Michael Essien

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Michael Essien
Essien in 2006
Personal information
Full name Michael Kojo Essien[1]
Date of birth (1982-12-03) 3 December 1982 (age 41)[2]
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Nordsjælland (assistant coach)
Youth career
1998–1999 Liberty Professionals
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2003 Bastia 66 (11)
2003–2005 Lyon 71 (7)
2005–2014 Chelsea 168 (17)
2012–2013 → Real Madrid (loan) 21 (2)
2014–2015 AC Milan 20 (0)
2015–2016 Panathinaikos 16 (1)
2017–2018 Persib Bandung 29 (5)
2019–2020 Sabail 14 (0)
Total 402 (43)
National team
2002–2014 Ghana 59 (9)
Teams managed
2020– Nordsjælland (assistant)
Honours
Representing  Ghana
Men's football
Africa Cup of Nations
Third place 2008 Ghana
Runner-up 2010 Angola
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

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.[4] 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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

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[change | change source]

Club[change | change source]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[5][6][7][8]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bastia 2000–01 Ligue 1 13 1 2 0 0 0 — — 15 1
2001–02 Ligue 1 24 4 4 0 2 1 0 0 — 30 5
2002–03 Ligue 1 29 6 1 0 1 0 — — 31 6
Total 66 11 7 0 3 1 — — 76 12
Lyon 2003–04 Ligue 1 34 3 2 0 1 0 8[c] 0 1[d] 1 46 4
2004–05 Ligue 1 37 4 2 0 0 0 10[c] 5 1[d] 0 50 9
Total 71 7 4 0 1 0 18 5 2 1 96 13
Chelsea 2005–06 Premier League 31 2 4 0 1 0 6[c] 0 — 42 2
2006–07 Premier League 33 2 5 1 6 1 10[c] 2 1[e] 0 55 6
2007–08 Premier League 27 6 2 0 4 0 12[c] 0 1[e] 0 46 6
2008–09 Premier League 11 1 3 0 0 0 5[c] 2 — 19 3
2009–10 Premier League 14 3 0 0 1 0 6[c] 1 1[e] 0 22 4
2010–11 Premier League 33 3 2 0 0 0 8[c] 1 1[e] 0 44 4
2011–12 Premier League 14 0 3 0 0 0 2[c] 0 — 19 0
2013–14 Premier League 5 0 1 0 3 0 — — 9 0
Total 168 17 20 1 15 1 49 6 4 0 256 25
Real Madrid (loan) 2012–13 La Liga 21 2 7 0 — 7[c] 0 — 35 2
Milan 2013–14 Serie A 7 0 0 0 — 2[c] 0 — 9 0
2014–15 Serie A 13 0 0 0 — — — 13 0
Total 20 0 0 0 — 2 0 — 22 0
Panathinaikos 2015–16 Super League Greece 13 1 3 0 — 0 0 — 16 1
Persib Bandung 2017 Liga 1 29 5 — — — — 29 5
Sabail 2018–19 Azerbaijan Premier League 4 0 0 0 — — — 4 0
2019–20 Azerbaijan Premier League 10 0 0 0 — 1[f] 0 — 11 0
Total 14 0 0 0 — 1 0 — 15 0
Career total 402 43 41 1 19 2 77 11 6 1 545 58
  1. ↑ Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Greek Football Cup
  2. ↑ Includes Coupe de la ligue, Football League Cup
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Appearance in Trophée des champions
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Appearance in FA Community Shield
  6. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Europa League

International[change | change source]

Appearances and goals by national team and year[9]
National team Year Apps Goals
Ghana 2002 4 0
2003 2 0
2004 5 1
2005 3 2
2006 11 2
2007 6 0
2008 12 3
2009 8 1
2010 1 0
2011 1 0
2012 0 0
2013 3 0
2014 3 0
Total 59 9
List of international goals scored by Michael Essien[10][11]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 September 2004 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana  Cape Verde 1-0 2-0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 18 June 2005 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa  South Africa 2-0 2-0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 4 September 2005 Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana  Uganda 1-0 2-0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 6 April 2006 Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland  South Korea 3-1 3-1 Friendly
5 8 September 2006 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea  South Korea 2-0 3-1 Friendly
6 29 January 2008 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana  Morocco 1-0 2-0 2008 Africa Cup of Nations
7 3 February 2008 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana  Nigeria 1-1 2-1 2008 Africa Cup of Nations
8 26 March 2008 Craven Cottage Stadium, Fulham, England  Mexico 1-0 1-2 Friendly
9 6 September 2009 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana  Sudan 2-0 2-0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours[change | change source]

Lyon[12]

Chelsea[12]

Ghana

Individual

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ "Michael Essien". Barry Hugman's Footballers.
  3. ↑ "Michael Essien". Panathinaikos F.C. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Essien, il gladiatore dai piedi di velluto". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 24 January 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Essien career stats". Football Database.eu. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Essien UEFA stats". UEFA. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Essien French stats". Ligue1.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Essien Chelsea stats". Bounder Friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Michael Kojo Essien - International Appearances".
  10. ↑ Michael Essien at National-Football-Teams.com
  11. ↑ "Michael Essien". Soccerway.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Michael Essien – PRIZE LIST". Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Michael Essien: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "Chelsea 2–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 24 February 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  15. ↑ Stevenson, Jonathan (24 February 2008). "Tottenham 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  16. ↑ "Ghana v Egypt - African Nations Cup". espn.com. ESPN. 31 January 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "26th Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2008". cafonline.com. CAF. 9 February 2008. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008.
  18. ↑ "FIFA World Youth Championship Argentina 2001 - Teams - Ghana - Matches". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  19. ↑ "Essien wins BBC African award". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 5 January 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  20. ↑ "Essien named Footballer of the Year". Ghana Football Association. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Cech Wins the Big One". chelseafc.com. Chelsea FC. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "Le Roy Attacks CAF on Nations Cup All-Star Team". ModernGhana.com. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
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