MX23RW : Friday, November 8 15:46:01| >> :60:1929:1929:

Michael Essien: Jose Mourinho's "big ego" makes him special

Michael Essien backs former boss Jose Mourinho to get the best out of Radamel Falcao at Chelsea this coming season.

Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has claimed that Jose Mourinho's best attribute as manager is his "big ego".

The Ghanaian spent eight trophy-laden seasons in West London after being brought to the club by Mourinho in his first spell in charge.

Essien has plenty of praise for his ex-boss, while also backing him to get the best out of new recruit Radamel Falcao, who struggled to make an impact at Manchester United last term.

"We had a great group of players with a manager who was always behind us and kept pushing us," Essien told The Guardian of his time at Stamford Bridge.

"We had players with big egos and big characters but at the same time they were good men as well. Mourinho has a big ego as well but in a good way. It was easy for him to manage those kind of players. He is still the same man. He's still tough."

Of Falcao's surprise move to the Premier League champions, he added: "[Mourinho] knows how to get the best out of his players, how to say the right thing, how to motivate them. He will get him back to the Falcao everybody knows."

Essien is now plying his trade in Greece at Panathinaikos, following spells at Real Madrid and AC Milan.

ID:234976: cacheID:234976:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2178:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Florent Malouda of Chelsea celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match against Sunderland on January 15, 2015
Read Next:
OTD: Chelsea sign Florent Malouda
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!