Drog Does Right


Congratulations today must go to Didier Drogba who will be leaving Chelsea this summer after an illustrious spell at Stamford Bridge spanning eight years.



Some may view his decision to leave the Blues and potentially head east to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua in search of a healthy pension as greedy. Perhaps financially so, however, not only is it the least he deserves for a glittering club career, but would staying in the Premier League chasing trophies not be equally avaricious?

Let’s be honest, Chelsea are hardly in the best of places at the moment; they still have an ageing squad, uncertainty surrounds the manager’s position and they were, to all intents and purposes, a tad lucky to win the Champions League on Saturday night.

Therefore congratulations are in order to the Ivorian who has decided to leave on a high. As highs go, there are few better ways to go out than to strike the decisive penalty in the Champions League final.

Mention the name Zidane for example, and automatically you remember the Frenchman head-butting an Italian centre half then trudging past the World Cup trophy on a balmy Berlin night. Only then will people belatedly recall his sweeping volley in Real Madrid’s Champions League triumph or his many starring roles for France.

Mention the name Drogba though and thoughts of a diving complainer are now secondary. He sought redemption following his red card in the 2008 Champions League final against Manchester United, and he found it.

The 34 year old is not just the epitome of the lone centre forward, of which he showed he is one of the best on the continent, he is the revolutionary striker who, on his day – pace, power and theatrics included – was simply unplayable, just ask Barcelona!

Didier Drogba: Hated, adored, never ignored.

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