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| Emenalo Picture: www.independent.co.uk |
Nigerians are avid lovers of
football. And, of the top leagues in the world, the English Premier League is
by far the most popular in the country. The
top teams such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have a
myriad of die-hard followers across the country.
On the field Nigeria is well
represented in the Premiership. But there is a place where one Nigerian stands
out – the boardroom. That is the hallowed ground where Michael Emenalo holds
sway.
Emenalo, 51, is the technical
director of Chelsea Football Club, a position he has held since 2011. He joined
Chelsea in 2007 and has been chief scout and assistant manager before being
elevated to the post of technical director.
In his nine years at Stamford
Bridge, the Aba-born ex-international has survived many managerial shake-ups, a
testimony to his uncanny ability to meander the murky waters of corporate life.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, in
his persistent search for results, displays a ruthless streak. He doesn’t
hesitate to fire any non-performer but in Emenalo
he seems to have found a trusted and able lieutenant.
Those who know the Nigerian
describe him as an intelligent, smart and a popular figure at the club. The Daily Mail describes him as
“guarded, almost poker-faced in his discussions – giving little away in search
of the best possible deal for Chelsea – and more pertinently Abramovich.”
However, some parts of the
English media have suggested that his close relationship with Chelsea’s
billionaire owner has had an unsettling effect on previous managers.
Emenalo left Nigeria to the USA as
a teenager in 1985. He enrolled in the University of Boston, where he played
for the men's soccer team. He was an “All-American” – voted one of the best
players in the top universities. But since there was no professional football
league in the USA at the time, upon graduation he moved to Belgium to join Molenbeek.
After playing for various clubs in
Spain, USA and England, he ended up in Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel, which was
managed by Avram Grant. Grant, who later replaced Mourinho at Chelsea in the
2007-08 season, brought Emenalo to Stamford Bridge in 2007.
Emenalo, who played for Nigeria
at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in USA, was given the post of head, opposition
scout. As an agent he ensured that compatriot Mikel Obi ended up at Stamford
Bridge after a controversial transfer from the Norwegian club Lyn Oslo to
Manchester United.
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| Emenalo & Abramovich Picture: www.dailymail.co.uk |
After Grant was sacked, Emenalo
retained Abramovich’s confidence and the Russian billionaire appointed him
assistant to Chelsea’s Italian manager, Carlo Ancelotti in 2010.
The following season Ancelotti
was replaced by Andre Villas-Boas and Emenalo was promoted to the role of
technical director. His job include working with the manager and reviewing
information provided by scouts to determine which player would be good enough
for the high-flying London club.
As technical director, Emenalo
has done a marvelous job, shutting the mouths of critics who had earlier
questioned his competence. Working with the team’s scouts and managers, he has
been behind the recruitment of every Chelsea player. Once the club has
identified transfer targets, it is Emenalo and senior adviser Marina Granovskaia who clinch the deals.
However, not every deal has gone
according to plan. The disastrous transfers of Baba Rahman, a £21.7 million
signing from Augsburg, and Papy Djilobodji from Nantes for £2.7million, stand
out. While Rahman got just three Premier League starts under Mourinho,
Djilobodji played for just one minute before being shipped out.
In spite of his high profile job,
Emenalo prefers to stay under the radar and maintain a low profile. He rarely
gives interviews, not even to Chelsea’s official website.
Emenalo, who played 14 times for
Nigeria, has helped steer Chelsea through Financial Fair Play regulations. In a
rare interview on Chelsea’s website in 2013, he explained that the club’s complex system of loans and
recruitment across Europe was a way to help them cope with FFP.
“We are trying to find a way
because given Financial Fair Play stipulations we need to recruit young and we
also need to have a reservoir of talent that we develop,” he said.
Even though he is no longer a member of
the coaching staff, he is often seen watching first-team training on behalf of
his boss. He has become one of Abramovich's closest allies and is his eyes and
ears at the club's Cobham HQ.
Upon Mourinho’s second coming as
Chelsea boss in 2013, Emenalo offered to resign from his role as Chelsea’s technical
director so as not to cause any conflict with the controversial Portuguese.
However, according to The Times, Abramovich, who has very high regards for
the Nigerian, immediately rejected the proposal. He said the pair just had to
find a way to work together.
Daily Mirror also reported that Abramovich
and his board rebuffed Mourinho’s demand for ‘full control’ of the team. They
insisted that the technical director must remain in charge of player
recruitment. Mourinho was also told he would have to accept working under
Emenalo.
After winning the league in the 2014-15
season, Chelsea’s fortunes on the field nosedived drastically the next season,
leaving the team just a point above relegation in December. Amidst rumours that
the relationship between Mourinho and the team had broken down, Abramovich
turned on Emenalo to gauge the mood among senior members of the team in the
dressing room. It was the Nigerian’s report that sealed Mourinho’s fate.
Next,
the club needed a voice to explain the 'palpable discord' that led to the Portuguese’s
sack. Again they turned to Emenalo to do the tough job. He was also the
one who went on a media spree to do damage control.
According to The Daily Mail, Emenalo
said the decision to sack Mourinho was “taken to protect the interest of the
club.”
There are reports in London that new
manager Antonio Conte wants to recruit former Roma transfer guru Walter Sabatini to take up the recruitment of
players at Stamford Bridge. That means Conte would have to look for another
role for Emenalo. With the benefit of hindsight, that would not be an easy
task. In Chelsea, the fear of Emenalo is the beginning of wisdom.
Conte would do well to let sleeping
dogs lie.
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