The rivalry for the title of the best football player in England 2006 this season is no less stubborn than the championship race: Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s winger Manchester United in a figurative sense - just like, by the way, literally. The best sniper of the English championship is hunting for a unique hat-trick. Drogba, France’s best football player 2004, has every chance of pushing his old rival Samuel Eto'o off the throne of Africa, after which he finished last year’s plebiscite. Winning three individual titles would be a significant achievement for a 28-year-old player who came to professional football late. But he did not miss his last, in fact, chance to start a career at age 21, so that later, like the magnificent “gunner” Ian Wright, he would make an impressive breakthrough.
Drogba is an interesting conversationalist with a bewitching life story. Born in Côte d'Ivoire - the former French colony, where after a military coup for seven years an incredible mess reigns. The average life expectancy of men in this country is 46 years, and every second adult is illiterate. In the hope of a better five-year-old Tito, as Didier was called in childhood, was sent to Uncle Michel Gob, who at that time played for the French Brest. As a result, the nephew followed in the footsteps of a relative. The chosen profession promised Drogba extraordinary prospects. He never forgot where he came from - from a country with record infant mortality (out of 1,000 newborns, 90 die); from a country where it’s easy to get injured in a civil war meat grinder. “To play 90 minutes is not burdensome for me, because football is just a game. I’m much more burdened when something is wrong with my children, ”says Drogba. By the way, he has three children.
In a family of seven children, he was the eldest. But even despite working in a bank, it turned out to be impossible for parents to feed such a mob. The five-year-old Didier was sent to live with Uncle Michel. “My uncle is like a father to me, because he took care of me for so long,” Drogba admits. “So I owe everything I have achieved to date.”
"Soldier of fortune" by nature, Goba easily passed from "Brest" to "Dunkirk", and then to "Angouleme". Young Didier accompanied him everywhere until he was bored with his relatives, and the next three years passed in western Africa. During this time, the family managed to convince him that the best education and career opportunities are concentrated in Europe, and at the age of 11 he again appeared in Dunkirk with his uncle. Where soon he began to master the role of right-back. “Once my uncle said that I had better play in the attack,” Drogba recalls with a sincere smile. “He knew what his nephew could do best on the field, and, having retrained as an attacker, I not only started to score, but to score a lot.”
At 15, he became the footballer of Levallois-Pere, a semi-professional club from the northern suburbs of Paris, where he lived with his cousin Olivier Tebili (now the defender of Birmingham, and in the past, Celtic), who then played for Chateauroux. After graduating from school, Drogba went to study as an accountant at Le Mans College. As a football player at that time, he was nothing special, and when he turned up at Le Mans at the age of 19, it took him two years to convince the club to sign a professional contract with him. “I knew this was my last chance. And everyone kept repeating to me: “If it doesn’t work out, you will have to earn a living by something else.” I could become an accountant - I had the appropriate qualifications. ” But she was not needed.
At Le Mans, Drogba fell under the care of Mark Westerlop, whom he still considers the coach who had the greatest influence on him. “He gave me everything necessary for me to become what I became. He has changed a lot, not only in my game, but also in life. I used to train once or twice a week, but after signing the contract every day. ” But even with such a talented mentor, his whole career at some point hung in the balance. Twelve goals, dissolved in 64 matches over four seasons, are not a very convincing result for a large forward center.
In addition to the gradual progress in the game, his stay at Le Mans was marked by an anecdotal incident. “We conceded 0-1 at a party, and during the break Westerlope asked the heat:“ What's the matter? Why don't we play ?! Come on, show your character! ”At that moment, one of the players freed from the gas, and the coach exclaimed:“ Here! This is what you need! That's what you should be. Show yourself! ”We went out and won 2: 1.”
One way or another, Drogba was quietly adrift until January 2002, until he joined the Guingamp, an outsider club in the elite division. “Our task was not to fly out, and I knew that I had a special mission. I didn’t want to return to the second division, so I worked until the seventh sweat, improved my skills - and scored enough goals to keep the team afloat. ”
The following season, under the leadership of Guy Lyakomba, Drogba flourished with juicy colors, in 17 matches he pounded 17 goals. Where does such a transformation come from? “At Guingamp, everyone helped me. It was a great interaction with Florent Malouda (future winger of Lyon and the French team). We knew each other from the second division and got along well. The lion's share of my success belonged to him, ”Didier recalls.
