JOHN TERRY has claimed former Chelsea team-mate Tal Ben Haim was “very lucky” to be at the club after being exiled from first-team training by Avram Grant.
The Israeli centre-back, who signed on a Bosman transfer, made 13 Premier League appearances across the 2007/08 season at Stamford Bridge and was better known for his off-field antics.
Terry, who was Blues captain during Ben Haim’s only season at Chelsea, recalled how the journeyman defender and Grant were “at each other constantly”.
“Tal was a funny guy. I think he knew he got very lucky with his move to Chelsea,” Terry said on the Obi One Podcast hosted by former teammate John Obi Mikel.
“Him 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’.
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“He just banished him from the ground and said ‘you’re not allowed in when the first team are here’.”
Ben Haim first entered the Premier League with Bolton Wanderers before then-boss Jose Mourinho brought him to West London in the summer of 2007.
But three months after Ben Haim made the switch, Mourinho resigned from the hot seat and was replaced by former Israel manager Grant.
Fortunately for him, Terry’s leadership got things back in order.
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Terry 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.”
But Ben Haim’s reputation as a tough-tackling defender soon got him into another scuffle with teammate Andriy Shevchenko during a training session.
“[Tal] kept tackling and kicking everybody and, you know, Shev never speaks. He was very quiet,” Terry said.
“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.”
Chelsea finished runners-up to Manchester United that season, missing out on the Premier League title by a mere two points.
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Ben Haim was moved on to Manchester City in 2008, before going on to feature for the likes of Sunderland, Portsmouth and Queens Park Rangers.
He played 96 times for Israel before retiring in his home country with Beitar Jerusalem in 2021.
