Posted February 24, 200718 yr http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hli ... eave+Blues Makelele won't leave BluesBy Alex Livie - Created on 24 Feb 2007 Claude Makelele has revealed that he intends to see out his career at Chelsea. The 34-year-old is widely regarded as the finest holding midfielder on the planet and has honed his skills during spells at Nantes, Marseille, Celta Vigo and Real Madrid. He made the move to Stamford Bridge in 2003 and has played a key part in the club's success over the last couple of seasons. Makelele is content with his lot at Chelsea and is not looking to move on from Stamford Bridge. "When I finish playing, I finish at Chelsea," Makelele told The Independent. Makelele has been integral to Chelsea's success over the last two seasons, but he has heaped praise on manager Jose Mourinho for instilling a winning mentality into the squad. "Jose changed a lot of things at Chelsea," said Makelele. "He put every player in the right frame of mind to win a trophy. He gave a lot of responsibility to players. "Everybody at Chelsea knows now that we are here to win trophies, win every single game. He puts pressure on us, a lot of players need good pressure to win every game." Such is the midfielder's quality that his position has been labelled 'the Makelele role' and he admits that it is a tremendous honour to be held in such regard. "It's the ultimate honour to have it named after me, I suppose it shows that I have achieved everything I have worked for," he noted. "I really learnt how to play that role at Real Madrid where, if we were losing 1-0, we would say 'Right, lock up shop'. "The four at the back and the one in front of them - me - would concentrate only on defence and let the others go and do what they had to up front. They would take the risks, I would take care of the opposition's attacks. "In every team you need to know what your role is and one of the keys to my role is to keep the balance of the team right. So when Didier [Drogba] goes here, I do this. When Frank [Lampard] goes there, I go there. Same with Michael [ballack]. When one person moves out of position, then someone else comes in and covers for them." Can't see him featuring too much next season to be honest but he'll be good to have around the place.
February 24, 200718 yr Oh, I don't know BB. Sure he's getting on but his game isn't based on physical effort and lung-busting runs. Positioning, timing, reading the play and using the ball simply and wisely are his strengths. And he still does those things better than most. Plus he nearly always plays well in the really big games.
February 24, 200718 yr Author Quite agree, but if this season is anything to go by then it looks like he is being used more sparingly and kept for the bigger games to spare his old legs. Mind you, lately he's been needed a lot more due to injuries to the young uns! I just think that if Diarra keeps on the way he is then we could see the lions share going to the youngster next season (unless he leaves of course). Don't get me wrong, Maka is the biz at what he does and I'm pleased he'll be around the place.
March 8, 200718 yr Quite agree, but if this season is anything to go by then it looks like he is being used more sparingly and kept for the bigger games to spare his old legs. Mind you, lately he's been needed a lot more due to injuries to the young uns! I just think that if Diarra keeps on the way he is then we could see the lions share going to the youngster next season (unless he leaves of course). Don't get me wrong, Maka is the biz at what he does and I'm pleased he'll be around the place. I assure you I believe , Geremi is gone, Maka will take the Geremi role as jack of all trades but he is a master of 1 or 2 ;) Mikel and essien what a duo we have in defense . Not looking forward to the African nations cup :(
March 10, 200718 yr Quite agree, but if this season is anything to go by then it looks like he is being used more sparingly and kept for the bigger games to spare his old legs. Mind you, lately he's been needed a lot more due to injuries to the young uns! I just think that if Diarra keeps on the way he is then we could see the lions share going to the youngster next season (unless he leaves of course). Don't get me wrong, Maka is the biz at what he does and I'm pleased he'll be around the place. I assure you I believe , Geremi is gone, Maka will take the Geremi role as jack of all trades but he is a master of 1 or 2 B) Mikel and essien what a duo we have in defense . Not looking forward to the African nations cup :( Oh no... I don't even want to think about that. At least Diarra is French, so mini-Maka will be around. Though no one could replace Maka in my opinion, even in his old age he is still effective. I agree, with his game its more about positioning and breaking up play.
