Didier Drogba - The Man, The Player and The Daddy

small door off the players' changing room at Wembley Stadium leads to a place known as the warm-up area. It was there, before the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur on April 15, that Didier Drogba put on his trainers and went through his usual pre-match exercise routine. Nothing special. Stretches. An acceleration programme. It wasn't what he was doing that caught the eye. It was what he looked like doing it.

By the time he returned to the group, the transformation was complete. Wherever Drogba's head had been when he arrived at Wembley, he had left there now.

As he stalked around his team-mates, offering the odd word of encouragement, the odd message of absolute defiance, it was clear he was somewhere else. John Terry nudged his team-mate Frank Lampard. 'Will you look at him,' he said. 'We're not going to lose today.'

And Chelsea didn't. They beat Tottenham 5-1 and Drogba opened the scoring.

Heading for Munich: Didier Drogba trains at Cobham on Thursday ahead of the Champions League final

When they returned to play the FA Cup final against Liverpool on May 5, it was a similar story. Another show of strength, another Drogba goal, another victory.

'Some players don't understand when to raise their game,' said Chelsea first-team coach Eddie Newton. 'Didier does. He can really take it to the level needed. Emotionally, you see the difference, the step up. You see the look in his eyes. Quite literally, he changes, and you know he's ready for it.'

This is the man Chelsea are ready to unleash in the Allianz Arena on Saturday night. Unplayable, Jamie Carragher called him, and that is not a description afforded to too many footballers; even those at the pinnacle of their powers.

Shane Warne was unplayable; Muttiah Muralitharan was unplayable; the West Indies fast bowling attack of the Seventies was unplayable. One man, armed only with a cricket bat, could not repel them. A football team have 11 on the pitch, however, and no equivalent of a terror track or sticky wicket. There are ways and means of stopping even the greatest talent. Man-for-man marking, doubling up, cutting the supply line; particularly in the Champions League this season, Chelsea's defence have proved that even the greatest can be frustrated by a combination of raw determination, doggedness and good tactical thought. Yet Drogba is different. Carragher listed him as one of two players who, at their best, are impossible to exclude from a game (Thierry Henry is the other). Having faced Drogba more than any other English defender, he would know.

Hot shot: Dider Drogba scores the first goal in 5-1 demolition of Tottenham

Carragher has lined up against Drogba 24 times in all competitions and is rightly proud of his record. Chelsea have won 10, Liverpool eight, with six drawn. Drogba has scored eight goals, one every three matches, which certainly compares strikingly to his record against Arsenal (won 10, drawn three, lost one, goals 13).

'As a defender, if a player scores against me, I usually think there is something I could have done,' said Carragher. 'Even if it's Robin van Persie or Wayne Rooney, I'll identify a position I could have taken up, I'll think I could have got tighter or dropped off, I'll identify the flaw that let them in.

'The only different ones are Drogba and Henry. You replay a goal and, sometimes, there was nothing that could be done. If Chelsea get the ball on to Drogba's chest on the edge of the box and he can bring it down and turn, well, that's it. You can't get round him without fouling him, it's too late to get in front of him, you just have to hope he misses the shot. The same if he leaves you behind to go one on one with the goalkeeper.

Good shape: Drogba keeps himself fit

'He's not Usain Bolt, but he's fast enough and so powerful that, even if you catch him, you can't get a foot in to make the tackle. You would have to run around him and you haven't the time to do that. So he's unplayable. In certain positions, there is literally nothing you can do.'

Bayern Munich will remember Drogba well from their last meeting, a Champions League quarter-final in 2005.

Chelsea progressed, having won the first leg 4-2 and led the second leg 2-1 until two Munich goals in injury time made the scoreline a respectable 6-5 defeat. Drogba scored home and away and imposed his presence on the German side remorselessly.

There is concern the same could happen in Munich, with Holger Badstuber, Bayern's left-sided and most rugged centre half, missing through suspension. Injuries have also taken a toll, meaning coach Jupp Heynckes is likely to turn to a holding midfield player, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, in Badstuber's place.