Thanks to the successful season 02/03, Drogba changed the north-west coast to the south, soaring rapidly from the provincial obscurity to the foreground. Marcel bought it, and since then Drogba has been a prominent figure in European and world football. “Going to the titanium club - it was grandiose! I always supported Marseille, so I ended up in the team of my dreams. I supported her from childhood, because many African football players played in Olimpik. And they helped the team win the Champions Cup. I saw that ending on TV, and it was great! ”
At the Velodrome in 35 championship matches, Drogba scored 18 goals, and another 6 in the UEFA Cup, where on the way to the finals Marseil dealt with Liverpool and Newcastle. “It was a wonderful time. The warmth, cordiality and patience shown towards me I will never forget. I spent only one season at Marseille, although it seemed to me that for ages. Playing in such a great club, I added as a football player, because I had to constantly maintain my level. When people know how good you are, you can no longer afford to play badly. ”
The transfer to Chelsea at a cost of £ 24 million was a bolt from the blue. “It was a big surprise for me,” Drogba admits. “I expected to stay at Marseille and do something outstanding for him.” The club did not achieve success for several years, and it seemed that we were capable of much. I wanted to win French gold with the team. But soon, being in the location of the national team, I found out that Chelsea wanted to sign me. This was a surprise, and I did not know what to do. In Marseille, I had everything I wanted, in particular, good money, so there was no reason to leave. I had many good friends there. ”
But the spoken Portuguese seducer prevailed. “Mourinho noticed me when I was still playing for Guingamp. Then, when I played at Marseille, and he coached Porto, our teams met in the Champions League, and I found out that he wants to invite me, but the Portuguese can’t pull the transfer. So I already knew that he liked me as a player and that Mourinho was doing everything possible for my transfer to Chelsea. He was very convincing, and I knew that he believed in me. Therefore, I decided to go. ”
It took time to adapt to English football, and the first season at Stamford Bridge can be considered anything but an easy life. It got to the point that the summer before last, he was thinking about leaving. “Adaptation was difficult. Leaving Marseille and leaving France is not the same thing; a city on the Cote d'Azur is a state in a state. And London is completely different, especially in terms of weather. And football is also different. The English style was unusual for me, because in France I used to get the ball in my legs. Moving across the English Channel was hard for me. By the way, Sheva now faces such problems. ”
The athleticism inherent in English football also caused him trouble: Drogba was accused of “diving” and other sins of simulation. He makes excuses (not always, though convincingly) that all this is an integral part of the learning process: “People think that since I am big and strong, then I should not fall. But the English style was a curiosity to me, and at first, to protect myself, I did not use my hands. He played exactly the same as in France. In England, you can use your body more freely. I should have learned to fight for the ball, become more athletic, but when I did this, my actions were misinterpreted. Part of the problem is that martial arts, which are foul in France, are in order. ”
English Drogba is good, but not perfect, because of which, alas, misunderstandings occurred. “Once I said something in English, and when it appeared in the newspapers, it did not match what I intended to say. It was written: "Yes, I am" diving. " But I didn’t mean it. I wanted to say: "It's hard to stand on your feet when you are mercilessly fighting for the ball, and you are not used to such an athletic manner."
“Since we have talked about this, it seems to me that English fans from the truth sometimes turn their nose,” continues Drogba. “Last season I was asked:“ Did you touch the ball with your hand (scoring a goal against Manchester City)? ”I replied:“ Yes, I did. ” If I knew what noise would rise because of this, then, of course, I would be deceiving. If this happened in France, the reaction would be: “Okay, he admitted that he was wrong. We drove through. "
But even Chelsea fans didn’t make excuses for him, and when they started insulting him last season, he began to think about leaving. “When your fans treat you like that, you don't want to, but think about it. I did not like this, because since I appeared at Chelsea, I always gave myself to the club without a trace. And at the end of last season, I thought: “Maybe the fans are right. If they do not want me to play for their team, I will leave. " As a football player, you have to take such things into account, and I did it. ”
But he stayed and spends an absolutely delightful year. “This season is like the one I had at Marseille. Everything, too, went very well there. But in terms of scoring outstanding goals this season is better. ” His favorite ball - the one that was sent three weeks ago, sent from 35 meters, as from a sling, almost broke the goal net of Everton. “The Barcelona goal (winning shot in the October duel of the Champions League) was beautiful, but I prefer the ball scored at Goodison Park because it brought us three points and reduced the gap from Manchester United from five to two points.”
This season he scores more regularly than in the past thanks not so much to successful adaptation to English football as the transition of Chelsea from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. Drogba is more likely to play in an attack with a partner than to fight alone between two wingers. “For me, these schemes are very different from each other. When we play 4-3-3, I have to hang around with an idol all the time in the center. And at 4-4-2 I have more room for maneuver and self-expression. When I play the edge alone, I, with my back to the goal, have to do more wrestling, win the ball in the air so that the partners pick up and score. And when I am one of the two attackers, I have an assistant who plays on me. I am more facing the gate. Therefore, obviously, I score more often. ”
His contribution to the team game on the defensive, especially in standard positions, is almost as impressive as the current performance. He admits that the loss of Peter Terch, who had undergone surgery on his back and is still recovering from a fracture in his skull, hit Chelsea, who unexpectedly forgot how to play “zero”. “Their successors have a chance to prove their worth. I am sure: we will retain the title. I was also sure of this when we were 8 points behind. I know it will be difficult, because Manchester United are showing a good game. We really miss John Terry. As, however, and Peter, Arjen Robben and Joe Cole. But we will achieve our goal. Because, despite the fact that they are injured, they are with us. And I will play for them until they return to duty. ”
Translation by Andrey KARNAUKHOV