5 Potential Heirs For The “Makalele” Role
Who's the next Makelele?
“So f***ing under-rated… he belongs up there – i reckon i would place him within the likes of Zidane, Raul, Nesta… totally re-defined that role in modern football” – those were the words of a fellow football fan whose allegiance to the former French international is unquestionable.
As a child of the eighties and a rather young fan of the beautiful game, players such as Maldini have epitomized the defensive side of football while Batistuta, Weah and co . – lets not forget the “fat” Ronaldo – have dazzled on the offense. While these legends have grabbed the headlines over the years, football has paid far less attention to the players who protect the defense while linking up play to the other half of the field.
The defensive midfield role, better known as the Makalele role in recent years, has become an essential part of any team lending to the more conversions of the traditional midfielder or defender into this role – i.e. Gilberto Silva, the current Brazilian captain. While Gilberto Silva is void of any passing ability, the “Makalele” role requires acute defensive alertness, intricate tactical awareness, better than average tackling ability and last but not least some sort passing ability. As his playing days edge closer, several players look to claim the role as the best defensive midfielder left. Truth be told, i hate lists; absolutely despise the whole process of compiling or ranking the world’s best ….(insert “phrase” here) but as we all know life’s not all gravy and more often than not, these rather tough decisions have to be taken.
Pardon the rant!
The not so easy feat of the chosen one is quite trying thus after mild to heavy research I came up with five players whom i see to be the best at their trade. Since these lists are subject of heavy scrutiny, i have followed certain guidelines whilst compiling this list. Firstly, the likes of Marcos Senna, Patrick Viera, Gattuso, Veron and co. over 30 have been excluded form the list since their playing days are somewhat on the decline thus “holding” midfielders aged 29 and under were considered. Lastly, this is not a scientific poll.
Michael Essien
The transfer saga of Africa’s most expensive footballer involving ex club Lyon and current club Chelsea during the 2005 /06 season was ardorous to say the least yet pales in comparison to the Real-Ronaldo-Man Utd drama. Originally signed from Bastia during the 2003 /04 season for just under €7.8 million, the Ghanaian deep lying play maker quickly established himself as Ligue 1’s best player.
After helping Lyon attain two successive domestic championships and winning the Ligue 1 player of the year, Europe’s scouts lurked about the greener pastures of the Stade de Gerland. Linked with Europe’s biggest clubs, Chelsea broke its transfer record by shelled out €24 million for his signature – that record was later shattered by €30 million star, Andrei “flop-chenko”. Essien is a box to box midfielder; his role as a strong and tough tackling holding midfielder as well as his finesse deep lying play maker and his versatility as a defensive right back makes him a treasured item.
Like his predecessor Makalele, Essien’s composure and off the ball positioning is pure class and his passing ability adds to the value of the English Premier League’s best defensive midfielder. While some defensive midfielders are paired alongside central midfielders to provide adequate cover, Essien is more than apt as the single player thus he creates more room for the attacking prowess of his teammates. It’s a no brainer – the “Bison” is a shoo-in at any football club on the planet.
Javier Mascherano
Known for his mild manners on the football pitch barring a rush of blood to the head, Argentine midfielder Mascherano is also a splendid tackler. Perhaps the most defensive minded midfielder on the list, Mascherano’s marking and positioning instinct is second to none. After a dodgy loan move with fellow mate Tevez from Brazilian side Corinthians to West Ham less than two years ago, Liverpool snatched up the aggressive midfielder for a £18.6 million (pounds) and Benitez quickly immersed the Argentine as an integral part of his plans.
Known as the thinking man’s best friend, Mascherano maturity and analysis of the game is perhaps his greatest strength. Not blessed with abundant height, the 5ft 7in mature 24 yr old ever present dynamic football style is sometimes peculiar yet very effective. As a long time fan of the diminutive Argentine, it should be pointed out that he is often partnered with another deep lying playmaker in the like of Xabi Alonso at Liverpool, Fernando Gago or Esteban Cambiasso at Argentina – it seems he is better utilized when partnered with a similar player which is not a knock on his talent but rather a testament to his teamwork and professionalism.
Alongside Essien, Mascherano is head above shoulders best holding players in the English game and one of the best world football. “He’s probably the best central midfielder in the world” were the words an Argentine football philosopher uttered when asked to describe his fellow country man. Hard to argue with a philosopher!