Blues brothers: Lampard (centre) celebrates with his Chelsea team mates

When Barcelona tried a similar ploy in the semi-final first leg this year, using Javier Mascherano, Chelsea won and Drogba scored. Tymoshchuk is no fool, the most capped Ukrainian player, three times Ukrainian Footballer of the Year, and voted the best international in Ukraine's history as an independent nation, ahead of even Andriy Shevchenko.

He is, however, a midfielder not a centre half and, at less than six foot, no physical match for Drogba in the air. It would be contrary for Chelsea to resist exploiting this very simple advantage tomorrow night.

Particularly as Drogba's main supply line remains undiminished by the rash of suspensions incurred at the Nou Camp. Juan Mata is the most helpful player to Chelsea's goalscorers this season, but Drogba's special relationship is with a member of the old guard, Lampard. Terry says that bond is stronger now than ever.

'There was a game recently and I can remember remarking to Frank about it because they just have this unbelievable understanding,' Terry explained. 'Year after year, the way they play together gets better and better. The moment Frank gets the ball you see Didier dropping into a position to receive the pass and you know Frank is already seeking him out.

Up for it: Drogba celebrates his goal against Liverpool

'Didier is so unselfish like that, there is nobody better at making himself available, nobody better at holding the ball up, yet he still finds the time to get in behind the defence for that through ball. And he can play - I mean really play. I don't think there is a better striker in the world on his day and he commands such respect from all the players.

'What he does, it doesn't just happen. He works hard at the gym, he puts extra time in at training on free-kicks. You see young lads who want to be like him, or Frank, but they don't want to put in the same time and effort. He wasn't born this way, he delivers an incredible amount of work to do it, but when you see how he seizes the moment in big games, it's worth it.

'William Gallas is a top centre half, but did you see what Didier did to him when we were playing Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final? That is what I meant when I said I knew we weren't going to lose.

'He goes into his pre-match routine and he gets more and more pumped up and you know he's in the zone. When we played Barcelona, when we played Liverpool at Wembley, he just gives everyone around him such confidence. He'll come through his ritual and then you can't even speak to him. You can see in his face, he's gone.'

Drogba's other pre-match charm is the presence of Stephane Renaud, an expert in fasciatherapy, a form of alternative manipulation focusing on soft tissue.

Hands up: Drogba gets into the zone before big matches

Renaud, who also treats Florent Malouda this way, can always be seen with Drogba before major matches, despite having links with French club Dijon FCO.

A controversial figure in France, with Dijon on the brink of relegation, Renaud is closely associated with Dijon coach Patrice Carteron, but is always available to nurse Drogba using special massage techniques designed to increase circulation and lymphatic drainage while stimulating the stretch reflex of muscles.

This is a form of fasciatherapy known as myofascial release and, to laymen, can best be explained as a branch of osteopathy. Due to its alternative nature, opinion on its worth is divided, but Drogba invests in the method greatly and Renaud is expected to join him in Munich before tomorrow's match, despite Dijon's present difficulties.

Roberto Di Matteo, the Chelsea interim manager, is convinced this dedication and attention to detail is having a positive effect in prolonging Drogba's career. Incredibly, tomorrow's final may be his last game for the club, with his contract due to expire this summer. Recent performances, however, suggest he remains as potent as at any time in his career, and Di Matteo appeared to hint at wider issues when asked about Drogba's future.

Brave: Drogba is willing to put his body on the line

'He's physically in good shape,' said the interim manager. 'He played the Africa Cup of Nations in January, too. He keeps himself fit, he lives a very professional life and, when you do that, your career can be as long as you want. We've had other examples of players going deep into their thirties, so his future at Chelsea is not a question of age.'

More likely, it is a question of wage. Money and length of contract are issues that tend to concern executives once a player hits a certain milestone, and Drogba turned 34 in March.

