DROGBA THE LAST DANCE
Andre Villas-Boas turned to every Chelsea player, and asked the same question. One by one, they all gave an identical answer. Until it came to Didier Drogba.
The previous day, the Portuguese manager had gathered together his senior pros, after a home defeat to Liverpool – Chelsea’s third in four Premier League games – left them fifth in the table. He had worked with Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech during his days as Chelsea assistant under Jose Mourinho, and appeared to be taking on board what they said. The advice was clear, particularly from Drogba: Villas-Boas should dial back on the new philosophy that he was trying to impose. It wasn’t working.
Then the boss called a team meeting and doubled down on his own tactical plans. “We have to stick to our philosophy,” Villas-Boas told them, ahead of a group-stage match away at Bayer Leverkusen. “I believe this is how we will win the Champions League.”
Given what Drogba and the other senior players had advised their gaffer 24 hours earlier, it felt like a betrayal; confirmation that their opinions no longer mattered; a hint that he was attempting to take the club in a different direction... without them.
The 33-year-old Drogba had been rotated in and out of the team to make way for Fernando Torres. Lampard, also 33, was another that Villas-Boas – their senior by just a few months – was rumoured to be considering for the exit door. Terry, soon to turn 31, was being investigated by police for alleged comments made to Anton Ferdinand during a recent defeat at QPR.
As he brought the team meeting to a close, Villas-Boas had one question for each player. He believed that Chelsea could win the Champions League following his philosophy, but he wanted to know if they did, too. Effectively, he was asking if they believed in him as manager.
Whether they meant it or not, everyone said yes. Apart from Drogba. “I’m sorry, coach, but I don’t believe we can win it,” said the striker.
Chelsea lost 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen, the hosts’ late winner jeopardising their chances of reaching the knockout phase, and Drogba decided he’d had enough. Days later, before even December had arrived, agent Thierno Seydi told the media that his client would not be signing a new one-year deal at the club. “At Didier’s age, he has nothing left to prove as a player,” shrugged Seydi. “He will go where he is offered the most money.”
Since joining forces in 2004, Drogba and Chelsea’s old guard had won three Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two League Cups. Yet the Champions League still eluded them, and now the 2011-12 season would be their eighth and final season together.
Drogba may not have had much faith
