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“I’m playing both games at home!”
This is what the media got when they asked Drogba about how he felt about playing against Chelsea FC. One who had the most fitting goodbye, the absolute ultimate hurrah for a player that had become a cult hero over the past years. Didier Drogba – Chelsea Legend.
Jose Mourinho famously said after paying an exorbitant amount of money for Drogba to Marseille, “Overpaid? Ask me that question when he leaves Chelsea.”; and nobody needed to. Every time Didier Drogba came out onto the pitch the SW6 faithful would roar their approval. Didier Drogba was a class act- on the pitch and off it.
While in London, the Ivorian made himself quite a reputation, scoring for fun, bullying defenders at will and in general just being a complete beast on the pitch. It is this beast that Drogba’s mentor and long standing friend Jose Mourinho needs to somehow negate. Drogba has, admittedly, never won a match against Mourinho; but these things only encourage the big man further rather than bog him down- his love for the game and respect for his team will ensure that he comes out absolutely determined to beat his friend.
Galatasaray finished second best to Real Madrid in group B while Chelsea finished top in group E. This of course means that the ‘return’ of the hero in literal terms comes on the next round of fixtures with the blues having to visit the Türk Telekom Arena and try to come back with an advantage from what the Turkish supporters have famously branded as “Hell”.
Chelsea go into the game with a mixed bag of results having lost 2-0 at the Etihad in the FA cup after absolutely destroying them in the league. They seemed to be back on track before they drew at the Hawthorns and dropped 2 points and earlier this week once again managed a hard fought victory against Everton at home.
Galatasaray on the other hand are undefeated in their last 5 games in all competitions, winning 3 and drawing 2. Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba in particular looked to be on song in the 6-0 rollicking of Bursaspor. The two main men of the Turkish giants seem to have hit some vein of form just at the right time for the Champions League game.
Coming back to Drogba, the thing that made him so important to Chelsea was that when he was having a good day, he wasn’t just respected- he was feared. It is this fear that John Terry will need to stand up to and emerge victorious. This fear was also felt by fans of opposition teams- there is always a hush that falls onto the Emirates crowd when he walks on the pitch, they have experienced some of his best performances and most people know that on his day, he is unstoppable.
He is the sort of player that will be cheered by both sets of fans alike though; the blues in appreciation of what he gave them, and the Turks in recognition of his commitment to the club. Will the big man for once outwit his mentor? Or will the master tactician figure out a way of keeping this beast caged in once again? Whatever that my be, one thing is for certain – a Didier Drogba goal will definitely put the travelling fans in a spot of bother; do we feel bad for our team that just conceded? Or do we feel happy for the hero who gifted us the ultimate prize?
