IAN WRIGHT reckons John Terry's past will haunt him forever if Rio Ferdinand lifts the World Cup.

Terry, 29, was denied the chance to try to follow in Bobby Moore's footsteps by leading England to glory when he was stripped of the captaincy following his affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend.

Left-back Bridge quit international football in the aftermath of the revelations and Fabio Capello handed the armband to Ferdinand.

Chelsea stood by their skipper and Terry responded by convincing Capello he is worthy of a starting place in South Africa.

But Wrighty insists JT will never forgive himself if Ferdinand gets his hands on the famous gold trophy when it could have been him instead.

The Arsenal legend said: "Can you imagine, if we get to the final, how Terry will be feeling?

If we win the World Cup, he'll know that he's missed out on the greatest moment in his life because of his off-field behaviour.

"He could say the greatest moment of his life was his kids being born, but not even that comes close when you've got the opportunity to maybe lift the World Cup for England.

"If he's standing next to somebody in defence who's going to have the opportunity to do that instead of him, you can't tell me Terry's not going to be thinking about it.

"You can't tell me he won't be thinking that what he's done has cost him the opportunity of going up to lift the World Cup for England.

"I do not doubt his professionalism and his commitment to the cause — I'd never do that.

"However, I do believe if we get to the latter stages it's definitely something he will think about and regret because it's an honour that doesn't come to many.

"I would have just been glad to be an England regular, let alone have the chance of captaining England.

"I wouldn't like to be in Terry's shoes if we get to the latter stages because he will start thinking about it.

"He wouldn't be human if he didn't think 'it could have been me'. He might end up with a winners' medal but it will grate on him forever."

Ferdinand, 31, will still be a novice England captain when Capello's men kick off their World Cup campaign against the United States on June 12.

LEADER OF THE PACK ... England skipper Rio Ferdinand

But Wright is confident the Manchester United defender will prove he can shoulder the responsibility.

The SunSport columnist added: "I don't think it will be a problem for Rio. The players respect him and when you've captained a team like United, you're definitely ready for England.

"He'll lead by example, he'll play well and he's not afraid to scream and shout at a few people.

"Rio will grow into the role. The better England do, the better he'll feel about being captain and leading them.

"And he's a player who's coming into the World Cup at exactly the right stage in his career.

"OK, the injuries have been a nightmare for him, but he's one of those players who could go down in history alongside Bobby Moore as one of the best.

"You can definitely see him being spoken about in that kind of company and this World Cup could help elevate him to that status.

"But he's going to have to put in some amazing performances because it won't be easy against the players he'll be coming up against.

"He's going to need to have the seven best games of his career to lead England to glory.

"They're all going to have to do that — Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard — all of them. It's not like we can half-ass it and win the World Cup.

"None of them can just ease through the tournament and rely on someone else carrying them because we're not going to win it as a one-man team."

Wrighty admits this World Cup is likely to be the last opportunity for the likes of Gerrard and Lampard to get their hands on the trophy.

But he is convinced England will do well in South Africa if the midfield duo produce their best form.

Wright said: "I think this is their last major tournament as players who are shoo-ins.

"For me, Gerrard and Lampard are both world-class players and the way they've played has proven that. They've been to the mountain top and won the big trophies.

"They're coming into this World Cup at the peak of their powers and this could make or break them in terms of what people genuinely think about their careers.

"They need to have good tournaments for England to do well. If they play well, we will make the latter stages of the World Cup — have no doubt about it."

Source : www.thesun.co.uk