Daniel De Rossi
Remember the bloody head at the last World cup? No? Well American soccer fans remember the moment when Italian midfielder De Rossi elbowed striker Brian McBride in an chilling affair which ended up with three sending offs. Plying his trade in this birthplace Rome, the Roma midfielder is known as one of Europe’s brightest talents. A product of the Roma youth system, the 25 yr old strong player is set to inherit Totti’s role as Rome’s most beloved son.
The athletic 6 ft player possesses great direct passing ability of that akin to attacking play makers such as Lampard or Gerrard and his rigid style of play works wonders for Roma’s touch and go football. One of the more striking things about the holding role is the peculiar anonymity during play; everyone raves about the goal poachers playing further up the park as well as great defensive play by the sweepers yet the man who does most of the dirty work is rarely praised or more often than not unrecognized.
Unlike his fellow comrades, De Rossi is the leader type – he’s a very visible character on the pitch thus his play is more scrutinized than any other deep lying playmaker in today’s game. Although i greatly admire his talents, the Italy international seems to drift in and out of many games – when Daniel De Rossi is good, he’s the best in the business but when he’s off his game, he can be quite bad.
Esteban Cambiasso
Seems like he’s been around forever. The hardworking ex Real Madrid midfielder is having the form of his life with his current club Inter. Signed a more than decade ago by the Galacticos, the Argentinian hard man has loan spells at Independiente and River Plate after failing to break into the Real Madrid first team. After an extremely successful loan spell at River Plate in 2002, he gained a spot at the Bernabeu. His last two seasons at the Spanish giants did not go quite as planned as he often failed to live up to high expectations.
Fancying a change of scenery, Cambiasso signed for Inter Milan in 2004 and his time in the fashion capital has been blinding. The free scoring holding midfielder has been an ever present figure during his time at Inter. While his fellow country man Mascherano is timid and mild mannered, Cambiasso is a midfield general running up and down the length of the field. Despite playing in the defensive midfield position, El Cuchu wanders up the pitch often placing himself in goal scoring opportunities. Blessed with excellent football vision and immense lung power, he hardly ever goes unnoticed when he plays for either club or country.
Jeremy Toulalan
I reckon i just let the cat out of the bag! The almost gray haired 25 yr old French international has replaced the legendary Patrick Viera in the French national team albeit Viera has succumbed to the physio room. Signed as a replacement for Mammadou Diarra in the Lyon line up, the ex-Nantes midfielder works wonders on the ball. Labeled as coy and humble, Toulalan’s demeanor and technique on the football pitch is simple yet extremely effective.
He rarely has a bad game; his tackling, ball awareness, positioning, creativity, composure and work rate are top notch. The extremely gifted holding midfielder hardly ever loses the ball and distributes simple through passes across both sides of the pitch. Jean Michel Alaus, chairman of Lyon, snapped the agile star in 2006 for € 7 million and Toulalan has not disappointed.
Known for its defensive tactics and few goals, French domestic league boasts great defensive midfielders such as Jean Makoun, Alou Diarra, Lorik Cana, Rio Mavuba and the highly rated Stephen M’Bia. Despite being coveted by top European clubs, the midfielder has stated his desire to remain at Lyon and recently signed a 5 year extension on his current contract.
I’m not a betting man. Never have and never will be but if my life depended on it, call me insane but i might just be willing to stake it on Jeremy Toulalan as heir to Makalele’s throne and i wouldn’t be completely insane if i argued he might be a clone of the French legend. Quite scary, isn’t it?
P.S. – yes i know Pirlo is not on the list. Pirlo is world class but isn’t exactly a true defensive midfielder!
Who do you think is the best player today in the ‘Makalele role’?
Uh, it’s Daniele De Rossi, not ‘Daniel’…
i think mikel is improving dramatically as well. I would still pip toulalan as the closest thing to makalele since the others act closer to box to box centre mids with a more defensive tendency.
Coming from a Blue…
Michael Essien is NOT a defensive midfielder!!! He is box-to-box – Get your facts straight!
To add: Chelsea NEVER plays Essien in the holding role. Mikel has that locked down, and to be honest, is as good as Mascherano is at it, and probably better on the ball, which makes up for any lack of defensive experience he doesn’t have.
