Claude Makélélé Biography | Claude Makélélé News

Early career
Makélélé was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

He moved to Savigny-le-Temple, a suburb of Paris in Seine-et-Marne, in 1977, when he was four years old. His father, André-Joseph Makélélé was also a football player. He represented the Congo DR, and ended his career in the Belgian first division.

Makélélé had never left Savigny-le-Temple until the age of 16, when he joined the training centre of Brest-Armorique in Brittany. According to him, it wasn't easy to adapt to the new life in Brest. The training academy life was tough, especially as it was the first time he was far from his family.

He worked very hard in Brest, but it was in Nantes where he discovered the real pleasure of playing. Makélélé was recruited by FC Nantes Atlantique in December 1991, when he was still 18 years old. Robert Budzinski, the Sport director from Nantes confessed that once he had discovered Makélélé in Brest, he was sure he would become the new Emmanuel Petit.

At the beginning of the 1992–93 season, Claude Makélélé was already in the Nantes A-team, in the French first division. He played at Nantes for five seasons, winning the French Championship in 1995 and helped the club to semifinal of European Cup the following season. This earned him a move to Olympique de Marseille for whom he played for one season. He was transferred to Celta Vigo where he spent two successful seasons at the Galician club.

 Real Madrid
In 2000, he was recruited by Real Madrid. His transfer was controversial because Celta did not want to sell Makélélé unless a substantial improvement on their offer was made. Makélélé refused to train until there was resolution of his contract. Finally, Celta was reluctantly forced to sell him for far less than their valuation of the player.

At Real, Makélélé substantially added to his medal tally, winning two Spanish La Liga championships, the UEFA Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup (now replaced by the FIFA World Club Championship). As an ever-present in Vicente Del Bosque's Real side, Makélélé also established himself as one of the best holding midfielders in the world.

However, despite his value to the team, Makélélé was one of its most influential players of that time (relatively) under-paid members, earning a fraction of that paid to team-mates like Zinédine Zidane, Luís Figo, Raul, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Steve McManaman, and Guti. In the summer of 2003, feeling that his position at the club was insecure after the shock sacking of Del Bosque and the arrival of David Beckham, and encouraged by team-mates Zidane, Raul, McManaman and Fernando Morientes, Makélélé decided to ask for an improved contract. The Real management flatly refused to consider his request . Upset, Makélélé handed in a transfer request, whereupon he was signed by Chelsea. Club president Florentino Pérez infamously poured scorn on Makélélé's footballing abilities and proclaimed that Makélélé would not be missed:

“ We will not miss Makélélé. His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents, and ninety percent of his distribution either goes backwards or sideways. He wasn't a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres. Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten. ”

His opinion differred from that of players like Zinedine Zidane, who remarked the following after Makélélé' was sold and Beckham was bought:

“ Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine? ”

In his autobiography, published in 2006, McManaman described Makélélé as the most important and yet least appreciated midfielder at Real. Retired former Real Madrid player and captain Fernando Hierro also criticised Perez for both Makélélé's departure and the manner of his departure, saying:

“ I think Claude has this kind of gift - he's been the best player in the team for years but people just don't notice him, don't notice what he does. But you ask anyone at Real Madrid during the years we were talking about and they will tell you he was the best player at Real. We all knew, the players all knew he was the most important. The loss of Makélélé was the beginning of the end for Los Galacticos... You can see that it was also the beginning of a new dawn for Chelsea. He was the base, the key and I think he is the same to Chelsea now. ”

Chelsea
 
Makélélé (right) with Chelsea teammate Alex.In the summer of 2003 he signed for Chelsea for £16.8 million, where then manager Claudio Ranieri proclaimed that Makélélé would be the "battery" of the team . Unfortunately, Chelsea aspirations to win the 2003–04 championship under Ranieri's inconsistent management eventually failed. They finished second in the English Premier League and were eliminated by AS Monaco in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Following the sacking of Ranieri and his succession by José Mourinho, Makélélé was the unsung hero in Chelsea FC's successful 2004–05 season, winning both the Premiership and the League Cup. His defensive qualities allowed the likes of Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Didier Drogba to parade their attacking skills. However, Makélélé's importance was recognized by Mourinho, who declared him Chelsea's Player of the Year.

