Exit Wayne Bridge but the war has just begun
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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."
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