Having first been linked to a financially rewarding, professionally unfulfilling move to the Chinese league - following his team-mate Nicolas Anelka - there is now talk of offers that will fit both criteria, most strikingly the possibility of a bid from Barcelona. The Catalan side know only too well the energising impact Drogba can have on a game, and a club.

'When players look around a dressing room, they want to see players they know they can rely on,' Newton added.

'See fear, and you get a completely different feeling. Didier inspires confidence.

'He is a very charismatic figure, he reminds me of Patrick Vieira or Roy Keane, the great leaders, the ones who knew how to step up to a big game. Didier is like that - he knows when it matters.

'People think bravery is just flying into a tackle or putting your head in but bravery is also accepting the ball under pressure, being prepared to take an opponent on, wanting to be involved all the time in a big game - the best players are not afraid to take responsibility, no matter the pressure.

'You look at how often Didier plays up front as one against two - he's outnumbered all the time. If he takes a hit from the first defender and rides it, he knows there's another hit coming. The physical battering he's taken for so long, yet still keeps going - that's true bravery. He deserves every accolade that he gets.'

Curious rivalry: Jamie Carragher says Drogba is unplayable on the pitch but very friendly off it

So, having followed Drogba through his pre-match rituals, from the warm-up area back into the dressing room, what is it actually like to meet him, in the tunnel, face to face? What is it like to confront him as a member of the opposition in that zone of utter focus and determination? And now it gets strange. For, according to Carragher, he is the opposite of what one might expect.

'Really nice,' the Liverpool man says. 'Just very, very friendly. Ridiculous, really. He wants to be your mate, so much so that you think it can only be a bluff. I'm the opposite, really intense, because that's how we were brought up by Gerard Houllier. He'd have gone berserk if he saw us chatting to the opposition before a game. He told us to shake hands after, but until then, it's war.

'Then you get Drogba, wanting to have a joke and you can't work it out. You wonder if it's a mind game, if he wants the defender to think he's his friend so he goes soft on him, and the first time he did it, I thought it would all change the moment the match started, but it didn't. He carries on just the same.

'If the play stops, he wants a chat. If your team are winning, it doesn't seem to faze him. Maybe that is why he is a player of extremes. He doesn't seem to have too many average matches - he's either great or it's a nightmare, one day he is unstoppable, the next he doesn't quite seem interested. He does everything or nothing, and you never know what you'll get.

'And that's the strength in his game, too. He is a very good footballer but he's also so powerful that Chelsea can be direct if they wish. He allows them to play two entirely different ways.

Hard to handle: Drogba was in fearsome form against Liverpool

'I watch the athletics sometimes, and the commentator will be talking about a guy running a good tactical race, and I don't understand that. If the other guy is faster he's going to win, tactics won't come into it. And that is what happens against Drogba sometimes.

'You can make all the best plans, but then he'll do something to which you have no answer at all. And you'll never have an answer. He's just bigger, or faster, or harder to manoeuvre. And that is the way it will always be.

'Early in the season, 2006, we were playing them at Stamford Bridge and it was a really tight game, as usual. We'd got into their heads a bit under Jose Mourinho with the Champions League the year before and we'd already beaten them in the Community Shield that season.

'So very few chances either way, it's just before half-time, it's all going well. And Michael Essien plays this long ball in to Drogba on the edge of the penalty area. He pops it up with his chest, turns and hits this left-foot half-volley that's in the net before Pepe Reina's even seen it. And I watched it again, and I could watch it a hundred times more and I know Alan Hansen says every goal is somebody's mistake, but I'll tell you what I could have done to stop it: nothing.

'And Bayern Munich know that, too. And that's what

Interview by Bruno Pisano

Didier Drogba, the hero of Chelsea's Champions League final win over Bayern Munich, is one of 55 soccer superstars featured in Bruno Pisano's book, "My Son The Soccer Player: The Secrets of the World's Greatest Players as Told by Their Parents." Didier, the oldest of seven children, was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s largest city. At age 5 his parents sent him to France to give him “a real chance to succeed in life” and he lived with his uncle, Michel Goba, a pro soccer player. Homesick, he returned to Abidjan three years later and played daily soccer in a parking lot with friends. After both his parents lost their jobs, he returned to France at age 11 and two years later his parents joined him. In this excerpt, Pisano spoke with Albert Drogba about his son's early years.

