London (AFP) – Former Chelsea star Claude Makelele has returned to the Premier League club to work as a technical mentor to young players.
Makelele is working with Chelsea for the first time in 11 years after the former France midfielder had coaching roles at Paris Saint-Germain, Bastia, Swansea and Belgium’s Eupen since his retirement in 2011.
Makelele made 217 Chelsea appearances and won two league titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups during his five-year spell with the club.
“I am very happy to come back home; this club gave me a lot and now I want to give back and help the young Chelsea players dreaming of a career in football,” Makelele said.
“I want to use all my experience to help them become professionals in every aspect and I am looking forward to getting started.”
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia is confident Makelele will make a big impact, saying: “We are very pleased to welcome Claude back to Chelsea, where he made such an impact during five excellent years as a player.
“His long and successful career on the field, added to his winning mentality and experience as a coach in recent years, make him the ideal person to pass on his expertise to our talented youngsters.
“He will be a valuable asset to both our Academy and first-team coaching staff.”
Meanwhile, former Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini moves into a new role as loan player technical coach.
Cudicini formed part of both Antonio Conte’s and Maurizio Sarri’s backroom staff at Chelsea, but while he has not been retained in Frank Lampard’s first team set-up, he will remain at the west London club.
Former Chelsea keeper Petr Cech has already returned to Stamford Bridge as a technical advisor to bridge the gap between the coaches and the board, while another ex-Blues player Jody Morris is Lampard’s assistant manager.
