If you missed Part 1: Read it here.
It’s a known fact that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Various keepers had tried to deny Essien’s piledrivers by patting them off and inevitably, it went wrong.
In the opening match of the 2007-08 Premier League season, Colin Doyle decided to do just that: try and palm away one of Essien’s strikes. It was a terrible decision and Chelsea went on to win the match thanks to the goal and in doing so, Chelsea broke Liverpool’s record for home matches unbeaten in the Premier League.
However, the indifferent form for the team in August and September led to the departure of Jose Mourinho. Essien himself also recieved significant criticism after his poor performance against Manchester United while playing in right midfield, where he was caught in two minds whether to keep his position or cement the midfield after Obi Mikel was sent off. He seemed to be affected by the loss of the Portuguese at first, given he credited a lot of his footballing success in London due to Jose’s tough love approach.
It was also at this point that Essien’s injuries began to become a little more prevalent. His style of play meant he gave hard knocks, but took them as well. His fitness was often pushed to the limit and having already missed the match against Reading due to muscular concerns, he missed matches against Bolton and Fulham at the end of September, and start of October.
Arguably his finest attacking performance in a Chelsea shirt came shortly after though, as Chelsea tore Manchester City to shreds at Stamford Bridge. His excellent opener, a precise strike driven across goal to give Joe Hart no chance, was followed in the second half by two pinpoint passes to set up Salomon Kalou and Andriy Shevchenko for goals 5 and 6 respectively.
If nothing else, this match is a great example that although Essien was renowned for his pace and power, his passing ability was not to be underestimated. Although he didn’t get a huge number of assists, his ability to transition and move the ball between the lines often led to Chelsea using their counter-attacking pace to score.
Essien’s over-exuberance did once again come into sharp focus as he picked up a needless red card against Derby County. If there was one criticism of the Ghanaian, it would be that at times, he was too expressive. There was just a need to push that little bit further than necessary and this either resulted in being penalised for a foul, or getting himself injured.
A season that started in such shambolic fashion could ultimately have been one of the greatest in Chelsea’s history. It was a case of what-ifs. Losing to Spurs in the League Cup Final. Losing the league to Manchester United by just two points. And perhaps hardest of all, losing on penalties to their great red Manchester rivals in Moscow in the Champions League final. Essien played huge parts in all of those doomed campaigns, starting both the finals. His performance in the Champions League was particularly impressive as he managed to keep Cristiano Ronaldo relatively quiet from open play. His deflected long range strike also led to Lampard’s equalising goal.
Even to this day, it surprises me that Essien did not step up to take one of the decisive penalties in the shoot-out. Surely he could have just blasted it anywhere and Van Der Sar would have been reluctant to put himself behind such a hammerblow.
This season ironically was his best in terms of goals and assists for the Blues: he scored six times and picked up six assists in all competitions. A few weeks after the Champions League heartbreak, Essien extended his contract at Chelsea until 2013.
It was notable that his involvement in the league in 07-08 had lessened compared to the previous season. A lot was made of Essien’s stamina, but as he had now made over 100 appearances in just two seasons, inevitably something would give.
It did give. Having missed the opening game of the 2008-09 season against Portsmouth, Essien would return for the next two matches. He was now more regularly being deployed in the deeper midfield roles with Chelsea having added Deco to their attacking midfield ranks, and the departure of Makalele to Paris Saint-Germain. On international duty, Essien played for Ghana against Libya in a 2010 World Cup qualifier. The Black Stars would lose the match, but more importantly for them and Chelsea, their talismanic midfielder went down in the 22nd minute in pain. The Bison had been chopped down and the damage was done.
It was announced that Essien had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament. This was usually a season-ending, and even possibly a career-changing injury. Although the former was false, sadly in this case, the latter was true. Even though Essien would return, some of the explosiveness in his game was gone after this injury.
It sapped Essien of six months of his career when he should have been hitting his prime. It also highlighted the fragility of the player after he had been pushed to the bone over the past two seasons. Frequently he played ninety minutes and in retrospect, he shouldn’t have featured as much. When players were rested with matches won, Essien should have been higher up the list for substitutes, even if the player didn’t like it, or still had the stamina to continue.
At least his return was marked in positive fashion. He bundled home a crucial goal against Juventus away in Turin as Chelsea beat the Old Lady in the Champions League last 16 in March, before scoring a bizarrely brilliant goal against Manchester City on his first Premier League start in 2009. A quick free-kick was drilled in by Lampard and Essien lazily swung a boot at it, connecting sweetly to float the ball into the top corner past a bewildered Shay Given.
Although Chelsea were not going to win the Premier League, they were progressing nicely in the FA Cup and knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League 7-5 on aggregate to set up a tie against Barcelona. After a tense and nervous first leg from both sides, Stamford Bridge was a cauldron of noise. Chelsea, buoyed by a sense of injustice from the previous final, took on a Barcelona side with Messi, Xavi and Iniesta all starting to bloom under Pep Guardiola into the unstoppable winning machine that would define the decade.
Sadly, this night should of been defined by Michael Essien. It should have been stuff of folklore for the right reasons, sung to the highest heavens on the terraces. Chelsea took on Barcelona and kept them at bay. Messi and Eto’o were shackled by Terry and Alex.
Then in the ninth minute, Lampard’s chipped ball deflected off Yaya Toure towards Essien on the edge of the box, twenty-five yards out. To his weaker left foot.
BANG!
A stunning volley, flying past Victor Valdes. In truth, Barcelona could have had five goalkeepers in goal, and they still wouldn’t have stopped it. The Bison’s powerhouse drive sparked euphoria.
“That might just be the best goal ever scored at Stamford Bridge!” or alternatively “THIS IS JUST ABOUT AS GOOD AS IT GETS! TAKE A BOW SON!” depending on what commentary you listen to.
This was the best goal of the tournament. This should have been the redemption goal for Chelsea, the key to unlock the padlock to right the wrongs of the previous year, a showdown against Manchester United once again this time in Rome. The clash in the Coliseum between the two titans of English football.
Instead, Tom Henning Ovrebo would permanently mark his card with a disgraceful refereeing performance. He calls it his worst day. Chelsea fans would use stronger words. Chelsea players used stronger words. By the time Iniesta broke Chelsea hearts, it should have been irrelevant. Chelsea should have had at least three penalties and be comfortably ahead.
Instead, the Spaniard would score at The Shed End and Essien’s goal would be scant comfort. It couldn’t even be described as a pyrrhic victory for the player, such was the burning sense of injustice. Even to this day, you have to wonder whether UEFA would have accepted another all-English Champions League Final. With an English team guaranteed from the other match, they only had one shot at preventing it.
Before the injury, Essien was widely debated and considered as one of the world’s top midfielders. He seemed to have everything: an eye for goal, precise passing, speed, strength, dribbling ability, tackling power and an insatiable engine. The goal against Barcelona (and his subsequent stunning performance) should have been a reminder to the world what the Bison did at his best. Chelsea shut down the metronomic Tiki-Taka from Busquets, Xavi, and Keita and forced Barcelona to try and match them for power, pace and sheer will. They couldn’t, so the referee stepped in.
Although Chelsea would win the FA Cup, it was another season that could (and should) have been so much more. If Chelsea had reached the Champions League final for the second successive season, there would have been a hunger and desire not seen before at the club to claim this elusive holy grail.
For Essien, a stunted season transfixed into a single what-if moment.
Next Time: Stunted seasons, landmark appearances and the end of the Bison in Blue.
Edited by Ross-John (RJ) Bonaccorsi