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Who is Claude Makélélé
Claude MakéléléSinda is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently a youth coach and technical mentor at Chelsea, having formerly been the head coach of Belgian First Division A club Eupen.
Claude Makélélé’sProfile Summary
| Name | Claude Makelele Sinda |
| Birthdate | February |
| Age | 48 |
| Place of Birth | Kinshasa, Zaire |
| Height | 1.7 m(5ft 9in) |
| Profession | Footballer |
| Position(s) | Defensive Midfielder |
| Current Team | Chealsea (technical mentor) |
| Net Worth | $55 million |
Claude Makélélé Biography
Makélélé was born on February 18, 1973, in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). “Makélélé” means “noises” in Lingala, one of the languages spoken in the country. In 1977, when he was four years old, he moved to Savigny-le-Temple, a suburb of Paris in Seine-et-Marne. His father, André-Joseph Makélélé, was also a football player. He represented DR Congo and ended his career in the third division of Belgium with Union Royale Namur.
Makélélé signed for Sporting Melun-Dammarie 77 at the age of 15. He played one year there and left at the age of 16 when he joined the training center of Brest-Armorique in Brittany. According to him, it was not 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 the city of Nantes where he discovered the real pleasure of playing. Makélélé was recruited by FC Nantes in December 1991, when he was still 18 years old. Robert Budzynski, Nantes’ sporting director, confessed that once he had discovered Makélélé in Brest, he was sure he would become the new Emmanuel Petit.
Claude Makélélé Career
Despite playing for a long time, Makélélédiscovered the real pleasure of playing in the city of Nantes. He was recruited by FC Nantes in December 1991, when he was still 18 years old. At the beginning of the 1992–93 season, Makélélé was already in the Nantes first-team, then playing in the French first division. He played at Nantes for five seasons, winning the French championship in 1995 and helped the club to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League the following season. This earned him a move to Marseille for whom he played for one season.
Makélélé was transferred to Celta Vigo where he spent two successful seasons at the Galician club. 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 the resolution of his contract. Finally, Celta were reluctantly forced to sell him for €14 million, far less than their valuation of the player, and only after a falsified police report was made by his agent, Marc Roger.
At Real, Makélélé substantially added to his medal tally, winning two Spanish La Liga championships, the Champions League, the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup. Makélélé also established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world but he was, however, one of the most under-paid members, earning a fraction of that paid to his teammates.
In the summer of 2003, Makélélé signed for Chelsea for £16.8 million, where then-manager Claudio Ranieri proclaimed that Makélélé would be the “battery” of the team. Following the sacking of Ranieri and his succession by José Mourinho, Makélélé was a key player in Chelsea’s successful 2004–05 season, winning both the FA Premier League and the League Cup. His defensive qualities allowed the likes of Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, EiðurGuðjohnsen, and Didier Drogba to parade their attacking skills. Makélélé’s importance was recognized by Mourinho, who declared him Chelsea’s “Player of the Year”.In September 2005, he was selected as a member of the World XI at the FIFA Pro awards and on November 5, 2006, in a league encounter with Tottenham Hotspur, Makélélé scored his second goal for the club, a difficult curling volley from the edge of the 18-yard box which sped past goalkeeper Paul Robinson into the left-hand side of the goal to cue a bench-clearing celebration.
Makélélé was first capped for France in a match against Norway in July 1995 and went on to represent his country at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He was not selected for France’s 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 successes, making his tournament debut at the 2002 World Cup, where he started the team’s final Group A match against Denmark. At Euro 2004, Makélélé was a first-choice player in midfield, starting in three of France’s four matches.
Makélélé decided to retire from international football in September 2004 in order to focus on club football with Chelsea, but 11 months later, in August 2005, he and his compatriots Zinedine Zidane and Lilian Thuram were persuaded out of retirement to help France qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Makélélé went on to continue playing with the French national team through the qualifications and then the finals for the Euro 2008 tournament, where France exited in the group stage after finishing bottom of their group. He and Thuram announced their retirement from international football on 17 June 2008, after France’s 2–0 defeat to Italy.
Claude Makélélé Coaching Career
Makélélé became head coach of Bastia on 24 May 2014. After less than six months in charge, however, he was sacked on 3 November 2014 following a 1–0 defeat to Guingamp on 1 November, due to his inability to make an impact on the club as a coach. Prior to Bastia, Makélélé was an assistant coach at Paris Saint-Germain alongside Paul Clement and in January 2016, Monaco appointed Makélélé as technical director. Makélélé joined Clement as his assistant coach at Premier League club Swansea City in January 2017.
Makélélé then joined Belgian side Eupen as their head coach in November 2017. He left Eupen in August 2019 after almost 2 full seasons as head coach to return to his former club Chelsea as a youth coach and technical mentor
Claude Makélélé Style of Play
Regarded as one of the best players ever in his position, Makélélé revolutionized the role of the defensive midfielder in the Premier League. A combative and hard-working player, although he was capable of getting forward and playing in more advanced positions, he usually played in front of his team’s back-line, where he mainly served as a defensive foil for his more offensive teammates, due to his aggressive tackling, as well as his ability to read the game, break down plays, mark and anticipate opponents, and time his challenges. In this role, he was known in particular for his acceleration, positional sense, tactical discipline, intelligence, energy, and ball-winning ability; although he was not the fastest, most talented, technically skilled player on the ball, or particularly good in the air, he was also highly regarded throughout his career for being capable of functioning as a deep-lying playmaker for his team, due to his ability to dictate the tempo of his team’s play in midfield with his short, efficient passing game, which allowed him to link up the defense with the attack effectively after winning back possession. His physical strength in spite of his small stature, combined with his low center of gravity, also gave him excellent balance on the ball in limited spaces, which allowed him to retain possession against more physical opponents. In addition to his defensive skills, Makélélé was also known for his tenacity, awareness, consistency, and strong mentality.
Claude Makélélé Honors
Player
Nantes
- Division 1: 1994–95
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2000–01, 2002–03
- Supercopa de España: 2001, 2003
- UEFA Champions League: 2001–02
- UEFA Super Cup: 2002
- Intercontinental Cup: 2002
Chelsea
- Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06
- FA Cup: 2006–07
- Football League Cup: 2004–05, 2006–07
- FA Community Shield: 2005
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Coupe de France: 2009–10
France
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2006
Individual
- FIFPro World XI: 2005
- Chelsea Players’ Player of the Year: 2006
- ESPN World Team of the Decade: 2009
- UNFP Trophéed’honneur: 2010
Claude Makélélé Relationship
In 2004, Makélélé began dating French model Noémie Lenoir. Lenoir gave birth to a boy the name Kelyanon on January 24, 2005. The couple split in early 2009.
Claude Makélélé Net Worth
Makélélé has an estimated net worth of $55 million.
