Former Chelsea defender and captain, John Terry has been cited as the man who helped Nigerian-born former England female international, Eniola Aluko get her first job in retirement, as she was on Wednesday named sporting director at English Premier League side, Aston Villa, megasportsarena.com gathered.
Terry captained Villa in the last days of his illustrious career and is now an assistant coach with the Birmingham-based side, where he has now successfully linked Aluko up with an office job, the first of its kind for her and the club, as the former Chelsea Ladies’ star begins life outside football.
The 32-year-old Aluko disclosed as much herself, as the dark-skinned lass, who last played for Juventus Femeni of Italy, specially thanked ‘JT’ for helping her get the plum job with the main team of Aston Villa Women.
Aluko, fondly called ‘Eni’ by friends and admirers, recently announced her retirement from playing active football, but she now has an almost instant opportunity to continue in the round leather game from a different perspective, after becoming the women team’s first-ever sporting director at Villa Park.
Former Super Eagles invitee, Omatsone ‘Sone’Aluko’s older sister, who earned 102 caps while playing for England over the course of her career, said she was truly excited to get the novel appointment, of which she profusely thanked Terry for making possible.
Aluko said: “I’m very excited to transition into a Sporting Director role. I feel it’s something that I’m ready for at this point in my career. I’ve always been passionate about the women’s game, its development and setting cultures that drive excellence. I’ll be helping to create a successful club in Aston Villa Women, and obviously I’m back home in Birmingham where it all started for me. I’m excited for this next step.”
The dark-skinned ex-international, who also played for Birmingham City and in the United States, also took to social media to thank a number of other people who helped her land the job, as she stated on Twitter: “A special thanks to Christian Purslow, Corporate affairs director Paul Tyrell and assistant coach, the legend John Terry.”
