Aris Tripolis flirted with Robbie Keane, who was a more reliable solution for their bench, but handed the reins to Claude Makélélé.
The 51-year-old coach, with a long tenure as one of the top central midfielders of his time at Nantes, Marseille, Celta, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain, has moved to Tripoli and completed his agreement with the Greek team.
The Arcadians had ended their collaboration with Milan Rastavac and were looking for a renowned name that would elevate their status. They did not align with Keane on all points, unlike the Franco-Congolese, who after Bastia (2014) and Eupen (2017-19) takes on the “cyan-yellow” project. After leaving Belgium, he worked in the youth departments of Chelsea, simultaneously playing the role of mentor. He has also served on the staff of various clubs and as a technical consultant at Monaco.
Let’s face it, Makélélé does not have a coaching resume. Nevertheless, his stature combined with his desire to build his career in the field allows the Arcadians to be optimistic that the experiment is likely to succeed in Greek football.
As a player, he has won a Champions League and a double-digit number of domestic titles. He has also played in a World Cup final (2006).
Details of the announcement from Aris Tripolis:
An iconic global football personality is coming to ASTERAS AKTOR. The great Frenchman Claude Makélélé is the new coach of our team.
Mr. Claude Makélélé Sinda, as his full name is, was born on February 18, 1973, in the city of Kinshasa, Zaire.
We welcome Mr. Claude Makélélé and his associates to the ASTERAS AKTOR family and wish them good luck.
THE BIOGRAPHY
Mr. Claude Makélélé is a great football personality, with experiences and titles at the highest level of world football.
As a coach, he has worked at French Bastia and Belgian Eupen, where he was in charge for two years with 70 matches on the bench. He has also gained great coaching experience by serving as an assistant to Carlo Ancelotti and Laurent Blanc at French Paris Saint-Germain and later Paul Clement at Swansea in Wales. In recent years, he has been part of the staff at English Chelsea with a role in the Academies and as a technical consultant.
As a player in the defensive midfield position, he had a great career both with the French National Team and with the top-level clubs he played for. He was a core member of the French national team for over ten years, participating in two Euros, in 2004 and 2008, as well as two World Cups, in 2002 and 2006, even reaching the final in the latter! Additionally, he participated in the Olympics in 1996.
He played for the following clubs: Nantes, Marseille, Celta Vigo, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain. He won the Champions League in the 2001-2002 season with Real Madrid, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup, as well as two Spanish championships with them (2001-2003), along with the Copa del Rey. He also won the Premier League twice with Chelsea (2005-2006) and the English League Cup, while he had already become a champion early in his career, in 1995, with French Nantes.
THE ASSISTANTS
Mr. Claude Makélélé will have as his direct collaborators at ASTERAS AKTOR two other very significant football personalities.
His immediate assistant in the technical staff of our team will be Mr. Raphaël Fèvre, born on August 22, 1974, in France. He has worked in the youth departments of Bordeaux and has been a member of the technical staff at Eupen, Chicago Fire, Paris FC, SC Bastia, Valenciennes FC, Stade Brestois.