Michael Essien

Mickaël Essien
Personal information
Full name	Michael Kojo Essien
Date of birth	December 3, 1982 (1982-12-03) (age 26)
Place of birth	Accra, Ghana
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder, Right back, centre back
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	5
Youth clubs
1999–2000	Liberty Professionals
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2000–2003 2003–2005 2005–	Bastia Lyon Chelsea	065 (11) 071 0(7) 093 (10)
National team2
2002–	Ghana	038 0(8)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:42, 30 August 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 18:50, 28 June 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Michael Kojo Essien or Mickaël Essien (born December 3, 1982 in Accra) is a Ghanaian footballer nicknamed 'The Bison' due to his formidable strength, competitiveness and combativeness in the midfield area. He currently plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League. He is a central midfielder and plays as a deep-lying playmaker for the Black Stars, the Ghana national football team but is employed all over the pitch at Chelsea due to his versatility. He is the most expensive African footballer of all-time.

Club career

Born to Ghanaian parents Aba Gyandoh and James Essien, Essien began his career in a local club in his native Ghana, called Liberty Professionals after graduating from St Augustine College. He broke through when he played in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand.^[2] This led to considerable attention from European scouts.

SC Bastia

In July 2000, French club SC Bastia signed Essien. At Bastia, he did not command a regular place in the team, playing at right back, left back and in central defence. Then because of an injury to one of his teammates, he was given a temporary opportunity to play in central midfield. Essien flourished in this new role. Soon he was compared to Frenchman Patrick Vieira because of his ability to go from box to box. In 2002/2003 season he helped Bastia qualify for the UEFA Cup. He scored six goals that season. He became physically stronger and a harder tackler. Soon Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille made offers for him. He was not only popular in France, but also in England.

Olympique Lyonnais

PSG made the best offer and Bastia accepted it,^[3] but Essien rejected the contract, and instead agreed terms with Lyon who paid Bastia €7.8 million.^[4] At Lyon, Essien played a more defensive midfield role, featuring regularly in the Lyon team that won the third and fourth of their current string of seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles. He was also voted the 2005 Player of the Year by France's National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP).^[5]

It was announced on August 14 2005 that Lyon and Chelsea had agreed a £24m fee for the Ghanaian, finally ending one of the longest running transfer sagas in recent English football history. Essien is now Chelsea's second most expensive signing after the club signed Ukraine forward and captain Andriy Shevchenko from A.C. Milan on May 22, 2006 in a £30m deal.

Chelsea

The transfer went through on August 19, purportedly for a slightly reduced fee of £24.4m (€38M) nevertheless breaking Chelsea's previous record transfer fee^[6], which they achieved the previous season by paying £24m for Olympique Marseille's Didier Drogba. He made his debut against Arsenal F.C. on August 21, wearing the number 5 on his shirt. He soon cemented his place in José Mourinho's side, starting the majority of the league games since his debut. He made an assist in his full debut against West Bromwich Albion F.C., and he replaced the injured Claude Makélélé in the defensive midfield role against Sunderland A.F.C. in the 2–0 win on September 10, 2005. The Chelsea midfield looks to have been strengthened by the powerful, athletic Essien, who could well form part of the Chelsea midfield with Frank Lampard for years to come. Essien has had amazing goals in the past, such as his cracker of a goal against Arsenal.

On December 15, he was handed a 2-match ban by UEFA for a controversial tackle on Dietmar Hamann, which resulted in his suspension^[7] from Chelsea's UEFA Champions League second round tie with eventual European champions F.C. Barcelona. Chelsea lost the two-legged tie, 3–2 on aggregate. Essien apologised to Hamann for the challenge (Hamann publicly accepted the apology) and insists that while he desires to be perceived as a player who 'unsettles' opponents, he is not a malicious or unsporting player. In January 2006, Essien was himself stretchered off the field, the victim of a poor challenge from West Ham United captain Nigel Reo-Coker, which sidelined him for three weeks.

Essien scored his first goal for Chelsea in March 2006, in a 2–1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. His second goal came on April 17, 2006 against Everton with a powerful strike after an assertive burst through the defensive line. Essien ended his debut season in England with two goals, both in the Premier League. However, the arrival of midfielders Michael Ballack from Bayern München and John Obi Mikel from Lyn Oslo brought stiffer competition for places at Chelsea.

