Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho is standing by his former Chelsea captain John Terry. Fabio Capello stripped Terry of the armband yesterday after tabloid revelations about an alleged affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend.

"I gave the armband to JT at Chelsea and in that moment there wasn't a figure like Javier Zanetti, who at Inter is untouchable," explained Mourinho.

"I arrived, spoke to the players and found two personalities who could be captain. One was Terry, the other my vice-captain Frank Lampard. I've always thought it was the perfect decision.

"After me many more managers sat on the Chelsea bench and now you'd have to talk to them.

"I have always been very lucky with my captains, as it's tough for a team to succeed without a great captain."

Mourinho says being club captain can be critical for teams.

"My captain at Porto had left me outside the locker room for two minutes at half-time when we were losing 1-0 and playing very badly," added Mourinho.

"He shouted and shouted and shouted. I came in and only spoke about tactics. We won 2-1 with a brace from my captain, Jorge Costa, who was a centre-back."