When it comes to Chelsea captains, there are a number of them that enjoyed more success during their time at the club than Marcel Desailly, but few will have led as interesting a life. Even if you ignore the honours that he won away from Stamford Bridge, which included the Champions League on two occasions, a pair of Serie A victories and both the World Cup and the Euros, even just his life was one that is filled with fascinating facts. As a Chelsea player he won the UEFA Super Cup, then as captain he lifted the FA Cup thanks to a victory over Aston Villa in the 1999-2000 campaign, leaving just before the period of the club’s major success began.
Marcel Desailly’s Honours as a Chelsea Player
| Season | League Titles | Domestic Cups | European/International Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | – | FA Cup | – |
| 1998-1999 | – | – | Super Cup |
Who is Marcel Desailly?
Born Odenke Abbey on the seventh of September 1968 in the capital of Ghana, Accra, the son of Ghanian parents changed his name when his mother got married to the head of the French Consulate in the city. He adopted all of her children, with the family relocating to France when he was a four-year-old. Following in the footsteps of his older half-brother, Seth Adonker, he joined the famous youth programme at Nantes and played alongside Didier Deschamps. He made the decision to turn progressional in 1986, which was two years after his half-brother had tragically lost his life in a car accident.
Making a Name for Himself
In 1992 he was re-united with Deschamps thanks to a move to Marseille, winning the Champions League in the 1992-1993 campaign. His performances caught the eye of AC Milan, for whom he signed in time to win the competition for the second successive season. In doing so, Desailly became the first player to win the European Cup in consecutive campaigns with two different clubs. Whilst playing in Milan he helped the club to win the Serie A title once at the end of the 1993-1994 season and then again in 1995-1996. He also won the Supercoppa Italiana and the European Super Cup in 1994.
Having made a name for himself as a centre-back and also enjoying the sweeper role, a lot of his success in Italy came when he was deployed as a defensive midfielder. He played alongside Demetrio Albertini, being forced to adapt to a new position thanks to the fact that the likes of Alessandro Costacurta, Franco Baresi and Filippo Galli were already considered to be the main defenders for the team. His play saw him selected for the French national side, being an important player in the side that won the World Cup in 1998; in spite of the fact that he was actually sent off the final itself. He was considered to be so crucial that he was appointed a ‘Knight of the Legion of Honour’.
Moving to Chelsea
In the June 1998, Chelsea decided to pay AC Milan £4.6 million in order to secure the signature of Desailly. Although the club would go on to sign superstar after superstar under the ownership of Roman Abramovich, it wasn’t really the done thing at the time that Desailly arrived. Having already won the Champions League and the Italian league twice apiece, he was a World Cup winner just six weeks before he signed for Chelsea. He joined fellow Frenchman Frank Leboeuf at the club, with the pair of them making a formidable partnership at the back. Known as ‘Le Rock’, Desailly helped the club win the FA Cup in 2000. In the end, it was the only major trophy that he won at Chelsea, which many considered to be a crime.
Hot off the back of the domestic success for Chelsea, the two players then headed off to the European Championship and helped to cement the idea that France was the best team in the world at the time by winning it. He played 222 times for the Blues, finding the net on seven occasions. One of those goals came in a game against Liverpool towards the end of the 2002-2003 season, seeing Chelsea earn a Champions League place at the Merseysiders’ expense. It is believed to be part of the reason why Roman Abramovich bought the club from Ken Bates.
Leaving Chelsea
Whilst at Chelsea, Desailly played for France 74 times, which was an international caps record for the club until it was surpassed by Frank Lampard. More importantly, Desailly worked with a young, up and coming player named John Terry, teaching him everything he knew about the art of defending. Terry, of course, would take over the armband from Desailly and would go on to be the most successful captain in the history of the club. In spite of how well he played and the fact that he was captain of Chelsea, Desailly’s time at the club came to an end in 2004 when his contract came to an end and he departed for pastures new.
Those new pastures proved to be the Qatari side Al-Gharafa, with fellow Frenchman Bruno Metsu as the manager. He won the Qatari League with his new side, proving that success is just as translatable as any other skill. He moved to Qatar SC, helping them to a second-place finish before decided to retire from professional football at the end of the 2005-2006 season. By the time he left the game he was considered to be one of the most accomplished players of a generation, being known for his charismatic leadership and the fact that he could organise a backline. In 2004, Pelé named him one of the ‘world’s greatest living players’.