José Mourinho deployed Claude Makélélé just in front of his defence when he was at Chelsea. This had not been seen before in English soccer, and the position became known as the 'Makélélé role.' We now define the position as a defensive midfielder, but Makélélé's legacy lives on.
Chelsea have a new player in his role, Moisés Caicedo, and Makélélé has been impressed by the Ecuadorian. Speaking on a Zoom call, Makélélé said, "I think now it is the Caicedo role. In my time, we never focused on this role, we focused on the striker or winger. This position is the most important. Caicedo is very good; he has humility and is working hard. I talked with him when he arrived in Chelsea, and he told me I was his example, and I hope he will have more success with Chelsea because he is a good player."
The Frenchman also worked for Chelsea as an U18 individual coach and as their loan player manager. Makélélé still keeps an eye on the Premier League team and is pleased with how they are coming along ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup. "There have been a lot of changes at Chelsea, both manager and players. The new manager (Enzo Maresca) made sure Chelsea finished the season in a good way by qualifying for the Champions League and winning a trophy (Europa Conference League). I'm happy for them because I am a Chelsea fan."
Makélélé ended his career with Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked at the club as assistant manager under Carlo Ancelotti and Laurent Blanc. Makélélé has been a manager himself, in France with Bastia, in Belgium at Eupen and then Asteras Tripolis in Greece. However, Makélélé has not had a coaching role since October 2024.
PSG have just won the Champions League, but Makélélé is worried that they may now be fatigued heading into the Club World Cup, "With all the competitions, I know the players are tired. I see with the national team, now the players are so tired. They need to rest sometime. This competition is a new one, and I do not know if they will be prepared. There are a lot of teams, but they will try and be competitive to win this trophy because it is the first one."
The French national team currently have five PSG players, and they were just defeated 5-4 by Spain in the Nations League semi-finals. Fatigue would have played a part in their loss, but it will not get any easier for the players with a busy summer of soccer ahead.
The former midfielder knows what it is like to compete on a global stage. He played in two Intercontinental Cups with Real Madrid. They lost to Boca Juniors in 2000, but won it two years later by defeating the Paraguayan side Olimpia. Makélélé believes that Los Blancos will be one of the favorites at the Club World Cup. "For the club, it is very important to win this kind of trophy. When I was at Real Madrid, we had an obligation to win. They will come not just for pre-season but to make sure they win all the trophies around the world."