DBasia.news – Chelsea seems to follow the tradition of Bayern Munich in trusting club legends to fill positions in the club structure. That can be seen from the return of Claude Makelele to Chelsea.
The former Chelsea player in mid-2003-2006 will fill the position of Technical Mentor for young players. Makelele will be responsible for shaping the character and abilities of young academy players before starting a professional career.
The 46-year-old will also work with loaned Chelsea players, visit them and return to assess Chelsea.
“I am very happy to return home. The club has given me many things and now, I want to give it back and help young Chelsea players who dream of having a soccer career,” Makelele said on the club’s official website.
Makelele, who won two Premier League titles with Chelsea, is only one name who returned to Stamford Bridge after playing as a professional footballer.
In total, in the 2019-20 season, six former players were rehired in different positions in the club structure.
The six players are Jody Morris (Assistant Coach), Carlo Cudicini (Loan Player Advisor), Frank Lampard (Manager), Makele (Technical Mentor), Joe Cole (Academy Coach), and Paulo Ferreira (Loan Advisor).
What Chelsea did was exactly the hope expressed by Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary former manager of Manchester United, who wanted to see the Red Devils again accepting legends to enter the club’s structure.
“Bayern Munich is a club that can be used as an example for other teams. Their legend runs the club very well,” said Ferguson.
“Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge run the club in the right way. Bayern also always managed to win the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich is a great club,” he added.
Bayern has been practicing that tradition for a long time. Within their structure are Uli Hoeness (President), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (CEO), Hasan Salihamidzic (Sports Director), Niko Kovac (Coach), Miroslav Klose (Young Team Coach), Robert Kovac (Coach Assistant).
One plus point when involving legends in the club is their experience and knowledge of club culture.