Full Name
Claude Makélélé Sinda
Position
Defensive Midfielder
Born
18 February 1973
Country
France
Clubs
Nantes (France)
Marseille (France)
Celta Vigo (Spain)
Real Madrid (Spain)
Chelsea (England)
Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Professional Career
1991-2011
International Caps/Goals
71 caps/0 goals
Honours
2 Spanish La Liga title, 2 Spanish Super Cup (Real Madrid)
2 English Premier League title, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cup (Chelsea)
1 French Ligue 1 title (Nantes)
1 French Cup (Paris Saint-Germain)
1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup (Real Madrid)
1 Intercontinental Cup (Real Madrid)
Often the unsung hero of the team, Claude Makélélé’s importance was only appreciated in the football of recent decade. He played for Real Madrid during its “Galacticos” era, when the club splashed big money to assemble a team of superstars. However, Makélélé was not regarded as highly as the other players, despite being one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.
In 2003, Makélélé moved to Chelsea. Real Madrid’s loss was Chelsea’s gain, as the addition of Makélélé helped strengthening the team’s defence as they won their first league titles after 50 years. Positioned just in front of the back four, Makélélé’s role was breaking up the opponents’ offences and distributing the ball quickly upfront. It was such a revolutionary role, particularly in English football, that his position was later known as the “Makélélé role”.
Despite his talents, Makélélé was overlooked by the French national team, which preferred Patrick Vieria to partner Zinedine Zidane in the midfield. Due to this, he missed out France’s glories in the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship.
Best 100 Footballers in the World 
Translated by Google Traudtor
Sweating in Brazil.
If I may criticize, but putting players like Makélélé, Suker, Puyol, Rush, Raúl, Nistelrooy or Rooney and forgetting players like Scirea, Rijkaard, Pirlo, Tigana, Hidegkuti, Bozsik, Elías Figueroa, Ruud Krol or Facchetti seems to me a very big mistake.
Klinsmann, Nedved, Paolo Rossi, Hugo Sánchez, Beckham, Del Piero, Shearer, Davids and Shevchenko were great players.
But they cannot, in my opinion, be in front of stars like Didi, Gullit, Roberto Baggio, Pedernera, Falcão, Zizinho, Schiaffino, Kubala, José M. Moreno, Obdulio Varela, Ademir da Guia, that is, a list of 100 the best cannot have Rooney and not have Garrincha.
Greetings.
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