On September 12, 2006, Essien scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for Chelsea in a 2–0 victory over Werder Bremen of Germany. Undeniably his most memorable strike for Chelsea was the powerful, curling equalizer against Arsenal on December 10, 2006 from approximately 35 yards. The spectacular strike sent the home crowd into uproar. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Essien receiving the Man of the Match award. Later in the same season Essien scored an equally dramatic late winner in the Champions League quarter-final against Valencia at the Mestalla. Running down the wing from his position at right-back he smashed an effort past Santiago Cañizares' at his near post to send Chelsea through to the semi-finals with a 1–2 victory on the night, and 2–3 win on aggregate.^[8] It was his first match back in the team after several weeks out with a knee injury. Later in a post-match interview, when asked how he felt about the win, he said he thought his team deserved the three points, despite it being a knockout game.

On May 15, 2007, Essien was voted as Chelsea Player of the Year for the 2006–07 Season by the fans^[9], becoming the first African to receive the honour. His goal against Arsenal was also voted as Chelsea Goal of the Season 2006–07.

His transfer from Olympique Lyonnais to Chelsea in August 2005 is one of those about which the Stevens inquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the lack of co-operation from agents Pinhas Zahavi and Barry Silkman ^[10].

On August 13, 2007, Essien grabbed the winner with his first goal of the 2007–08 Premier League campaign, as Chelsea defeated Birmingham City, to set an English record for unbeaten league matches at home – eclipsing Liverpool's previous top-flight record of 63, which Bob Paisley's team set between 1978 and 1981^[11]. Essien has been at the centre of transfer speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid, in a move that may involve Royston Drenthe going the other way.

Essien was nominated for the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Award on October 12, 2006. One week later, he was nominated for the 2006 Ballon d'Or. He was also nominated for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year Award as well. He placed 22nd in 2005 and 2006 in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He was voted as the 3rd Best African Footballer of the Year in 2006^[12], a feat he achieved in 2005 as well.^[13] He won the 2006 BBC African footballer of the year award.^[14] Essien recently renewed his contract with Chelsea until 2012.^[15]

On October 10, 2007, he was nominated^[16] for the prestigious 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Award for the third consecutive year and on October 21, 2007 Essien was also nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or Award for the third consecutive year as well. He was voted 15th Best Player in the World at the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Awards. On December 12, 2007, Essien was nominated for the 2007 African Footballer of the Year a third consecutive time he had been nominated^[17]. He was Runner-up to that year's winner Frédéric Kanouté.

He was on the scoresheet in the English Premier League again highlighting his importance to Chelsea with the winning goal against Everton FC in a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park, keeping Chelsea in the title race with Manchester United FC. Essien has a more established role in the midfield, partnering with Ballack and Lampard and is often a first-choice for the starting eleven. On July 22, 2008, Essien signed a new 5 year deal with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2013 as reward for his services over the past few years proving himself as a very important player.^[18]. Essien is however feared to miss the majority of the 2008-09 season after his anterior cruciate ligament damage sustained on September 5 playing for Ghana.

International career

In 2001, even though he was one of the youngest players in the tournament, he took part in the World Youth Championship in Argentina, and performed exceptionally well. He made his competitive senior debut in the 2002 African Nations Cup against Morocco on 21 January, 2002.^[19] but had played for Ghana in a Pre-Tournament friendly against Egypt on January 4, 2002^[20].He is Noted as one of Africa's Greatest Players of all time.

On May 16, 2006, Essien was selected to be part of the team that represented Ghana at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He played in midfield with team captain Stephen Appiah formerly of Fenerbahçe and Sulley Ali Muntari of Internazionale. Essien played in Ghana's 0–2 defeat to Italy, their 2–0 victory over the Czech Republic, and the 2–1 victory over the United States, and helped Ghana become the only African team to reach the second round of the 2006 World Cup. However, Essien was suspended for Ghana's second round match against Brazil and could only watch as Ghana lost 0–3.

Upon the team's return to Ghana, Essien said that the team had gained invaluable experience and will be aiming to make the next finals, which will be held in Africa for the first time in the tournament's history at South Africa 2010. He was simply outstanding in the African Cup of Nations 2008 driving the team to the semi finals with his power packed performances.

In the quarter-final against Nigeria,when the captain of the side, John Mensah, was given the matching orders on the stroke of the hour, for a professional foul on Nigeria's Peter Odemwingie, Essien took over the captaincy for the rest of the game, which they eventually won 2-1.

He was voted as an All-Star Player during the 2008 African Cup of Nations Tournament in Ghana. The Team of the Tournament was decided by the Technical Study Group (TSG) after careful observations of all the tournament's matches^[21].

During an international match played against Libya on September 5, 2008 Essien ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing for Ghana in the World Cup qualification stage and is expected to be out for 6-8 months, missing the majority of the 2008-09 season.