To cap off a brilliant 2004–05 for the Frenchman, he was allowed to take a penalty awarded to Chelsea in the game against Charlton Athletic on the day the Premiership trophy was due to be presented. The Charlton keeper saved it, but Makélélé scored on the rebound. In September 2005 he was selected as a member of the World XI at the FIFPro awards. The team was chosen by a vote of professional footballers in 40 countries. He added to his sizeable medal haul the following season, winning both the FA Community Shield and the English Premiership.

In March 2006, Fulham defeated Chelsea 1–0 in a Premiership game in which Fulham manager Chris Coleman's tactics centered on bypassing Makélélé on the wings when Fulham had possession and putting midfielders on Makélélé when Chelsea were in possession. With Makélélé struggling to function effectively, Chelsea lost the game. Coleman later explained that Makélélé was more than a mere defensive midfielder, but was actually Chelsea's deep-lying playmaker, and Chelsea's attacks were channelled through him. Thus, denying him possession was instrumental in unravelling Chelsea. Mourinho was subsequently forced to counter this tactic by withdrawing Lampard and Michael Essien further back in midfield to relieve the pressure on Makélélé .

On November 5, 2006 in a league encounter with Tottenham, Makélélé scored his 2nd goal for the club, a difficult curling volley from the edge of the 18 yard box which sped past Paul Robinson into the left-hand side of the goal. However Tottenham sprung a comeback to beat Chelsea 2–1, the first defeat Chelsea had conceded to Tottenham in over a decade. However, this goal got him the best shot to goals percentage that year with 1 shot and 1 goal - 100%.

On December 5, 2006 in a Carling Cup game against Newcastle United, Makélélé wore the captain's armband for Chelsea with John Terry's absence and with Frank Lampard rested. He was substituted at half-time for Lampard.

Makelele also wore the captain's armband the following season, when John Terry, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack were all unavailable. Makelele was captain even when Terry and Lampard returned, for a crucial Champions League tie against Olympiacos Piraeus, but Terry returned as captain the following weekend for the Carling Cup defeat against Tottenham Hotspurs.

The 2007/8 season was a period of renaissance for the 35-year old Makelele, as he played in the majority of Chelsea's fixtures. Makelele despite an ear infection that made him miss an early part of the season, retained his place, and forced Michael Essien into the right-back position, effectively pushing Juliano Belletti out of the team. Makelele was instrumental in Chelsea's run to the Champions League final, but they were defeated by Manchester United. In homage to Makelele, many fans and pundits alike have dubbed the defensive mildfield position as the "Makelele Role".

Paris Saint Germain
On 18 July 2008 it was reported that Makelele was about to do a medical on the 19 July in Paris ahead of a proposed move back to French football. On the July 21, Chelsea announced they had released Makélélé on a free transfer, while PSG confirmed that Makélélé would join them and would be unveiled at a press conference that afternoon.
 

Early career
Makélélé was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

He moved to Savigny-le-Temple, a suburb of Paris in Seine-et-Marne, in 1977, when he was four years old. His father, André-Joseph Makélélé was also a football player. He represented the Congo DR, and ended his career in the Belgian first division.

Makélélé had never left Savigny-le-Temple until the age of 16, when he joined the training centre of Brest-Armorique in Brittany. According to him, it wasn't easy to adapt to the new life in Brest. The training academy life was tough, especially as it was the first time he was far from his family.

He worked very hard in Brest, but it was in Nantes where he discovered the real pleasure of playing. Makélélé was recruited by FC Nantes Atlantique in December 1991, when he was still 18 years old. Robert Budzinski, the Sport director from Nantes confessed that once he had discovered Makélélé in Brest, he was sure he would become the new Emmanuel Petit.