BRUNO PISANO: How old was Didier when he first started kicking the ball?

ALBERT DROGBA: Didier was about 5 years old when he started playing soccer.

BP: When did you start to think that he had the potential to become a professional player?

ALBERT DROGBA: We always knew he was a good player, but at the age of 13 or 14 we began to realize that he could make it as a professional.

BP: What were the obstacles he faced in the beginning of his career?

ALBERT DROGBA: It wasn’t easy in the beginning because Didier suffered from many injuries, and that could have discouraged him from continuing. It wasn’t easy for Didier at all.

BP: How did he handle fame?

ALBERT DROGBA: He is a humble man -- like his dad -- so he managed to stay simple and to keep his feet on the ground.

BP: When he got injured, what advice did you give him?

ALBERT DROGBA: He loved soccer so much that even when he was injured he’d keep on playing. He had good doctors and practiced whenever he could.

BP: At any time during his career, did he consider quitting and trying another profession?

ALBERT DROGBA: He never thought about it, even in tough times. He believed in himself always. With one of his early clubs, Le Mans, the coach didn’t really trust him or give him many opportunities to play, but Didier trained as has as he was able. Soccer is his passion.

BP: How did you motivate Didier to keep on working hard?

ALBERT DROGBA: Well, at first I wasn’t very happy about his choice to become a soccer player. Like most parents I was eager for my son to get a good education.

I told him he had to work hard at school to become a doctor or a lawyer – to get a degree and be able to make a good living.

After all, soccer was not a sure thing. At 13 or 14 with Le Mans we knew he was a talented player, but of course one injury can end an entire career and that’s what I was worried about.

But as time went on we began to see his potential flourish. When he joined Guingamp we knew he had something special. With his first European contract we knew that he’d have a great career.

When encouraging him I kept in mind my own experiences as an amateur player, and my own father’s as a professional, so I was confident that he could make it.

BP: What were the moments in his career that made you the proudest?

ALBERT DROGBA: In 2006 when he was so important in qualifying the Ivory Coast for the World Cup. He won the African Player of the Year award in 2006 as well – the first Ivorian to do so! In 2007 and 2010 he was the Premier League’s top scorer in England, and these kind of things always make me proud.

BP: Would you have been disappointed if he didn’t succeed as a soccer player?

ALBERT DROGBA: As the saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome,” or to happiness. My goal was to have a happy son -- that’s all. Every parent hopes for his child to make a living, have a family, and above all to be happy.

BP: Do you think Didier’s talents were innate, or that he developed them through hard work?

ALBERT DROGBA: His talents were innate, no doubt about it. As a child the perfect present for Didier was anything to do with soccer. He just loved having a ball at his feet.

Take this as an example. When he was just 1 or 2 years old, he fell down some stairs. We were all shocked and worried about him, of course. Thankfully he was fine – but the reason that he fell was that he saw a soccer ball at the bottom of the stairs and wanted to go and get it! And he was only 1 or 2!

BP: What advice can you give a father so that his child might achieve similar successes to Didier?

ALBERT DROGBA: I must warn parents who are in a hurry to rush their sons into soccer. They have to be careful.

They only see the tip of the iceberg when they see a successful player like Didier. There’s so much work and luck involved in a successful player’s life.

First and foremost you need to send your child to school to get him an education, and don’t let soccer get in the way of school. It’s tough, for sure, but it’s possible to study hard and practice hard at the same time. It’s so important to do this because soccer only works out for some people, and everyone needs an education to fall back on.

(For more on “My Son The Soccer Player: The Secrets of the World’s Greatest Players as Told by Their Parents” by Bruno Pisano, go to mysonthesoccerplayer.com/. The author donates $1 for every book sold to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.)

