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| Michael Essien |
He made his debut as a second half substitute against Arsenal on 21 August 2005, wearing the number 5 on his shirt. The game ended with a 1–0 victory to Chelsea. He made an assist in his full debut against West Bromwich Albion, and he replaced the injured Claude Makélélé in the defensive midfield role against Sunderland in the 2–0 win on 10 September 2005. He soon cemented his place in José Mourinho's side, starting in 31 domestic league games, and 11 appearances in the other cup competitions.
On 15 December 2005, he was handed a two-match ban by UEFA for a controversial tackle on Dietmar Hamann, which resulted in his suspension from Chelsea's Champions League second round tie with eventual European champions Barcelona. Essien apologised to Hamann for the challenge – stating while he desires to be perceived as a player who "unsettles" opponents, he was not a malicious or an unsporting player; Hamann publicly accepted Essien's apology. In January 2006, Essien was himself stretchered off the field, after a challenge from West Ham United captain Nigel Reo-Coker, and was sidelined for three weeks.
Essien scored his first goal for Chelsea from a low cross from Shaun Wright-Phillips on 11 March 2006, in a 2–1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. His second goal came on 17 April 2006, against Everton with a powerful strike after an assertive burst through the defensive line. Essien ended his maiden season in England with two goals, both in the Premier League.
Essien was nominated for the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Award on 12 October 2006 where he placed 22nd. One week later, he was nominated for the 2006 Ballon d'Or. He was voted as the third Best African Footballer of the Year in 2006, a feat he achieved in 2005 as well. He won the 2006 BBC African footballer of the year award.
The following season Essien scored several important goals including his first Champions League goal for Chelsea in a 2–0 victory over Werder Bremen of Germany on 12 September 2006. Later in the competition, Essien scored a late winner in the quarter-final second leg against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium to send Chelsea through to the semi-finals with a 2–1 victory on the night, and 3–2 win on aggregate. It was his first match back in the team after several weeks out with a knee injury. Essien also scored a stunning late equaliser at home against Arsenal on 10 December 2006, as the game was going to end Chelsea's long unbeaten run.
On 15 May 2007, Chelsea fans voted Essien as Chelsea Player of the Year for his contributions in the 2006–07 season, becoming the first African to receive the honour. His late dramatic equalising goal against Arsenal was also voted as Chelsea Goal of the Season for 2006–07.
On 12 August 2007, Essien grabbed the winner with his first goal of the 2007–08 Premier League campaign, as Chelsea defeated Birmingham City, to set an English record for unbeaten league matches at home – eclipsing Liverpool's previous top-flight record of 63 set between 1978 and 1981.
On 10 October 2007, he was nominated for the prestigious 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Award for the third consecutive year and on 21 October 2007 Essien was also nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or Award for the third consecutive year as well. He was voted 15th Best Player in the World at the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Awards. On 12 December 2007, Essien was nominated for the 2007 African Footballer of the Year a third consecutive time he had been nominated. He was runner-up to that year's winner Frédéric Kanouté.
On 22 July 2008, Essien signed a new five-year deal with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2013. He also extended his contract on 12 March 2007.
It was feared Essien would miss the 2008–09 Premier League season after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage on 5 September while playing for Ghana. On 7 March 2009, however, he came on as a substitute in the second half of the FA Cup game against Coventry City. In his second game back from the knee injury, Essien scored just before half time to give Chelsea a vital away goal against Juventus in the Champions League first knockout round. Chelsea went on the draw the match 2–2 and through to the quarter-finals 3–2 on aggregate. He made his first league start from injury against Manchester City, and scored the only goal in the match.
On 6 May 2009, Essien scored a stunning left-footed volley in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, a tie that Chelsea ultimately lost due to the away goal rule. The goal was later voted as Chelsea's goal of the season by the club's fans.
In the 2009–10 Premier League season Essien put in an excellent performance against Blackburn Rovers on 24 October 2009 and scored his first goal of the season with a swerving 35-yard shot on 52 minutes in a 5–0 victory at Stamford Bridge. He scored his first brace for Chelsea against Wolverhampton Wanderers with a header and a low shot from outside the box, and came close to completing his first hat-trick for the club with a flurry of second half shots, one of which was tipped onto the bar by Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. Essien was injured on international duty during the 2010 African Nations Cup and missed the rest of the English domestic season. On 4 June 2010, Essien signed a two-year extension to his existing contract that will keep him at the club until 2015. Essien returned to action on 17 July 2010 in a friendly against Crystal Palace and scored the only goal of the match to give Chelsea the win.
After missing the 2010 FIFA World Cup through injury, Essien had a bright start to the season for Chelsea. He scored the only goal in a pre-season friendly win against Crystal Palace and was an ever-present in Chelsea's unbeaten month of August. He scored a brace against West Ham United and he scored against MŠK Žilina in the Champions League. Essien also put in impressive performances against Marseille, Blackburn Rovers, and Fulham, a game in which he scored the only goal and received a red card. Essien again picked up an injury and missed two months of the season, during which Chelsea won just one out of nine games. He returned to score in the penalty shoot-out loss in the FA Cup against Everton but ultimately had a poor second half of the season. After Chelsea’s final game, the Ghana Football Association announced Essien had returned to the international squad.
In pre-season training for the 2011–12 Premier League season, Essien ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus, and received surgery on 11 July 2011. His recovery was said to take up to six months. Essien, however, began training lightly in late November 2011 and made his comeback on 9 January 2012, playing 75 minutes of the reserves' 3–2 defeat to West Brom. He made his 150th Premier League appearance for Chelsea as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Sunderland. On 21 January 2012, Essien featured as late substitute in Chelsea's 0–0 draw with Norwich City at Carrow Road.
Due to missing most of the beginning half of the 2011–12 Premier League season Essien was unable to gain favour with manager André Villas-Boas. On 21 February 2012, during a Champions League match against Napoli, Villas-Boas left Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole on the bench. Chelsea lost 3–1 and the club's technical director asked for an explanation of the team selection on behalf of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. On 4 March 2012, following a 1–0 league defeat against West Brom which left Chelsea three points adrift of Arsenal in the battle for fourth place in the Premier League, Villas-Boas was relieved of his managerial duties by Chelsea, with assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo being appointed as caretaker manager on an interim basis until the end of the season. New manager Roberto Di Matteo immediately showed favour towards veteran Chelsea players like Essein, Lampard and John Terry who were surprisingly benched by André Villas-Boas in critical fixtures. Subsequently, Essein started in Chelsea's second leg champions league fixture against Napoli with Chelsea winning 4-1 (5-4 agg) in an extremely entertaining game allowing Chelsea to Advance to the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League Quarter Final where they met S.L. Benfica. Essein was subsequently featured in the rest of Chelsea's 2011–12 UEFA Champions League run as an unused substitute with Chelsea defeating Benfica, FC Barcelona, and finally FC Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final granting The Blues their first UEFA Champions League crown and making Chelsea the first London based Club to gain the achievement.
Real Madrid (loan)
On 31 August 2012, Essien signed a season-long loan deal with Real Madrid, linking him up with José Mourinho, the manager who signed him for Chelsea. At his introductory press conference with Real Madrid, Mourinho affectionally referred to Essein as his son while Essein referred to Mourinho as his "Daddy". On 3 November 2012, Essien scored his first goal for Real Madrid. During the last game of the season – and Essien's last game as a Madrid player – Essien scored his second goal for Madrid, which he dedicated to Mourinho.
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