http://www.chelseafc.com/Player.asp?plid=6083

PLAYER PROFILES

Claude Makelele


A specialist player, considered by many the world's best at executing the
midfield anchor role.


With Spanish League Championship and Champions League medals as evidence
of this, Claude was signed from Real Madrid for ￡13.9 million in the
summer of the Abramovich revolution and was declared by then manager
Claudio Ranieri the final piece in the jigsaw.


Claude started as he meant to go on, gliding around in front of the
defence, disrupting the opposition and distributing the ball with care. He
remained Frank Lampard's near-permanent partner in the centre and was our
fourth most used player in his first season at The Bridge.


Short in height but high in stamina, he upped this to become joint second
appearance maker last season and at the peak of his form, was a true hero
of Chelsea's title win.


Claude's first League Championship came at his second club, Nantes, and
then it was on to Spain via Marseille. He adapted well enough at Celta
Vigo to attract mighty Real Madrid where two Spanish titles, the Champions
League and a host of other trophies were won.


When the powers that be at the Bernabeu failed to value their unsung hero
highly enough, there were groans aplenty from Madrid's biggest stars but
they could not prevent Claude embarking on a new challenge in England.


In September 2004 he brought the curtain down on an international career
that had won 35 caps in order to focus entirely on bringing trophies to
Chelsea, but he has recently come out of retirement to help France's
flagging World Cup qualification campaign. At Chelsea he provides an
experienced head in an otherwise young midfield .