Drogba’s dream: football not war
SOME FOOTBALLERS seem fated to have a love-hate relationship with the fans.
Eighteen months after his arrival at Stamford Bridge, Didier Drogba still divides opinions among Chelsea supporters, many of whom prefer the guile of Hernan Crespo to a player they see as simply a blunt instrument.
Yet Drogba was recently described by José Mourinho as one of three key players in his team, along with John Terry and Frank Lampard. The praise is echoed by Italy manager Marcello Lippi, who described Drogba as "world-class" after his goal for Ivory Coast in their recent 1-1 draw.
His development, however, has been far from meteoric. Brought to France as a child, he lived with his uncle, a second division player, and followed him round a series of minor clubs. At the age of 14, he was rejected by Tourcoing, an amateur side, and dropped out of football for a year. He finally made his debut in the first division in January 2002, and he only truly arrived as a player in 2003-4 when he scored a total of 29 goals for Marseille and was voted French player of the year.
"I find it hard to believe too," he confesses. "Three years I wasn't even a first-choice player for Guingamp. Sometimes I sit down and say to myself: it's crazy what's happening. I try to stay calm, but it is not by chance that I'm playing for Chelsea. It is what I always wanted, to play at the highest level, but I couldn't possibly have imagined that it would happen so fast."
His rise to prominence at club level is dwarfed by his international career. With 15 goals in his 23 games for Ivory Coast, he has become a national hero. If you want a beer in Abidjan, the capital, you no longer order the traditional Bock, but instead ask for a Drogba "the strong man's beer."
More significant, in a country racked by civil war for five years, has been qualification for the World Cup.
Drama followed Ivory Coast's decisive 3-0 victory in Sudan in October. As a divided people suddenly found something to celebrate, the team left the pitch in Omdurman and decided to make an immediate appeal via television to the different factions to lay down their arms. Drogba was selected as spokesman.
"We had just achieved something big, thanks to the fact that we acted as one, all together, for the glory of Ivory Coast. We really wanted to send out that message, to ask the whole country to come together, that they should take inspiration from what had just happened."
The scenes when the team returned home were extraordinary.
"It was fantastic and moving. As players we've always had in our hearts the desire to represent our country in the best possible way. To show a different picture to the one you see in the news bulletins."
For all the euphoria, however, Drogba has concerns about what happened.
"The future of Ivory Coast depended on us, on whether we qualified or not. That's never a good thing. The political situation of the country has nothing to do with the performance of its football team, and when it has that much influence it doesn't make me happy. We players have a role but it should not be that important."
And, he adds: "When the time comes, in Ivory Coast everybody has to take political responsibility. Giving it to footballers I find a little bit frightening."
Chelsea beating Arsenal brings rather fewer fears. "Yes, it was a crucial game. We were below our best for the past three or four weeks, and we've had quite a few injuries like Makélele for example. But he's back now and our main opponent is not Liverpool, or Arsenal, or Manchester United it's Chelsea. Apart from individual ability, our success is based on discipline, organisation, team spirit. If we keep faith with these values we'll carry on winning."
Chelsea, he says, are a less experienced side this season following the departure of Alexei Smertin, Mateja Kezman and Tiago. But the introduction of younger players means the club is looking forward to a "very interesting experience."
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