Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French international football player who currently plays defensive midfield for Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1 and also serves as their captain. Prior to joining Paris Saint-Germain, Makélélé played for Nantes (1992–1997), Olympique de Marseille (1997–1998), Celta Vigo (1998–2000), Real Madrid (2000–2003) and Chelsea (2003–2008). He is widely considered the premier defensive midfielder of the modern game, which is often named after him, being called the "Makélélé Role.
Early career
Claude Makélélé
Claude Makélélé was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). "Makelele" means "noises" in Swahili [2], one of the languages spoken in Congo DR.
He moved to Savigny-le-Temple, a suburb of Paris in Seine-et-Marne, in 1977, when he was four years old. His father, André-Joseph Makélélé, was also a football player. He represented the Congo DR, and ended his career in the Belgian first division.
Makélélé had never left Savigny-le-Temple until the age of 16, when he joined the training centre of Brest-Armorique in Brittany. According to him, it wasn't easy to adapt to the new life in Brest. The training academy life was tough, especially as it was the first time he was far from his family.
Claude Makélélé
He worked very hard in Brest, but it was in Nantes where he discovered the real pleasure of playing. Makélélé was recruited by FC Nantes Atlantique in December 1991, when he was still 18 years old. Robert Budzinski, the Sport director from Nantes confessed that once he had discovered Makélélé in Brest, he was sure he would become the new Emmanuel Petit.
At the beginning of the 1992–93 season, Claude Makélélé was already in the Nantes A-team, in the French first division. He played at Nantes for five seasons, winning the French Championship in 1995 and helped the club to the semifinal of the European Cup the following season. This earned him a move to Olympique de Marseille for whom he played for one season.
Claude Makélélé and his wife
Makélélé has had a successful international career playing for France. By the end of 2004, he had gained 33 caps, and played for his country at the 1996 Olympic Games, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2004.
Makélélé decided to retire from international football in September 2004, in order to focus on club football with Chelsea, but eleven months later, in August 2005, he and compatriots Zinédine Zidane and Lilian Thuram were persuaded out of retirement to help France qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
As a member of the France national football team competing at the 2006 World Cup, Makélélé's performances as a tireless midfield spoiler were invaluable to France's progress to the final as they defeated Spain, the defending champions Brazil and Euro 2004 finalists Portugal in the knock-out rounds. His partnership with Patrick Vieira in the defensive midfield proved effective as the team conceded only three goals in seven games, a tally only bested by world champions Italy.
Claude Makélélé lenoir
After the defeat to Italy on penalties in the World Cup Final, Makélélé initially commented that he was again going to retire from international football. However, he continued to play for France in their qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2008 and even the Euro 2008 finals. He again announced his retirement from international football on 17 June 2008, after France's 2–0 defeat to Italy, along with Thuram again.
