Michael Essien Biography -
Preview In Ghana, soccer is almost a religion and it
was
here that Michael Essien was born. He started playing soccer on the
streets of Accra, his home town and rose up the ranks to now play in
one of soccer's most prestigious stadiums, Chelsea's stamford
Bridge. Take 5 minutes of your time and read up on this
Essien biography, to
find out how the player managed such a quick and steep rise.
Michael
Essien – SC Bastia Michael Essien Biography –
SC Bastia
Although playing for the local club, called Liberty Professionals FC,
Michael Essien wasn't expecting the big break from his club. When being
selected for the Ghana U-17 World Championship squad in 1999, he
focused all his efforts on this tournament, knowing that considerable European
scouts will be present there.
After pulling a great World Championship, Essien received what he had
hoped, being offered a professional contract by French club SC Bastia.
This was not a club that would have any relegation or league-winning
pressures, so it was a perfect environment for Michael Essien to grow
his skills and get some match experience under his boots.
With Essien being still at a young age, Bastia's head coach tried to
find the best position in the team for the footballer, as he played as
either left
back, central defender or right back. It was only until one of Bastia's
central midfielders got injured that Michael Essien was tried on the
position that he still plays now.
In his 3 seasons at Bastia,
Michael Essien earned not only the club's fans' hearts, but also the
praises
of several important French sport newspapers, who started comparing him
to French defensive midfielder Patrick Vieira, due to his ability to go
box-to-box.
Michael
Essien Biography – Olympique Lyonnais It was inevitable that a bigger club
than Bastia
would take on such a great footballer as Essien and this inevitable
happened in 2003 when Olympique Lyonnais signed him; despite the
higher offered
made by rivals Paris Saint Germain. In his two years with the Lyon
club, Essien managed to win the league twice and was also voted as
Player of the Year in 2005.
Despite the success at the French club for the footballer, Essien was
going to take his career one step forward in the summer of 2005, as he
signed a deal with Chelsea, after a few scandals related to his
transfer and his declaration that he would"go on strike" if he would
not be granted a move to the Stamford Bridge side.
Michael
Essien Biography – Chelsea As a footballer, Essien couldn't go
much further
than Chelsea, which is a top team both professionally and from a
salary's point of view. He immediately won a spot in the first squad
and missed few matches since his arrival to the club. Although he
maintained his role as a defensive midfielder that he previously
established himself in at Lyon, his coach Jose Mourinho often plays him
as central defender when needed.
Although since Michael Essien arrived to Chelsea, the club brought
other top quality midfielders such as Michael Ballack or John Obi
Mikel, the powerful Ghanaian managed to resist the tough competition
and retain his first choice role in the Chelsea squad.
