Jose Mourinho: Michael Essien is a great man. He is loyal to me and he is loyal to Chelsea He is a very good player and I see him with special motivation. He went to Madrid because he was in a difficult situation here. He recovered his happiness and condition and played very important matches in Madrid. He played to a very good level. He's a fantastic player and the kind of player in this profile of squad, a squad of many, many, many talented kids, we need this type of player to give us this balance. I know Michael better than anybody else. I know he can play in every position apart from goalkeeper and striker. The relationship between Mourinho and Essien is such that, during Chelsea's welcome press conference in Malaysia, there was the now usual references to one another as "son" and "daddy." Such comments always raise a bemused smile from onlookers but Essien is deadly serious when he outlines his gratitude and loyalty for a manager who still believed in him at perhaps his lowest ebb. "We have a good relationship and we understand each other very well," said Essien. He's the 'Special One'. He knows how to talk to his players and get the best out of them and it's always easy to work with him if you understand him. I understand him. I know what he wants and I always deliver. My knees are fine now. My knees are not giving me any problems. My style hasn't changed. I'm still the same. When you bump into me you can tell I am still as strong. I've had eight or nine operations and it's hard. I never thought I would stop playing. Never. I'm the sort of guy who's always happy and you never see me sad. I always keep smiling. I've got two more years left at Chelsea and we'll see what happens. I'm happy to be back at Chelsea. Essien's team-mates also seem delighted to have him back. "It's great to see him and he's fit," said Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper. It was a great thing for him to happen, to go on loan last year and enjoy a great season with Real Madrid. He's always been a fantastic player and the only unlucky things were the injuries. He was unlucky with back-to-back injuries and he had to work very hard to come back. That loan made sure he played more than he could have played and, as you can see, he's happy, he's back, he's fit and he will be very useful for us. He seems to be back to the real Michael Essien.