Luiz Felipe Scolari Must Decide What to Do with Five Great Central Midfielders

What will perhaps be the most interesting thing to see Chelsea do this season is make decisions about how they are going to line up in their midfield.

With five of the best central midfielders in the world (John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, and Deco) battling it out, competition is likely to be fierce. But how many spots they are fighting for remains to be seen.

When Deco was signed in the summer many criticised the move, as Chelsea already had an abundance of central midfielders. However, this ignored the options that Deco gives to Scolari.

If he so wishes, Scolari can play them as a three (as we have become accustomed to over the years), a four in a diamond shape (though this may provide trouble with width), or even as a five, with two holding players and three attacking midfielders supporting a lone striker (a tactic he often utilised in his time as Portugal boss).

Of the five, Mikel and Essien seem the most certain starters. Mikel came in and played the "Makalele role" for much of last season and really excelled in the task.

When you consider Sir Alex Ferguson once named Makalele as the one player he most wished he could have for his team, you realise what a big mantle Mikel is taking on. To have done as well as he has is truly exceptional.

"Mr. Versatility" himself, Michael Essien is another player who has shown he is too good to be left out. Barring disaster, Essien shouldn't be needed to run defensive duties this season and will be allowed to play in his favoured midfield role.

Not as attacking as Lampard, nor as defensive as Mikel, he will add the balance to the midfield, linking the play and offering a considerable threat of his own.

For Lampard, Deco, and Ballack however it doesn't seem so straightforward. All are now over 30 and have suffered from injuries over the last couple of seasons. Perhaps Scolari will use them more rotationally, according to which formation he chooses to deploy.

This is not to imply, however, that any of them have lost their quality. Ballack was a revelation in the second half of last season, after missing the best part of a year out with injury.

Lampard had another 20-goal season in what was the most injury ravaged season of his career. Deco fought valiantly to hold together a Barcelona team that had been threatening implosion for nearly two years.

These are players that still have plenty left to give and their experience will prove invaluable to the squad.

How to line them all up is the big conundrum Scolari has to face. Even if he finds a solution, he then has to think how he can fit them in with Joe Cole, Malouda, Kalou—or even Robinho.

Scolari is going to have a lot of headaches over this puzzle, but it is a headache many managers would love to have.