Between Chelsea, Real Madrid and Milan, Michael Essien he has had many adventures in his career as a top-quality midfielder. And also meetings with coaches of outstanding caliber, including José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti or Guus Hiddink. Even if none of them pushed him to become a coach: “I woke up one morning and thought, ‘I’m going to start doing something,'” he told BBC Sports.
“I started coaching to learn what it means to be a coach. Now I talk to some of them (my former coaches, ed.). Just normal chatter, nothing tactical. I’ve had some great, great coaches that I’ve been lucky to work under. I learned a lot of things from José (Mourinho, ed.) and from Ancelotti. His calmness and how he manages his players, the way he tried to embrace his players. Now I understand a little more why José got angry.” nice comment from the Ghanaian.
A life choice
Since 2020, Essien has been working as assistant coach in the Danish first division club Nordsjaelland. A surprising choice for a player as well known as Essien, but Nordsjaelland’s history attracted him and in 2019 Right to Dream bought the club to offer a path to European football for its best young players: “I know the founder, Tom Vernon, for a long time, since I was 17 or 18,” Essien explained.
“I always kept in touch with him and he followed my football career. When I stopped playing, he sent me a message saying: ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I think I’m done playing.’ And he said, ‘Okay, maybe you should come and see this place.’ He told me about the whole project and it was a very nice environment : ‘Yes, I would like to work here.’ I like how they develop kids here, giving very young kids the opportunity to experience professional football. That was one of the reasons I chose to be here quiet, very beautiful and healthy. Everyone is ready to help you when you need it.”