At the beginning of the 1992–93 season, Claude Makélélé was already in the Nantes A-team, in the French first division. He played at Nantes for five seasons, winning the French Championship in 1995 and helped the club to semifinal of European Cup the following season. This earned him a move to Olympique de Marseille for whom he played for one season. He was transferred to Celta Vigo where he spent two successful seasons at the Galician club.

 Real Madrid
In 2000, he was recruited by Real Madrid. His transfer was controversial because Celta did not want to sell Makélélé unless a substantial improvement on their offer was made. Makélélé refused to train until there was resolution of his contract. Finally, Celta was reluctantly forced to sell him for far less than their valuation of the player.

At Real, Makélélé substantially added to his medal tally, winning two Spanish La Liga championships, the UEFA Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup (now replaced by the FIFA World Club Championship). As an ever-present in Vicente Del Bosque's Real side, Makélélé also established himself as one of the best holding midfielders in the world.

However, despite his value to the team, Makélélé was one of its most influential players of that time (relatively) under-paid members, earning a fraction of that paid to team-mates like Zinédine Zidane, Luís Figo, Raul, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Steve McManaman, and Guti. In the summer of 2003, feeling that his position at the club was insecure after the shock sacking of Del Bosque and the arrival of David Beckham, and encouraged by team-mates Zidane, Raul, McManaman and Fernando Morientes, Makélélé decided to ask for an improved contract. The Real management flatly refused to consider his request . Upset, Makélélé handed in a transfer request, whereupon he was signed by Chelsea. Club president Florentino Pérez infamously poured scorn on Makélélé's footballing abilities and proclaimed that Makélélé would not be missed:

“ We will not miss Makélélé. His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents, and ninety percent of his distribution either goes backwards or sideways. He wasn't a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres. Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten. ”

His opinion differred from that of players like Zinedine Zidane, who remarked the following after Makélélé' was sold and Beckham was bought:

“ Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine? ”

In his autobiography, published in 2006, McManaman described Makélélé as the most important and yet least appreciated midfielder at Real. Retired former Real Madrid player and captain Fernando Hierro also criticised Perez for both Makélélé's departure and the manner of his departure, saying:

“ I think Claude has this kind of gift - he's been the best player in the team for years but people just don't notice him, don't notice what he does. But you ask anyone at Real Madrid during the years we were talking about and they will tell you he was the best player at Real. We all knew, the players all knew he was the most important. The loss of Makélélé was the beginning of the end for Los Galacticos... You can see that it was also the beginning of a new dawn for Chelsea. He was the base, the key and I think he is the same to Chelsea now. ”

Chelsea
 
Makélélé (right) with Chelsea teammate Alex.In the summer of 2003 he signed for Chelsea for £16.8 million, where then manager Claudio Ranieri proclaimed that Makélélé would be the "battery" of the team . Unfortunately, Chelsea aspirations to win the 2003–04 championship under Ranieri's inconsistent management eventually failed. They finished second in the English Premier League and were eliminated by AS Monaco in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Following the sacking of Ranieri and his succession by José Mourinho, Makélélé was the unsung hero in Chelsea FC's successful 2004–05 season, winning both the Premiership and the League Cup. His defensive qualities allowed the likes of Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Didier Drogba to parade their attacking skills. However, Makélélé's importance was recognized by Mourinho, who declared him Chelsea's Player of the Year.

To cap off a brilliant 2004–05 for the Frenchman, he was allowed to take a penalty awarded to Chelsea in the game against Charlton Athletic on the day the Premiership trophy was due to be presented. The Charlton keeper saved it, but Makélélé scored on the rebound. In September 2005 he was selected as a member of the World XI at the FIFPro awards. The team was chosen by a vote of professional footballers in 40 countries. He added to his sizeable medal haul the following season, winning both the FA Community Shield and the English Premiership.

