will bring them down a peg or two.
"Everyone gets on and nothing affects the spirit we have. I don't think the new signings will change things at all.
"Form what we've seen so far, I'm sure Sheva and Ballack will fit in."
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