SAHA, ESSIEN ARE UNSUNG HEROES - NEVILLE
Frenchman Louis Saha and Michael Essien are Premier League unsung heroes according to Manchester United legend Gary Neville. The former Manchester United defender talked about Michael Essien and Louis Saha while he was responding to a fan question on Sky Sports this week. The Premier League is celebrating three decades of existence this week.
On Ghanaian star Michael Essien, Neville pointed out that he played at a top Premier League club, Chelsea and that the African star didn’t get the plaudits he deserved in his few seasons at Stamford Bridge. According to him, Essien had a great impact on the Chelsea team at the time with his energy in midfield and his running ability. While he was at Chelsea, Essien formed a good midfield partnership with Frank Lampard. The Ghanaian football icon spent eight years at Chelsea following his transfer from French team Lyon in 2005.
Apart from Chelsea and Lyon, Michael Essien also played for Greek team Panathinaikos, Italian Serie A side AC Milan and Spanish team Real Madrid before he retired as a professional footballer two years ago. Essien is presently a coach at Danish team Nordsjaelland.
On Saha, Neville revealed how he was given a tough time by the Frenchman while he was a Fulham player. Neville said he destroyed him twice while playing for United as a centre back. Manchester United signed Saha from Fulham in 2004 and he was teammates with Neville for four years. Apart from Manchester United and Fulham, Saha played for other Premier League teams. The French star featured in the colours of Premier League clubs such as Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Sunderland.
Just like Essien, Neville said Saha didn’t get the accolades he deserved while he was plying his trade in the Premier League.