In March 2006, Fulham defeated Chelsea 1–0 in a Premiership game in which Fulham manager Chris Coleman's tactics centered on bypassing Makélélé on the wings when Fulham had possession and putting midfielders on Makélélé when Chelsea were in possession. With Makélélé struggling to function effectively, Chelsea lost the game. Coleman later explained that Makélélé was more than a mere defensive midfielder, but was actually Chelsea's deep-lying playmaker, and Chelsea's attacks were channelled through him. Thus, denying him possession was instrumental in unravelling Chelsea. Mourinho was subsequently forced to counter this tactic by withdrawing Lampard and Michael Essien further back in midfield to relieve the pressure on Makélélé .

On November 5, 2006 in a league encounter with Tottenham, Makélélé scored his 2nd goal for the club, a difficult curling volley from the edge of the 18 yard box which sped past Paul Robinson into the left-hand side of the goal. However Tottenham sprung a comeback to beat Chelsea 2–1, the first defeat Chelsea had conceded to Tottenham in over a decade. However, this goal got him the best shot to goals percentage that year with 1 shot and 1 goal - 100%.

On December 5, 2006 in a Carling Cup game against Newcastle United, Makélélé wore the captain's armband for Chelsea with John Terry's absence and with Frank Lampard rested. He was substituted at half-time for Lampard.

Makelele also wore the captain's armband the following season, when John Terry, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack were all unavailable. Makelele was captain even when Terry and Lampard returned, for a crucial Champions League tie against Olympiacos Piraeus, but Terry returned as captain the following weekend for the Carling Cup defeat against Tottenham Hotspurs.

The 2007/8 season was a period of renaissance for the 35-year old Makelele, as he played in the majority of Chelsea's fixtures. Makelele despite an ear infection that made him miss an early part of the season, retained his place, and forced Michael Essien into the right-back position, effectively pushing Juliano Belletti out of the team. Makelele was instrumental in Chelsea's run to the Champions League final, but they were defeated by Manchester United. In homage to Makelele, many fans and pundits alike have dubbed the defensive mildfield position as the "Makelele Role".

Paris Saint Germain
On 18 July 2008 it was reported that Makelele was about to do a medical on the 19 July in Paris ahead of a proposed move back to French football. On the July 21, Chelsea announced they had released Makélélé on a free transfer, while PSG confirmed that Makélélé would join them and would be unveiled at a press conference that afternoon.
 

Makélélé has had a successful international career playing for France. By the end of 2004, he had gained 33 caps, and played for his country at the 1996 Olympic Games, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2004.

Makélélé decided to retire from international football in September 2004, in order to focus on club football with Chelsea, but eleven months later, in August 2005, he and compatriots Zinedine Zidane and Lilian Thuram announced their return to the French team to help qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

As a member of the France national football team competing at the 2006 World Cup, Makélélé's performances as a tireless midfield spoiler were invaluable to France's progress to the final as they defeated Spain, the defending champions Brazil and Euro 2004 finalists Portugal in the knock-out rounds. His abilities as a defensive midfielder led to the position being known as the "Makélélé role."

After the defeat to Italy on penalties in the World Cup Final, Makélélé initially commented that he was again going to retire from international football. However, he continued to play for France in their qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2008 and even the Euro 2008 finals. He again announced his retirement from international football on June 17, 2008, after France's 2–0 defeat to Italy, along with Thuram again.

Makélélé has had a successful international career playing for France. By the end of 2004, he had gained 33 caps, and played for his country at the 1996 Olympic Games, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2004.

Makélélé decided to retire from international football in September 2004, in order to focus on club football with Chelsea, but eleven months later, in August 2005, he and compatriots Zinedine Zidane and Lilian Thuram announced their return to the French team to help qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

As a member of the France national football team competing at the 2006 World Cup, Makélélé's performances as a tireless midfield spoiler were invaluable to France's progress to the final as they defeated Spain, the defending champions Brazil and Euro 2004 finalists Portugal in the knock-out rounds. His abilities as a defensive midfielder led to the position being known as the "Makélélé role."

After the defeat to Italy on penalties in the World Cup Final, Makélélé initially commented that he was again going to retire from international football. However, he continued to play for France in their qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2008 and even the Euro 2008 finals. He again announced his retirement from international football on June 17, 2008, after France's 2–0 defeat to Italy, along with Thuram again.