EXCLUSIVE: Didier Drogba picks the Chelsea team he most enjoyed playing in and the spirit current squad must restore
Didier Drogba’s comments last year caused a stir when he claimed he ‘didn’t recognise’ the Chelsea side he was watching but he’s hoping that will all change this season under new management and with a new-look squad.
Chelsea have spent heavily again this summer and some might argue that all they need is a man like Drogba up top to take them back to being the Chelsea of old. While his comments last year went viral, not many could argue with what he was saying. The Blues finished in the bottom half of the table despite spending more than any other club in the league and ended the season with Frank Lampard in caretaker charge in what was a bleak campaign.
“For many years we maintained a team, the quality of the team and we created a spirit and we didn’t see that last season," Drogba told SPORTbible. "That’s why I said I don’t recognise the team, maybe I was the only one to say it but there’s nothing wrong about that, it's just a message to say that’s not what I want to see.”
With big summer signings like Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, plus the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea will be expecting to push for a return to Champions League football and their former striker is confident they have what it takes.
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“I think for him (Pochettino) it's a new challenge and for the club it's a new season," Drogba added. "We hope the results are going to be better than last year, it was a very difficult season hopefully we can see them back at the top.”
Drogba was speaking at the launch of the new EA Sports FC 24 game set to be released on the 29th September, a game he features on the cover for and appears in as a legend in the game's Ultimate Team mode. It's an achievement that he regards as a massive honour.
“I’m so proud, I’m very happy to be there with all these legends," he explained. "It means that you’ve done something during your career and to be there with Ronaldinho, Zidane, the new generation. It shows how close we are as a family”
Those of a certain vintage will remember just how much of a legend Drogba was in Premier League terms. And for this particular interviewee who saw him score countless goals to the iconic ‘DROGBAAAAAAAAAAA’ commentary line, it was difficult not to replicate that when I came face to face with him for this interview. His place in Chelsea supporters' hearts for his spell at Stamford Bridge is firmly intact and thanks to EA Sports FC, he’s still making new fans even now.
“It’s really funny because I meet a lot of kids who are 5/6/10 years old and they know me," he explained. "I'm like, 'listen you’ve never seen me play, it must be your parents or something' they are like 'no, no, no I play with you, I score goals with you'. Your name is there and you can generate new fans.”
Drogba had an illustrious career on the pitch, winning four Premier League trophies, a Champions League title and two African Player of the Year awards along the way. The Ivorian is most renowned for his time at Chelsea where he collected most of his accolades. The striker spent nine years at the club over two spells and scored over 100 goals for the London side.
So, which of the teams did he most enjoy being involved in? "I think…I would probably say 2010 because I think we played one of the most entertaining football in Europe with Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti," he answered. "We won the league that year and were really a good team so that’s the season I enjoyed the most actually."
A fair comment, after all he did score 29 goals in 32 league games, winning the Golden Boot as well as a Premier League and FA Cup double. Not a bad season by any means.
Interestingly, Drogba's rating on EA's version of the game during the 2009/10 season was an impressive 87 with a ridiculous 94 finishing attribute. Safe to say if that version of Drogba featured in the upcoming game he would be a very popular choice.
The game is also stepping up its inclusion of females, including the women's World Cup and, for the first time ever, female players featured in Ultimate Team mode.
"I think it's important to understand that the women game has improved so much," Drogba said. "I was at the previous World Cup in France and you see the stadiums are full. The quality of the game is there. To have football there at this time of the year is so important for the vision and it's been an amazing tournament."
Someone who features alongside Drogba on the cover is Chelsea and Australia Women's striker Sam Kerr, someone who he sees similarities with from his own style.
"There are some England players but I really like - I call her my striker, Sam Kerr, she’s unbelievable, she scores from different positions," he explained. "She’s very creative in the way of scoring goals and a bit like the way I was playing, I see a bit of me in her."
Kerr's impact on Chelsea's Women's team and the Australian national team has been evident and she is rightly billed as one of the leading strikers in world football at the moment.
The fact Drogba's reputation has endured to this point suggests his legacy at Chelsea and beyond is safe and sound - and players of the new EA game will soon see exactly why he's secured legend status within the first iteration.
EA Sports FC 24 is available to pre-order now and will be released on September 29.
Matthew Dove