Cleiton Silva, a
Brazilian winger, was guesting for the Bangkok Singha All-Star team but made
the mistake of contesting a 50-50 challenge with Michael Essien.
The Chelsea midfielder
seemed simply to flex his upper-body, causing Silva to rebound with some
velocity in the direction of the Chelsea bench. Mourinho immediately got off
the bench, stepped onto the pitch and helped the 26 year-old to his feet.
"He hit the
wall," said Mourinho, laughing. It was a moment not just to remind Chelsea
supporters of Essien's physical presence but, more importantly, also provide
reassurance over his physical condition.
Essien, of course, has
suffered three serious knee injuries in the last four years and, such was the
doubt last year about his ongoing contribution to Chelsea, he was loaned out to
Real Madrid. His last competitive match for Chelsea was in the 2011-12 season
but he is clearly now a key component of Mourinho's plans.
"He's a great
man, he is loyal to me, he is loyal to Chelsea, he is loyal to Madrid, he is
loyal to everybody," said Mourinho.
"He is a very
good player and I see him with special motivation. He went to Madrid because he
was in a difficult situation here. He recovered his happiness and condition and
played very important matches in Madrid. He played to a very good level.
"He's a fantastic
player and the kind of player in this profile of squad, a squad of many, many,
many talented kids, we need this type of player to give us this balance. I know
Michael better than anybody else. I know he can play in every position apart
from goalkeeper and striker."
The relationship
between Mourinho and Essien is such that, during Chelsea's welcome press
conference in Malaysia, there was the now usual references to one another as
"son" and "daddy".
Such comments always
raise a bemused smile from onlookers but Essien is deadly serious when he
outlines his gratitude and loyalty for a manager who still believed in him at
perhaps his lowest ebb.
"We have a good
relationship and we understand each other very well," said Essien.
"He's the
'Special One'. He knows how to talk to his players and get the best out of them
and it's always easy to work with him if you understand him.
"I understand
him. I know what he wants and I always deliver. My knees are fine now. My knees
are not giving me any problems.
"My style hasn't
changed. I'm still the same. When you bump into me you can tell I am still as
strong.
"I've had eight
or nine operations and it's hard. I never thought I would stop playing. Never.
I'm the sort of guy who's always happy and you never see me sad. I always keep
smiling. I've got two more years left at Chelsea and we'll see what happens.
I'm happy to be back at Chelsea."
Essien's team-mates
also seem delighted to have him back.
"It's great to
see him and he’s fit," said Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper.
"It was a great
thing for him to happen, to go on loan last year and enjoy a great season with
Real Madrid. He's always been a fantastic player and the only unlucky things
were the injuries.
"He was unlucky
with back-to-back injuries and he had to work very hard to come back. That loan
made sure he played more than he could have played and, as you can see, he's
happy, he's back, he's fit and he will be very useful for us.
"He seems to be
back to the real Michael Essien."
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