Comparing 2014/15 Nemanja Matic to 2004/05 Claude Makelele Roman Abramovich, intent on making his Chelsea purchase immediate winners, gave Claudio Ranieri a blank cheque in the summer of 2003. Spending massive amounts, the Italian manager reached the Champions League semi-finals, but was sacked nonetheless in favour of nouveau Jose Mourinho just 12 months after the Russians takeover. The Portuguese manager, likewise, had seemingly unlimited resources pre-Financial Fair Play, and was determined to give Abramovich what he wanted: trophies. Revamping their squad, Chelsea released several players who had been loyal servants to the club, namely Marcel Desailly, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mario Melchiot—all of whom appeared in over 160 matches for the west London side. These moves sent a clear message of the new regimes winning intent. Mourinho bought Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Arjen Robben and Ricardo Carvalho in July 2004, but arguably the most important signing for Mourinhos team came on transfer deadline day one year prior, when he was managing FC Porto. After a £95 million-plus splurge, purchasing the likes of Joe Cole, Damien Duff, Adrian Mutu and Hernan Crespo, Ranieri needed midfield steel: He looked to Real Madrid and their wantaway midfielder Claude Makelele. Underpaid and underappreciated at the Santiago Bernabeu, the French international moved to Stamford Bridge on 31 August, 2003 for £16.8 million. Many thought the move was too expensive for a 30-year-old, but the transfer—in conjunction with Mourinhos arrival one year later—was a masterstroke. Playing a 4-3-3, the Portuguese needed someone in midfield who would graft. Frank Lampard and Tiago Mendes were played higher in midfield, giving the Blues forward impetus, but the key to Chelseas entire stratagem was Makelele breaking up play, using his superior tackling and football IQ to protect his defence. To provide Abramovich the trophies he craved, Mourinho decided world-class defending was the way forward and it worked; the success was not predicated on attacking so much as flawless defending. Conceding 33 goals in 59 games, winning both the Premier League and League Cup, solid tactics and diligence were Chelseas hallmarks in 2004/05. Playing 50 of the Blues 59 games, Makelele was central to this success. Allowing Lampard and others the freedom to advance and play football, his ability to sweep and neutralise opponents movement was imperative to Chelseas winning ways. Winning five major honours in west London, the Frenchmans five-year Chelsea career was a resounding success; his role patrolling between the opponents 18-yard box and the halfway line being dubbed the eponymous Makelele Role. Nearly one decade later, Mourinho—after leaving and returning—not having a strong midfield anchor, as was given to him in 2004, needed a holding midfielder extraordinaire; he marked Nemanja Matic as the man and brought him to Stamford Bridge for £21 million in January 2013 from SL Benfica. Like Makelele, Matics arrival at Chelsea was questioned—not due to age, but because the Serbian was once on Abramovichs books. Leaving west London for virtual pennies then coming back had many inquiring about the Blues transfer policy but—like his predecessor—the move was artful. The main difference between the two players comes from philosophical changes by Mourinho. No longer allowed to play overtly defensive football by his owner—as over the past decade Chelsea have won nearly everything of European import—the style has, in many respects, become more vital than the result. Abramovich suffered through defensive teams to win, but he has always wanted a free-flowing aspect to the Blues game, and Mourinhos second west London stint has largely tried to accomplish this desire. Therefore, a holding midfielder in 2014/15 cannot be solely responsible for protecting his back four. Makelele was primarily a destroyer, seeking out danger and dismantling it; Matics role in this Chelsea team is more nuanced, and arguably more important. 2004/05 saw two players fixed in midfield. Whether Makelele/Tiago, Makelele/Lampard or occasionally all three, Chelseas midfield always had an advantage against the ubiquitous 4-4-2. Todays 4-3-2-1 world, however, produces No. 10s who see defending as optional—leaving midfield one man short. Mourinho currently plays 4-2-3-1 with favoured Oscar in central-attacking midfield; the Brazilian defends at times, but owning the lions share of possession, Chelseas attacking options sometimes neglect defensive duty in pursuit of goals. This would be fine, were Matics double-pivot partner defensively minded, but Cesc Fabregas has never been confused for that. Needed to create goals, the Spanish international can often be found attacking, which leaves Matic isolated. Makelele was sometimes found alone, but what makes the role of the Serbian this season so difficult is the elevation of his full-backs. In 2004/05, Mourinho had Robben and Duff as his winger options—the full-backs occasionally assisting offensively—but in 2014/15, Branislav Ivanovic, Cesar Azpilicueta and/or Filipe Luis are often further advanced than strikers. Not consistently having a back four to aid him like Makelele, Matic has to deal with a back three or two. This creates the need for the Serbian international to not only break up play, but to start it himself. Were Matic only a destroyer, Mourinho would be handcuffed offensively, but able to control tempo with possession, Matic brings calm to proceedings, and with that serenity comes trust. Though Lampard and Drogba in the mid-to-late 2000s and Fabregas and Diego Costa this season take the majority of headlines for their attacking prowess, discounting the balance Makelele provided or the same quality Matic gives now would be criminal. Opposite in almost every physical trait—height, speed, etc.—Matic and Makelele share two common traits: intelligence and the willingness to do thankless work. The Makelele Role will never be duplicated; the role was for one man, in one team, under one philosophy—Matic has little hope of playing the part successfully under different instructions. Rather than a copy, the Serbian is crafting his own position, one loosely based on work seen ten years previous. When his curtains invariably close at Stamford Bridge, the surname preceding role on the lips of Chelsea supporters will not be that of Makelele, but Matic.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 11:43:30 +0000
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