Claude Makelele: DR Congo job appeals to former Chelsea midfielder
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Loading... - Marie Sadou
- 26 Aug 2022
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Former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder Claude Makelele remains keen to fill the vacant managerial position at DR Congo.
The 49-year-old hopes to become the Leopards' third manager in three years by replacing experienced Argentine coach Hector Cuper, who was sacked last month.
"We have a lot of talented players at the top level and the chance to manage this great country will obviously be the biggest of my coaching career," said Makelele, who was born in Kinshasa but played international football for France.
"I have already said that the job does appeal to me and I am more than interested in it.
"To be in charge of the Leopards is an exciting job for whoever gets it and most especially the challenge ahead [of reaching the Nations Cup], but we have to wait and see."
DR Congo missed out on a place at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations held earlier this year in Cameroon, and were then beaten in Africa's 2022 World Cup play-offs by Morocco in March.
Makelele has previously had managerial spells at Bastia and Belgian club Eupen, but is now back at Chelsea working as a youth coach and technical mentor at Stamford Bridge.
Revered son
Makelele, the son of former international Andre-Joseph, was born in DR Congo's capital before leaving the Central African nation at the age of four in 1977 to be with his father in Europe.
He is still highly regarded in the country of his birth and had previously confirmed his desire to help get the Leopards back on track two weeks ago.
"Speaking personally, I feel ready to manage the DR Congo national team," he told French station Canal Plus.
"We all need to sit down together in order to restructure football in the Democratic Republic of Congo."
Capped 71 times by France, Makelele won league titles in three different countries as a player and was on losing side in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy.
He made over 800 appearances during his domestic career, winning 15 trophies including two Premier League titles with Chelsea and the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2002. Read More...