I Manchester United bestämmer sir Alex Ferguson. Men vem bestämmer i Chelsea?
André Villas-Boas måste se till att det blir han - inte spelarna eller den stormrike ryssen. 

Som många andra tycker jag att Carlo Ancelotti borde ha fått fortsätta som manager. Men Chelsea är Chelsea, Roman Abramovitj är Roman Abramovitj och vi blev väl därför ärligt talat inte så förvånade när den belevade italienaren tvingades bort.
En av de mest intressanta sakerna som hände under en ganska rörig Chelsea-säsong var när Ancelotti - mycket subtilt, givetvis - kritiserade ledningen. Ancelotti talade om hur Ferguson i United har ett helhetsansvar över sitt lag och mellan raderna kunde man läsa:
- Ett helhetsansvar som jag ­aldrig får.

Ändå klagade han sällan, fast det fanns tillfällen. Han uppträdde korrekt när den viktige assistenten Ray Wilkins försvann och inte ens när det plötsligt dök upp en snordyr spansk anfallare i laget han själv inte hade valt grymtade Ancelotti.
I alla fall inte så det hördes offentligt.
Nu kommer så André Villas-Boas, portugisen som slarvigt kallats för "den nye Mourinho". Det finns förstås ingen ny Mourinho (som tur är - det hade blivit för mycket) och det måste Villas-Boas från början låta alla veta.
Det ska bli mycket intressant att se hur han tar sig an Chelsea.
Eller kanske ännu hellre: hur Chelsea tar sig an honom.
FC Porto, som Villas-Boas nu lämnar, är en av Europas mest imponerande klubbar. År efter år tar de sina titlar, trots att nyckelspelarna ofta sticker till ännu större klubbar som kan betala ut ännu högre löner.
I Porto har Villas-Boas gjort sig känd som en lysande analytiker. En tränare som han har stark tilltro till sina spelare och låter dem utvecklas. När Porto i våras vann Europa League var det just tränaren som fick de största hyllningarna.

Men Chelsea är något helt annat. Förutom det korta tålamodet hos den stormrike ryssen är det också en klubb där spelarna har stor makt. Och många av dem börjar bli till åren nu. ­André Villas-Boas är faktiskt bara ett år äldre än Frank Lampard och ­Didier Drogba.
Som ny tränare måste han vinna deras förtroende. Direkt måste han låta dem veta att han inte är någon ny Mourinho, utan helt och hållet sin egen man. Med en egen vilja. Med en egen filosofi.
Han måste få dem att vilja spela för honom, inte för ägaren eller för ett spöke från förr.
Pressen på Villas-Boas blir stor, inte minst eftersom Abramovitj har betalat så mycket pengar för honom. Vanligtvis brukar det vara en anfallare som får stå till svars för alla miljoner han har kostat en klubb. "Är du värd pengarna?" brukar vara en populär fråga.
Här kommer det att bli tränaren som grillas på det sättet, och André Villas-Boas gör nog bäst i att ta minst en titel redan under sin första säsong.
Det är den typen av klubb han har kommit till.
För Chelseas skull ­hoppas jag att han får vara den tränaren han vill vara, utan att behöva kompromissa. Då blir han stor garanterat....

Drogbas idag så karakteristiska målgest, där han likt ett flygplan flaxar fram mot sidlinjen innan han glidandes på knä den sista biten avslutar med en saluterande armrörelse, kom till under den här perioden. Gesten var från början en högst spontan historia som han gjorde i ren glädje efter ett mål i Marseille. När han sedan kom hem och hans son kom glidandes på golvet efterapandes samma gest, fick den bli en permanent målgest och en speciell sak mellan Drogba och hans son.

Stolt, nytt besöks rekord! och jag är bara så tvungen att visa er, den svarta rutan visar antal besökare jag fick igår :) vanligt vis brukar jag ha 200 besökare dagligen....

