Michael Essien

Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and is currently a member of Danish Superliga club Nordsjælland's coaching staff. During his prime, Essien was considered one of the best midfielders in the world. Essien was known not only for his defensive ability, but also his knack for scoring long-range goals. Essien was a physically strong midfielder, who often played in a central midfield role. He was often touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert energy in supporting both offensive and defensive play, and for his powerful and tough tackling playing style, which has earned him the nickname "The Bison".

Early career
Essien began his career with Liberty Professionals FC, a traditional club in Ghana. He played in the New Zealand Under-17 World Championship in 1999 and caught the attention of several European scouts.

Club career
In July 1999, Essien was signed by Bastia. Initially, the midfielder did not have a fixed position at the French club, rotating between left-back, right-back and defense. Due to an injury to one of his teammates, he ended up improvised as a midfielder. Essien adapted very well and shone in his new position, being compared to Frenchman Patrick Vieira for his physical strength and great marking power.

In the 2002–03 Ligue 1, Bastia had a great campaign and qualified for the UEFA Cup . Essien scored six goals and soon received offers from bigger teams, such as Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain, from France, and Everton and Liverpool, from England.

After turning down a contract from PSG, Essien signed for Lyon. At Les Gones, the Ghanaian was used more defensively, as a first midfielder.

He won a Ligue 1 title (French Championship) in two seasons at Lyon and was voted the best player in France in 2005. He was not part of the second national victory as he left mid-year, in August 2005.

After Lyon turned down a million-dollar offer from Chelsea for the player, Essien stated that he would like to leave the team. After much resistance, the French club allowed the English to sign the player for around 50 million dollars, becoming Chelsea's third most expensive player at that time. He made his debut for the Blues on August 21, 2005, against Arsenal, wearing the number 5 shirt. He soon became a starter in coach José Mourinho's scheme, having played most of Chelsea's matches since its debut.

Heavily favoured in his first season by the London team, the player was the club's main highlight in the following season. He was later one of 50 athletes nominated by FIFA for the Best World Player award in 2005 and 2006, and was considered the third best African player in 2006, among other awards.

His last seasons with the Blues, however, were extremely hampered due to the repeated and serious injuries he suffered.

On August 31, 2012, Essien's loan to Real Madrid was confirmed until the end of the 2012–13 season. The player then returned to work with José Mourinho, who had been his coach during much of his time at Chelsea.

He arrived at Milan on January 24, 2014, for free, after eleven years at Chelsea. The Ghanaian midfielder signed an 18-month contract with the Italian team. 

After a reshuffle at Milan, on 2 June 2015 Essien signed for two years with Greek side Panathinaikos.

On March 15, 2017, he signed with Indonesian side Persib Bandung. Just over two years later, on March 16, 2019, he signed with Sabail, from Azerbaijan. 

International career
Essien competed in the 1999 FIFA Under-17 World Cup and the 2001 FIFA Youth World Cup with the Ghana youth team, and finished second with the youth national team in 2001. He played for the Ghana A national team for the first time; While wearing it against Egypt in the match they lost 2-0 on January 4, 2002; He scored his first goal from a penalty against Cape Verde in a 2-0 win on 5 September 2004. He also played for the national team in three African Cups of Nations and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, due to the injury he suffered in 2010, he could not make it into the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the national jersey. Essien has worn the national jersey 58 times so far and scored 9 goals. Moreover; He received the nickname Bizon with his physical characteristics, endless energy and harsh interventions.

Career statistics

Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBastia2000–01Ligue 11312000——1512001–02Ligue 1244402100—3052002–03Ligue 12961010——316Total66117031——7612Lyon2003–04Ligue 1343201080114642004–05Ligue 1374200010510509Total7174010185219613Chelsea2005–06Premier League312401060—4222006–07Premier League3325161102105562007–08Premier League2762040120104662008–09Premier League111300052—1932009–10Premier League143001061102242010–11Premier League333200081104442011–12Premier League140300020—1902013–14Premier League501030——90Total168172011514964025625Real Madrid (loan)2012–13La Liga21270—70—352Milan2013–14Serie A7000—20—902014–15Serie A13000———130Total20000—20—220Panathinaikos2015–16Super League Greece13130—00—161Persib Bandung2017Liga 1295————295Sabail2018–19Azerbaijan Premier League4000———402019–20Azerbaijan Premier League10000—10—110Total14000—10—150Career total4024341119277116154558

International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsGhana20024020032020045120053220061122007602008123200981201010201110201200201330201430Total599
+ List of international goals scored by Michael EssienNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1  5 September 2004  Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana    1-0  2-0  2006 FIFA World Cup qualification  2  18 June 2005  FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa    2-0  2-0  2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 3  4 September 2005  Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana    1-0  2-0  2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 4  6 April 2006  Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland    3-1  3-1 Friendly 5  8 September 2006  Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea    2-0  3-1 Friendly 6  29 January 2008  Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana    1-0  2-0 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 7  3 February 2008  Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana    1-1  2-1 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 8  26 March 2008  Craven Cottage Stadium, Fulham, England    1-0  1-2 Friendly 9  6 September 2009  Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana    2-0  2-0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours
Lyon
Ligue 1: 2003–04, 2004–05
Trophée des Champions: 2003, 2004

Chelsea
Premier League: 2005–06, 2009–10
FA Cup: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12
Football League Cup: 2006–07; runner-up: 2007–08
FA Community Shield: 2009
UEFA Champions League: 2011–12; runner-up: 2007–08

Ghana
Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2010; third place: 2008
FIFA U-17 World Cup runner-up: 1999
FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 2001

Individual
Ligue 1 Player of the Month: October 2004
Ligue 1 Player of the Year: 2004–05
Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2002–03, 2004–05
CAF Team of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009
BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2006
Ghana Player of the Year: 2007
Chelsea Player of the Year: 2007
Chelsea Goal of the Year: 2006–07 vs Arsenal, 2008–09 vs Barcelona
2008 Africa Cup of Nations: Team of the Tournament

References

Category:1982 births
Category:Living people
Category:Ghanaian footballers
Category:Sportspeople from Accra