“The story of how I became a Chelsea fan is pretty funny. Obviously growing up in the States, soccer wasn’t as available to us besides the World Cup every now and then. So when it first started getting to be available, my Dad was like: “Alright, this is who you need to watch.” He said: “You need to watch Makelele. Makelele is one of the best d-mids (defensive midfielder) around, he plays for France, but by way of Africa.” So he told me to watch him and study his game because d-mid was the position I played. He was the perfect player to model myself after. ∙ “Makelele is just a solid player. He’s unmatched. I think there was one interview where Jose Mourinho said about [him]: “It’s like he’s like the sun and the whole formation revolves around him.” So he’s just a connector. He’s the player that allowed Frank Lampard and the creative guys to do their magic. ∙ “So once I started watching Chelsea and Makelele, I realized all the other players they had. Essien, Frank Lampard, Drogba, Robb...