Essien’s greatest strength is bombing forward and playing power football. If any club were to sign him, he would NOT be playing defensive midfielder for them.
How about Marcos Senna, Gino Gattuso and Matthieu Flamini?
Good information. I was never a big fan of Flamini, but considering how Arsenal have struggled to replace him, I think you have to move him up a little bit. I still wouldn’t put him above your choices, but I think he’s on the cusp.
Too bad Hargreaves can’t remain healthy, otherwise, he’d be up there.
Senna is so much like Makalele in his style of play and such
Michael Essien is NOT a defensive midfielder!!! He is box-to-box – Get your facts straight?
I’m sorry mate – coming from a fellow blue fan also, Michael Essien is a defensive midfielder since his days at Lyon and i can attest to seeing several of his chelsea games playing the holding midfielder role. I did get my facts right – i reckon you should do a tad more research.
I thought long and hard about Mikel Obi but he’s just not as good as Essien in that position. Back during his days at Lyn Oslo, he was an attacking playmaker due to his great touch and dribbling ability thus attracted the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea. Also, when Mikel plays for Nigeria he plays much further up the park who employ Chidi Odiah or Aliya Yussuf in the holding role – both who are much better than Mikel that position.
Mikel as good as Mascherano! Admittedly Masch has been at his best so far this season but he’s easily ahead of Mikel as a defensive midfielder. To be fair to Mikel I always thought he would be a better all round midfielder and feel his developement has been held back by his defensive responsibilities. Likewise I’m hoping Mascu can develop other parts of his game other than just being labelled a defensive midfielder
Oops meant to say Masch HAS’NT been at his best so far this season
I think Mikel has a lot too learn before he gets to highest level!!
Essien, De Rossi and Toulalon could hardly be described as defensive midfielders. That selection is ill thought out at best.
Marcos Senna, Gennaro Gattuso or Yaya Toure would have been more suitable names to go on that list.
How about Lassana Diarra?
5 of the younger ones:
Obi Mikel
Lassana Diarra
Yaya Toure
Diaby
Seydou Keita
Carrick?Fletcher?
“Essien, De Rossi and Toulalon could hardly be described as defensive midfielders. That selection is ill thought out at best.
Marcos Senna, Gennaro Gattuso or Yaya Toure would have been more suitable names to go on that list.”
Did you even read the article? He clearly stated that players aged 20 and over were not considered! Oh gosh .. and yes De Rossi, Essien and Toulalan are defensive midfielders or maybe you prefer the term deep lying playmaker. You’ve got a point with Yaya Toure thogh but then again Zenith’s St. Petersburg’s Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Mahamadou Diarra are great talents.
“Essien, De Rossi and Toulalon could hardly be described as defensive midfielders. That selection is ill thought out at best.
Marcos Senna, Gennaro Gattuso or Yaya Toure would have been more suitable names to go on that list.”
Did you even read the article? It’s clearly stated that players aged 20 and over were not considered! Oh gosh .. and yes De Rossi, Essien and Toulalan are defensive midfielders or maybe you prefer the term deep lying playmaker. You’ve got a point with Yaya Toure though but then again Zenith’s St. Petersburg’s Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Mahamadou Diarra are great talents.
i thought lassana diarra was touted as his natural successor?
People tout stuff all the time..remember Robinho, he was supposed to be the next Pele. Stay off the tout wagon
Essien is NOT a defensive mid. He is a box to box mid. If you shackle him to the defensive role you wont get his best. Mikel is Makalele’s true successor. Just look at this season. Chelsea have not missed Makalele have they? With Essien injured Chelsea still have the best defensive record (one must consider also the long periods for which Carvalho and Terry have missed matches and the relative inexperience of the Ivanovic – Alex partnership). Add to that Mikel is in the top 5 passers in the Premier League with the best success rate of above 91%! Admittingly though he has to improve consistency and by continuing to work as hard as he has he will be the true successor to Makalele. Essien will be better off partnering Lampard in midfield in place of the ever injured Ballack. That is not to say that Essien cannot play that role. Mikel may not be a natural defensive midfielder but he’s learning his trade. He’s been one of Chelsea’s better performers this season after Lampard, Cech and Bosingwa. And guess what he’s only 21. If he plays as he is playing this season there is no doubt he will make more than 750 appearances for Chelsea (50 games a season + 100 odd appearances so far and hoping that he does not suffer any major injuries) to be in the top 3 appearance makers for the club. As for Mikel’s national team he plays attacking mid because thats the best they have (no disrespect meant to Nigeria, I respect their rise as a footballing nation and would love my own India to rise to even that level).
