Michael Emenalo
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Michael Emenalo | |
| |
| Full Name | Michael Emenalo |
| Date of Birth | 4 July 1965 |
| Place of Birth | Aba, Nigeria |
| Chelsea career | 2007 - |
| Role | Technical Director |
| Previous Roles | Head Scout Assistant First Team Coach |
| Other clubs | - |
Michael Emenalo is the Technical Director at Chelsea, having been promoted to the role in July 2011.[1] His role encompasses Chelsea's scouting network and Academy. A former Nigerian international, he was previously an Assistant First Team Coach to Carlo Ancelotti, having originally joined the club as part of Avram Grant's team in late 2007.
Before Chelsea
A defender, Emenalo first represented Nigeria in 1985, and in 1989 he completed a degree in international relations with political sciences at Boston University, where he also played college football, having moved to the United States in 1986.
He then pursued his career as a professional footballer, playing for Molenbeek in Belgium, Eintracht Trier in Germany and Notts County in England before returning to the United States, representing San Jose Clash for two seasons. He then returned to Europe with Lleida in Spain before moving to Maccabi Tel-Aviv, where he played under future Chelsea manager Avram Grant between 1998 and 2000. Emenalo played for Nigeria in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was capped 14 times for his country.
Following retirement from playing, Emenalo once again returned to the States, coaching at the Tucson Soccer Academy in Tucson, Arizona, before reuniting with former manager Grant at Chelsea.[2]
Chelsea career
Emenalo was initially employed at Stamford Bridge by Avram Grant as Head Scout in October 2007, after the Israeli had taken over as manager from José Mourinho. Emenalo was promoted to Assistant First Team Coach following the departure of Ray Wilkins in November 2010. Following the appointment, Ancelotti insisted that the Nigerian would not be involved in training sessions, but would rather continue to act as opposition scout. [3] He remained in the role for the rest of Carlo Ancelotti's tenure, before being promoted once more to Technical Director shortly after the arrival of André Villas-Boas. Upon his appointment to the role, Emenalo summarised his role as one of supporting the manager and "making sure that things run smoothly", while overseeing the club's extensive scouting network both domestically and overseas, and the Academy. [4]
