Makelele slams Mourinho methods

French midfielder reveals rift between former boss and his players

By Patrick Haond   Last updated: 23rd May 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Makelele slams Mourinho methods

Makelele: Questioning methods

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Claude Makelele has lifted the lid on Jose Mourinho's tenure at Chelsea, and has not been complimentary.

The French midfielder, who is now on the books of Paris St Germain, spent five years at Stamford Bridge between 2003 and 2008.

He was taken to England by Claudio Ranieri, but played under the Italian for just one season before he was unceremoniously sacked.

Mourinho, fresh from helping Porto win the UEFA Champions League, was appointed in his place and quickly made his mark upon his arrival with the Blues.

He enjoyed considerable success throughout his first two seasons at the club, but saw his relationship with his players and the Chelsea hierarchy begin to unravel when his philosophies were questioned.

"For two years at Chelsea we lived as a group of friends, dining together, getting drunk together, going to training together and winning matches together," Makelele writes in his autobiography Tout Simplement.

"Between 2004 and 2006 the solidarity in the Chelsea camp was amazing. Mourinho then broke all that when he banned key elements and treated certain players as 'stars'.

"Very early on in the 2006/07 season, Mourinho took a step back from his players. In that one day, the brotherhood spirit that had gathered us around him was harmed.

"Then he had a bust-up with (Roman) Abramovich. The chairman asked the players to express themselves more freely on the pitch, but Mourinho stubbornly refused to change his methods.

Stunned

"A relationship at the top of the club was broken and the players began to feel it.

"During that third complete season under his control, I was stunned to see how Mourinho forget the value of his players and claimed all the credit for the results.

"To him, individuals didn't make the team work well, his methods did. At the end we felt that he was in danger as soon as a player was under the spotlight more than him."

Makelele, who has recently signalled his intention to stay on for another season at PSG, has also revealed that he endured a frosty relationship with outgoing coach Paul Le Guen during his first season in the French capital.

"I believe that my arrival disturbed Paul Le Guen," he said.

"It is a shame because when I came I told him: 'I know you don't want me at the club, but I am not here on holiday and you will see that on the pitch'.

"My decision to stay at PSG is not directly linked to his future. His departure was not the guarantee I needed to stay.

"I hope the new coach will work with me on a short and long-term basis, but next season will be even more difficult than this.

"We have to clean the dirt that remains among the players, the technical staff and the club officials.

"I mean the people who don't want the club to go forward. There are vermin at every level. In order to become competitive, we have to do some cleaning."