Woah Yomi Akinyemi – so i made a small error when reading that article. Big Deal.
“Firstly, the likes of Marcos Senna, Patrick Viera, Gattuso, Veron and co. over 30 have been excluded form the list since their playing days are somewhat on the decline thus “holding†midfielders aged 29 and under were considered.”
You also made a mistake…”midfielders aged 29 and under were considered” said the author. Whereas you stated that players over 20 were not considered. I suggest you do indeed get your fact’s straight before criticising others!
No way whatsoever are De Rossi, Toulalan or Essien Defensive Midfielders. Deep lying playmaker is closer to the truth for Toulalan and De Rossi. Personally i don’t think you can categorise Essien in that role. He is an energetic, all round, box to box midfielder with the ability to score goals, create goals AND defend.
If you watch Serie A then you will see that De Rossi is a creative midfielder with an eye for goal that can also defend. He shouldn’t be put into a specific box such as “defensive midfielder” because that belies the ability and all round quality that he posseses.
Can i also say that Lassana Diarra should also not be categorised in the “defensive midfielder” role. He has much more to his game than that. And if Real Madrid think they are buying the new Makalele, they are sadly mistaken.
He has creative quality’s, a box to box engine and the ability to score goals that will only develop further with age and experience. He is a quality player.
Yaya Toure. end of story. Stepped up as one of Barcas most consistent players. Even manages a goal every once in a while.
this is just a personal opinion.. it’s important to get it straight, which is we are trying to find players who can be considered the makalele-type midfielder, which means, they play as effective as Claude Makalele. From this article headline it is clear that we are searching for “MAKALELE-ROLE PLAYERS”. Meaning, a player who shields the defensive line, sits back during an attack (although every attacking movements start from his simple passes), does not dwell on the ball too long, tend to play simple passes with certainty of reaching his teammate (i’ve never seen makalele making any decisive long pass), and most importantly, possesses great strength and tackling ability. also, he can and must handle the defensive duty on his own.
de rossi is a good deep-lying midfielder but he’s not the type who does the shielding for Roma, the job lays on the shoulder of David pizarro. Essien is rarely deployed as a defensive midfielder, even when he is told to do so, since he loves to roam around with his powerful drives, takes risks, runs with ball a lot, something which makalele not fond of doing. toulalan and cambiasso resemble more of box-to-box midfielders than deep-lying playmakers.
mascherano comes closest of filling makalele’s boot, but as a defensive mid, he takes risk too much in his passing, and also he makes himself involved directly in liverpool’s. also important to note, mascherano needs another defensive midfielder playing alongside him since he cannot do the shielding alone, which is why we frequently see him play alongside xabi alonso or lucas (in liverpool) and even cambiasso in argentina’s midfield. it’s important to note that makalele only initiates attacks, not involve in them directly.
considering these facts, i personally pick players like obi mikel or anatoliy Tymoschuk for makalele’s role. for now, they are the unsung heroes of their respective teams.
i can be wrong. i don’t know. but it’s clearly difficult to actually find a player like Claude Makalele. pure class.
Cant agree more with ahmad.
@Ahmad: Finally, amongst all the bickering we get a good, well thought out and well delivered contribution. Well said!
Am I the only one who thinks Mikel is terrible? I mean he’s getting better, but when he makes a mistake which is plentiful it usually always leads to a goal. I wish he hadn’t have sold Makalele the guy was a legend and was my favorite player at Chelsea.
no mention of Momo Sissoko? he’s been a big part of juve’s success this season…even during his liverpool days he had flashes of pure brilliance. ball winning,tackling,dominant in the air…
the guy is a beast and has just enough crazy and recklessness in his game to disrupt the opposing teams creativity in midfield… the way he goes into tackles with no concern over human life is out of this world… he’s a machine…
In reality, there is no one who can be touted as the next “Makelele.” Most defensive midfielders today are much more versatile and thus don’t specialize.
And, again, Essien is in no form a defensive midfielder. Neither is De Rossi.