Playing Honours

Club

SC Bastia

• French Cup:
• (Runner-Up): 2002

Olympique Lyon

• Ligue 1: 2004, 2005

Chelsea

• Premier League: 2006
• (Runner-Up): 2007, 2008
• FA Cup: 2007
• FA Community Shield:
• (Runner-Up): 2006, 2007
• Carling Cup: 2007
• (Runner-Up): 2008
• UEFA Champions League:
• (Runner-Up): 2008

International

Ghana

• FIFA World Youth Championship:
• (runner-up): 2001
• African Cup of Nations:
• (3rd Place): 2008
• FIFA U-17 World Championship:
• (3rd Place): 1999

Individual Honours

• FIFA World Player of the Year – 22nd 2005, 22nd 2006, 15th 2007
• Ballon d'Or – 22nd 2005, 27th 2006, 24th 2007
• African Footballer of the Year – 3rd 2005, 3rd 2006, 2nd 2007
• FIFPro World XI – Nomination 2007
• 2005 French Player of the Year
• 2006 BBC African Footballer of the Year – Winner
• 11th Best CAF African Player of All-Time
• CAF's Africa Top 50 Best Players of All-Time – Nomination
• FIFA Player of the Game: 2006 FIFA World Cup Match Ghana vs. Czech Republic]
• The Most Expensive Summer Transfer of 2005 [from Lyon to Chelsea]
• The Most Expensive African Footballer of all-time [€38M]
• FIFA All-Star Midfielder
• BBC African player of the year for 2006/2007.
• On the Cover of FIFA Magazine May 2006
• 2006 CAF African All-Star Midfielder
• 2006–2007 Chelsea F.C. Player of the Season
• 2006–2007 Chelsea F.C. Goal of the Season ( home v Arsenal, 10 Dec 06 )
• Samsung Fair Play Award MTN AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS (Ghana 2008) Ghana vs Guinea
• Man of the Match MTN AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS(Ghana 2008) Ghana vs Namibia
• Man of the Match MTN AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS(Ghana 2008) Ghana vs Morocco
• African XI Place to play

Quotes

• Former England and West Ham star Sir Trevor Brooking insists Michael Essien has not received the recognition he deserves this (2006/07) season and claims the Ghana midfielder holds the key to Chelsea's FA Cup final hopes. 'Personally, the player who I think has been fantastic is Essien. He's brilliant,' he said. 'Because of injury he's often had to play at centre back, right back and sometimes even as a makeshift right winger. 'He's an individual that will play a big part if Chelsea win the 2007 FA Cup. 'Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player but in my opinion Essien could also have been named Player of the Season.' [1]

• "The first things that people see about Michael is his energy and tackling, and they classify him as a holding midfielder, a destroyer type of player. What they don't often realise is that he can also be very dangerous going forward. His positioning to receive the ball is very good, and he knows when and where to place a pass." – Former Lyon manager Paul Le Guen on his former player.

• "Essien is a great player. He can play every position in midfield. Where he is perfect in choices. In football, the most difficult thing is to choose well, and in every situation he chooses well. He presses, stays in position, passes long, passes short, first touch, two touches. He controls the pace of the game, fast or slow. He is midfield multifunctional, he is dynamic and strong. The boy has incredible physical power, he is super resistant with great speed and unending tactical abilities." – Former Chelsea F.C. Coach José Mourinho on his midfielder in May 2006 FIFA Magazine

• FIFA.com says "Essien, Lyon's quietly rampaging buffalo"

• The Guardian says "Essien: The very model of a modern midfield general"

• France Football says Essien, l'incontournable

• Interview in FIFA Magazine, May 2006(pdf)

Notes and references

External links

• Michael Essien career stats at Soccerbase
• ESPN profile
• Goal.com profile

Awards
Preceded by Mohamed Barakat	BBC African Footballer of the Year 2006	Succeeded by Emmanuel Adebayor

Ghana squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Adjei • 2 Sarpei • 3 Gyan • 4 Kuffour • 5 Mensah • 6 Pappoe • 7 Shilla • 8 Essien • 9 Boateng • 10 Appiah • 11 Muntari • 12 Tachie‑Mensah • 13 Mohamed • 14 Amoah • 15 Paintsil • 16 Owu • 17 Quaye • 18 E. Addo • 19 Pimpong • 20 O. Addo • 21 Issah • 22 Kingson • 23 Dramani • Coach: Dujković

Ghana squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Third Place 1 Adjei • 2 Sarpei • 3 Gyan • 4 Paintsil • 5 Mensah • 6 Annan • 7 Kingston • 8 Essien • 9 Agogo • 10 Asamoah • 11 Muntari • 12 Ayew • 13 Gyan • 14 Kumordzi • 15 Baruso • 16 Fatawu Dauda • 17 Asare • 18 Addo • 19 Shilla • 20 Owusu-Abeyie • 21 Afful • 22 Kingson • 23 Dramani • Coach: Le Roy