Scolari must fill Makelele boots

The two contenders are Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel and it will be interesting to see which one lines up in front of the back four in Scolari's first team selection.

Whoever gets the nod will know they have very tough boots to fill. At 35, some may argue Makelele's powers are on the wane but he enjoyed one of his best seasons at the club last term.

It would be a mistake to ignore the significance of his departure, with Real Madrid serving as the perfect example of paying the price for that.

The Spanish club allowed him to join Chelsea in a £13.8m deal in 2003 as they didn't appreciate his value to the team compared to the dazzling skills of Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo. The sale came despite his influential role in helping the club win the Champions League, two Spanish titles and an Intercontinental Cup.

The Madrid hierarchy then treated his defection to London with indifference, with club president Florentino Perez saying: "His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents and 90 per cent of his distribution either goes backwards or sideways. Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten."

The players disagreed. Madrid may have secured the lucrative signing of David Beckham from United that summer but Zidane said: "Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?"

Zidane's concern was proved right as Madrid went four years without a trophy in a barren run.

Makelele's exit was blamed for the team's demise and defender Fernando Hierro said: "The loss of Makelele was the beginning of the end for the Galacticos. You ask anyone at Real Madrid during the years we were talking about and they will tell you he was the best player. The players all knew he was the most important."

Chelsea certainly can't afford to repeat Madrid's slide into the doldrums, having already missed out on winning any silverware last term despite the form of Makelele.

It was at his official unveiling at Stamford Bridge in 2003 that then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri infamously said: "I have a fantastic watch and Claude is my battery. The watch runs with the battery."

The midfielder, whose position is now commonly referred to as the 'Makelele role', consistently showed good timing with his tackles and kept the team ticking with simple passes to feet.

It took manager Jose Mourinho to get the best out of the Chelsea squad and finally bring the Premier League trophy to the cabinet in 2005 and 2006, but so much of the success behind the effective 4-3-3 formation he employed

was due to Makelele. Both Essien and Mikel have played in Makelele's position in the past three seasons whenever he has been rested or injured, but neither has come close to matching his aplomb.

Essien, who is favourite to be picked for the role by Scolari today, is hopeful that his friend's departure won't disrupt the team too much.

He said: "It's sad to see him leaving but it was good for him at the end of the day. We need to respect that. He's coming to the end of his career and he needs to do what's best for him."

For Mikel, who has made steady progress since his move from Lyn Oslo in 2006, it has given him an opportunity to secure a more regular starting place.

He said: "It's a new beginning for everybody. We will all have to start from scratch."

Chelsea are confident Scolari's arrival is the start of a new era of success, but the fans will just hope they won't look back on Makelele's departure as the beginning of the end.