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{{Football player infobox
{{TOCright}}
| playername= Claude Makélélé
| image =
| fullname = Claude Makélélé
| height = 174 cm
| nickname =
| dateofbirth = ], ]
| cityofbirth = ]
| countryofbirth = ]
| currentclub = ]
| clubcrest =
| clubnumber =
| position = Midfielder
| youthyears =
| youthclubs =
| years = ]-]<br>]-]<br>]-]<br>]-]<br>]-present
| clubs = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]
| caps(goals) = 188 (10)<br>32 (2)<br>81 (5)<br>131 (1)<br>124 (1)
| nationalyears = ]-
| nationalteam = ]
| nationalcaps(goals) = 35 (0)
| pcupdate = June 9, 2006
| ntupdate = May 30, 2006
}}

'''Claude Makélélé''' (born ], ] in ], ]) is a ] international ] player, who currently plays ] for ] in the ]. '''Claude Makélélé''' (born ], ] in ], ]) is a ] international ] player, who currently plays ] for ] in the ].


Revision as of 08:07, 19 June 2006

Claude Makélélé
Personal information
Full name Claude Makélélé
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team Chelsea F.C.
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of May 30, 2006

Claude Makélélé (born February 18, 1973 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a French international football player, who currently plays defensive midfield for Chelsea in the English Premiership.

Prior to joining Chelsea, Makélélé played for Nantes (1992-97), Olympique de Marseille (1997-98), Celta Vigo (1998-2000), and Real Madrid (2000-03). Chelsea purchased him for £16.6M from the Spanish giants.

Claude Makélélé moved to Savigny-le-Temple, a Parisian suburb in Seine-et-Marne (77), in 1977, when he was 4 years old. His father was also a football player selected in the Congo DR national football team team before ending 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 centre life was tough, especially as it was the first time he was far from his family.

According to him, 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 "Maka" in Brest, he was sure he would become the new Alain Giresse. At the beginning of the 1992-1993 season, Claude Makélélé was already in the Nantes A-team, in French first division. He played at Nantes for five seasons, winning the French Championship in 1995 before moving to Marseille.

After one year in Marseille, he caught the attention of Celta Vigo where he played for the next two years. In 2000, he was recruited by Real Madrid. While in Madrid he substantially added to his medal tally, winning two La Liga titles, one Champions League, one Spanish Super Cup, one European Super Cup and one Intercontinental Cup. He also cemented his place as one of the best holding midfielders in the world. In the summer of 2003 he signed for Chelsea for £16,800,000, where the then manager Claudio Ranieri proclaimed that Makélélé would be the "battery" of the team.

Claude Makélélé has also been selected to represent France on the international level. As of the end of 2004, he has gained 33 caps, and played for his country at the 1996 Olympic Games, the

and Template:Ec2. Makélélé decided to retire from international football in September of 2004, in order to focus on achieving further club glory with Chelsea, but eleven months later, in August 2005, he decided to return to the French fold in an announcement made by compatriots Zinedine Zidane and Lilian Thuram.

Makélélé was the midfelder that Roger Lemerre ignored in 2002 when the players were begging him to play Claude alongside Patrick Vieira. He didn't and they crashed out of the World Cup without scoring a goal and Lemerre lost his job.

Makélélé's role for Chelsea is often overlooked, but he was the unsung hero in Chelsea FC's successful 2004/05 season, winning both the Premiership and the League Cup. His defensive qualities allow the likes of Frank Lampard and Joe Cole to parade their attacking skills. However, Makélélé's importance has been recognised by Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who recently said he was Chelsea's player of the year. This is displayed by Real Madrid's apparent downturn after letting him go to now-successful Chelsea, an opinion voiced by his former team-mate at Madrid, the Englishman, Steve McManaman, who in his autobiography described Makélélé as the most important midfield player who was under-appreciated at Madrid. 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. He missed, but subsequently converted the rebound to score his first goal in 94 games for the Blues. 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 achieved further success in the following season, winning both the FA Community Shield and the English Premiership

In the spring of 2004, he started a relationship with French model Noémie Lenoir and in February 2005, Lenoir gave birth to a boy that they named Kelyan.

Trivia

He is so adept at the holding midfielder role to the extent that the postion has been pretty much named after him "The Makelele Role".

Honours

Quotations

  • "We will be able to beat Arsenal's record in England because we have demonstrated that we are superior to them. There is not a team better than Chelsea in the Premiership. In the team which set the unbeaten record, Arsenal had six or seven excellent players that took the field in every match. But Chelsea have 22 excellent players who are capable of winning any match in any combination. The team is like a huge steamroller and in a few minutes we can destroy our rivals. This Chelsea is better and more solid than the best-ever Real Madrid team. At this moment Mourinho could put out two teams with the perfect guarantee of not losing to any club. This is the best team that I have ever known in my sporting life. If we carry on like this we will win the Championship very calmly" (Quoted a week before Chelsea lost to Charlton in the 2005-2006 League Cup )

External links

France squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup runners-up
France
Chelsea F.C. – current squad
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