3 December 1982 - Essien Gets Going

On 3 December 1982, future Ligue 1 Player of the Year and BBC African Footballer of the Year Michael Essien was born in Accra, Ghana.

An energetic box-to-box midfielder and tenacious defender, Essien began his professional career in 2000 with French club Bastia. Initially used sparingly as a back, he switched to midfield in 2001 and flourished. After only three seasons, he drew attention from bigger clubs and signed with Lyon in 2003.

In two seasons at Lyon, Essien won two Ligue 1 championship medals and, after his second season, was named the 2005 Ligue 1 Player of the Year. That success led to a move to Chelsea in the summer of 2005 after an extended negotiation, with the London club paying what was then a club record transfer fee of £26 million. He made 31 league appearances for Chelsea in his first season as the Blues won the 2006 league title. Essien followed that performance by leading Ghana through the group stage of the 2006 World Cup and claiming the 2006 BBC African Footballer of the Year award.

He has since added another league title with Chelsea (2010), as well as three FA Cups (2007, 2009, 2010) and one League Cup (2007).

19 August 2005 - Even Chelsea Has To Haggle Occasionally

On 19 August 2005, midfielder Michael Essien moved from Lyon to Chelsea. The £26 million transfer fee made him the Blues' most expensive signing in history and ended a three-month battle between the two clubs for the player's services.



Chelsea first expressed interest in Essien in May 2005, the year Essien was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Year. They offered £10 million, but were promptly rebuffed by Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas. In June, Aulas rejected a proposed swap deal involving recent Chelsea signee (and then-record transfer fee holder) Didier Drogba, joking that he'd be interested only if Chelsea had signed Samuel Eto'o or Adriano. By the end of June, Lyon rejected Chelsea's renewed bid of £16.75 million.



By July, Essien publicly stated that he wanted to make the move, saying "I have made my choice. I want to go to Chelsea." In response, Lyon set a £31 million price tag on him, plus a demand for a player in exchange. When Chelsea failed to pay by the beginning of August, Aulas hinted that Manchester United were also interested in Essien. A few days later, Lyon rejected an improved Chelsea offer of £21 million, plus Portuguese midfielder Thiago Mendes.



By 12 August, it was clear that Lyon could not persuade Essien to stay. The club announced that he would sign with Chelsea for a £26 million fee - £2 million more than the London club had paid to acquire Drogba from Marseille. Essien's record did not last long, however, as less than one year later, they purchased striker Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan for £30.8 million.

3 February 2008 - Going To Agogo

On 3 February 2008, hosts Ghana defeated neighboring rivals Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the 2008 African Cup of Nations. The 2-1 win for the Black Stars avenged losses to Nigeria in two of the previous three tournaments.

Playing in Accra's Ohene Djan Stadium before a crowd of 45,000, Nigeria's Super Eagles took a first-half advantage when striker Yakubu Ayegbeni converted a 35th-minute penalty kick. The score momentarily silenced the home crowd, but they soon regained their voice and exploded with joy when Ghana midfielder Michael Essien equalized in the second minute of first-half injury time.

Ghana carried the momentum into the second half and continued to press, despite the sending off of their captain, John Mensah. In the 88th minute, striker Junior Agogo (pictured) netted the match-winner, sending the Black Stars through to the next round.

Perhaps drained from their emotional win over Nigeria, the Black Stars were unable to find the net in their next match, a 1-0 loss to Cameroon, but did not go home empty-handed, beating the Ivory Coast 4-2 in the third-place match.

View highlights of the match here.

21 May 2008 - Chelsea's Trophy Slipped Away

On 21 May 2008, Manchester United defeated Chelsea in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow before a crowd of over 67,000. The match was the first all-English European Cup final as well as the first one held in Russia.

The two teams entered the Final having finished the English Premier League season in the top two spots. United won the league, only two points ahead of the Blues.

United winger Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a header in the 26th minute. Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard then equalized in the 45th minute.

Chelsea carried the momentum into the second half, in which they continually pressured United. Michael Essien, Michael Ballack, and Didier Drogba all had good chances to put Chelsea ahead, but their shots just missed the goal. The teams ended the second half still tied at 1-1 and went into extra time, where Drogba received a red card in the 116th minute for hitting United defender Nemanja Vidić. The teams finished extra time still at 1-1 and advanced to penalty kicks.

United went first and, through nine kicks, the teams were tied at 4-4, with Chelsea keeper Petr Cech having made a diving save to keep Ronaldo's shot out. Chelsea defender and captain John Terry then stepped up to take what would have been the winning kick, but he slipped and sent his shot wide.

On the fourth kick of sudden death, United keeper Edwin Van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka's kick, giving United a 6-5 win on penalties and the club's third European Cup trophy.