Jag saknar glädje sprattlen i magen som spred sig den 9/5 2010 därför tog jag beslutet att försöka rewina that moment!

Chelsea vs Wigan - alla målen

1-0
Anelka 6'


2-0
Lampard 32'



3-0
Kalou 54'



4-0
Anelka 57'





5-0
Drogba 64'




6-0
Drogba 72'

 


7-0
 Drogba 84'
 (rykterna om att de spelar i ett band tsm är sanna)






8-0
A.Cole 90'



JT vad nu?


Varför så arg?


Okej! nu är jag förvirrad vi vann ju, nu ska man vara glad...elller?


- Jag hör dej inte....




hahaha vänta, han signalerade bara att festen kan börja!




-Jasså du sa festen kan börja



- Fan JA!


Dags för en serb att få glädje utspel


- Really can we start party now?



-Okey then come here Jt  and let me give you a kiss then..



- Du kommer inte undan Frank...


- Försök inte Didier, kom hit med dig


Den är fin eller hur?



Dags att lyfta up den då!



Ja nu vill alla bli fotograferade med trofen ensam
först ut John Terry





Flos tur...


Men någon har svår att släppa taget....



- Hej Flo where are you? jag vill ha trofeen nu



- Jag ser dig inte....Har du rymt iväg med den eller?


Im right here! (waves)


- oh there you are...stå precis så där så tar jag kort!


- Okey


fortsättning på invinduella kort med trofeen.








och tillsammans



med ungarna





















Franks lilla Champange problem!



gott gott


- nu är jag blöt och mätt



- det är heller inget kul och dricka själv!



- problem solved



- Hallå Drogba what are you up to? Nice try....

Egentligen borde jag ta mig i kragen och göra klart alla halv gjorda läxor men jag tänkte göra ett litet och kort inlägg först.

Här är några av mina hundra bilder från min lilla ( ja den var liten, jag har fortfarande inte sett chelsea spela någon match, därför skryter jag inte, hade någ vart lite mallig om jag hade gjort det :P) trip till Stamford Bridge :) Detta var från en öppen träning och det är därför det heller inte är fullt i arenan, som ni ser har de heller inga match ställ på sig.


 

Ja , dessa personer har vart och fortfarande är Didier bästa vänner och därför förtjänar de också en liten presentation tycker jag! Ja vad ska jag berätta om dessa pojkar/pappor/män, De träffades I Frankrike när de var små, långt innan de fick något fotbollskontrakt.

Malouda och Drogba spelade för Guingamp tillsammans, innan de gick skilda vägar för att uppfylla sina drömmar. Malouda gick till Lyon medans Drogba valde att följa sitt hjärta som ledde honom till det lag som än i dag är hans absoluta favorit klubb nämligen Olympic de Marseille.

 Men som de ÄKTA VÄNNER som de är drogs de tillbaka till varandra och spelar idag för Chelsea båda två. Riktiga vänner ställer up för/ tror på varandra genom torrt och våt. Därför tyckte jag att det var lite extra gulligt att malouda står bakom sin vän Didier när han fick frågan om han tyckte Didier var dålig för att han lider av mål torka (inga mål på åtta matcher, något väldigt konstigt)

Då svarade Florent  till reportrarna: " Han är en bra spelare, det är aldrig någon tvivel. Det är inte ett problem (att han inte gör mål). Han skapar chanser för oss istället eftersom försvararna alltid är omkring honom. Han är en stor mästare. Även om han inte har gjort mål för (åtta) i spelet, kan han fortfarande  göra mål när som helst.

"Han är så viktigt. Som ni ser, han gav mig det målet. Vi bör minnas att han led av malaria för tre veckor sedan, vilket är riktigt svårt. Han vill spela och är fortfarande ett hot. Han hade verkligen otur igen (på tisdag) ikväll. "

På senaste tiden har jag fått frågor om vem jag är, så nu ska jag besvara 50 ställda frågor av mina läsare.