Michael Emenalo

Michael Emenalo (born 14 July 1965, in Aba, Abia) is a retired Nigerian footballer, currently technical director at Chelsea F.C..

Career

Emenalo begain his career in his native Nigeria before moving to play in the United States for Boston University from 1986 to 1989. From there, he played for Molenbeek in Belgium, Eintracht Trier in Germany and Notts County F.C in England before going back to the US. Emenalo was part of the original allocated players for Major League Soccer and spent two seasons (1996–97) with the San Jose Clash. After that, he played with Lleida in Spain and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.

Emenalo won 14 caps for Nigeria and played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, missing the first game through injury but then played against Argentina and Greece before Nigeria were knocked out by Italy.

He joined Chelsea when former manager Avram Grant was in charge in 2007. After the departure of Ray Wilkins, Emenalo was promoted from his position as chief scout to assistant first team coach on 18 November 2010. On 8 July 2011, Chelsea appointed Emenalo Technical Director. His responsibilities include heading the scouting and academy programs.

On 10 June 2013, he formally requested that his contract be terminated to facilitate the return of José Mourinho. His request for termination was denied.