Sissoko and the three Diarras (Alou, Lassana and Mahamadou)should have been up there. Of these four, its Sissoko who would be perfect for messing up the opponent’s midfield tactics. See bobby digital’s description: a machine.
You forgot someone OWEN HARGREAVES!? he is quality he should be up there on the list
Think whatever you want, Yomi, but your selection is laughable. I don’t know what matches you watched with Essien in the holding role, because 99% of the time he plays as a box to box mifielder. And any club that would have him in the future would have him playing box to box.
Gerrard is a great talent and can play well on the wing, but he isn’t a winger now, is he?
BTW, as a fellow Blue, you would also know that Mikel, alongside Anelka, has been our player of the year thus far. The same Mikel playing in the holding role that is going to revolutionize how we look at defensive midfielders.
Revolutionize? What is Mikel doing that is so revolutionary? I’m really shocked by some people who think Mikel is a good defensive midfielder – he’s decent at best but i guess since we are all overwhelmed by the premier league, decent players are magically transformed into great players.
Yomi’s selection is very debatable as the likes of Essien and De Rossi could be categorized as box to box players but he also has a point when he calls them holding midfielders. I think the difference is the term “defensive midfielder” from the term “holding midfielder”. Essien and De Rossi are holding midfielders but not necessarily defensive midfielders while Cambiasso and Mascherano are more defensive midfielders rather than holding midfielders.
Strictly looking at defensive midfielders, Mahammadou Diarra, Lorik Cana, Alou Diarra, Sissoko, Jean Makoun, Yaya Toure, Tymoschuck and Lassana Diarra come to mind and when i think of holding midfielders, the likes of Essien, De Rossi, Pirlo, Tim Borowoski, and Xabi Alonso spring up.
Coincedentally, when i think of a defensive mifielder who is also a holding midfiedler, his choice Jeremy Toulalan is probably the best candidite.
One more thing, let’s do everyone a favor and watch other leagues outside England, Spain and Italy – the German and French league have a lot to offer.
the thing is, we are looking for players who play as effective as makalele, who does everything i mentioned in my previous comment. as the headline indicates, we are searching for ‘Makalele-role’ players. the likes of mamadou diarra, lassana diarra, sissoko, yaya toure, lorik cana, etc are all excellent defensive mid.. no doubt about it. but these players (yaya toure and lassana diarra particularly) are more adventurous-minded from my point of view. almost none of them have the laid-back approach in matches like Makalele has. you can easily see the difference in their playing style.
when i say obi mikel and Tymoschuk as the best candidate for ‘Makalele-role’ players, i strongly mean these two have almost the same style in terms of game approach, mental, and duties as Claude Makalele. but do these two play as good as Makalele does, that’s another story.
I’m not saying obi mikel is the best defensive midfielder around. i’m saying he and Tymoschuk are the best bet to play like Makalele. Having the closest resemblance of Makalele’s playing style doesn’t mean he’s the most effective defensive mid, let alone being the best defensive or holding midfielders.
yes, of course, the names mentioned above (the diarras, cana, yaya toure, xabi alonso, pirlo, de rossi, etc) are already excellent in their own way.
again, i’m only sticking to the headline of this article, “Finding the Makalele-role players”.
Obi Mikel is going to be a top midfielder in the world by age 25. Makelele was great at contributing to the attack by using accurate passing, but the way Mikel holds the ball, powers away from opposition, and finds seams and creases to put through balls into the attack is going to change the way people thinking of the defensive midfielder’s role.
Mikel’s defensive skill, his weakest point currently, will only mature. After all, he is only 21 years old.
makelele was a specialist. one dimensional but so damn good in his work that he didn’t need to do other things. and i don’t think the DMFs now are that sort of players. the only two others like that would be mahamadou diarra over at the bernabeu and toulalan at lyon.
and i don’t know how many of you watch la liga but fernando gago has been absolutely super in the role he plays for the merengues, holding midfielder. although that has changed some with the new diarra. anyways i think that even makelele’s best game came when he was paired with a tackling box-to-box medio. conceicao(anybody remember him) and makelele were the platform from where the galacticos launched.
I think as for defensiv abiulities ..headers ,tackles,strength LORIK CANA Is one of the best in the WOrld.
And My top Defensive Midle players are :
1.Lorik Cana
2.Momo SIssoko
3.Gatusso
4.DIarra
5.Mascherano.