Claude Makelele on UEFA Champions League finals, moving to Chelsea, and Jose Mourinho

After his departure from Real Madrid in 2003, Claude Makelele went on to become one of the Premier League's finest midfielders, enjoying a five-year spell with Chelsea.

So good was Makelele as a holding midfielder, the position became named after him, with players deployed in the 'Makelele role'. The impact was quickly felt at his new club, Chelsea, as well as his former club. With Makelele in midfielder, Real Madrid won La Liga twice and the UEFA Champions League, enduring a three-year drought after his departure.

While many might not have realised it at the time, Makelele was the lynchpin that allowed the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Raul and Ronaldo the freedom to play and worry less about their defensive responsibilities.

A successful three-year spell in Madrid reached its peak in the Frenchman's second season, winning the UEFA Champions League with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen, best remembered for Zidane's outrageous volley which Makelele had a front-row seat for.

"I was behind it! Roberto Carlos put the ball in the box but it wasn’t an opportunity to score," said Makelele. "But Zidane adjusted himself. Nobody is thinking he will shoot, but I knew, being behind him and the position he took, I knew he was going to shoot and the quality of the goal was amazing."

The 2001/02 season saw a young Iker Casillas dropped as starting goalkeeper, but when Cesar picked up an injury in the final, Casillas was called into action, pulling off a number of remarkable saves to see Real over the line, and Makelele said there were never any worries when the Spaniard was introduced.

"No, we knew how good he was," said Makelele. "After, he took the place from Cesar and he saved us many times in that game. In that moment, Bayer Leverkusen were better than us, but we won because we were Real Madrid."

With Florentino Perez aggressively pursuing his Galacticos policy, Chelsea were allowed to sign Makelele, who said the club quickly made him feel welcome.

"It was a strong challenge for me, moving to a new league, a new country," said Makelele. "But the club and the fans helped me a lot, creating an atmosphere that made it easier.

"The club fought for me to come to Chelsea. They paid good money and made it clear they wanted me and deserved my 100%."

Claudio Ranieri was replaced by Jose Mourinho ahead of Makelele's second season, with whom the midfielder forged a strong understanding.

"We never talked too much, but we were connected in a different way," said Makelele. "With me and Jose it was always about the feeling - he knew, I knew, if we wanted to talk properly we could, but we didn’t need to talk much.

"With some players he needed that connection to make them grow, with me I’d grown up already, I’d won trophies already, I had a different mind, but we changed together, he helped me a lot, and I helped him a lot also."

Many imports to the Premier League talk about the standard of the competition and Makelele is no different, struggling to single out one opponent above the rest.

Asked who the toughest midfielder he faced was, Makelele said: "Many, many. Paul Scholes, Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Roy Keane. Every single team in the Premier League would always fight so I needed to adapt myself. It was difficult but I enjoyed it. What I loved about this country and the Premier League is they gave back to me because I brought something different."

Makelele's final game for Chelsea was the 2008 UEFA Champions League final, in which he was taken off in the final minute of the game ahead of the penalty shoot-out - a decision the midfielder was all too happy with.

"Yeah I ran off! I hate penalties!" he said. "It’s not my part, I never took a penalty, why would I start? I said to the manager, please put me out because this is not for me. It’s better than putting me out there and I miss, so I decided myself and said to the manager to choose people who want to take the penalties."

Liam Williams

• Claude Makelele
• Chelsea F.C.
• Real Madrid CF
• Premier League
• UEFA Champions League
• European Football
• La Liga
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