I think Martin Tyler said it best when Didier Drogba
converted the spot kick that won Chelsea the Champions League last May against
Bayern Munich.
“Drogba may never play for Chelsea again,” the renowned
broadcaster cried, “but he will never be forgotten! He’s immortal at this
football club!”
And it was true.
But then, in the blink of an eye, Drogba was suddenly gone
after signing a lucrative deal with Shanghai Shenua, as if the whole thing had
never happened (and for what Chelsea supporters have endured this season, it
may actually feel like it didn’t). The move to China effectively ended a
magnificent eight years in West London for the veteran striker, who took his
leave having just completed a remarkable denouement in European football.
Or so we thought.
Flash forward nine months, an on-going contract dispute, and
a convoluted transfer later, and Drogba now finds himself back on the continent
that has made him so famous, only this time, with Turkish giants Galatasaray.
According to Google Maps, Turk Telekom Arena—Drogba’s new
home—is 1,868 miles from Stamford Bridge; that’s almost a four-hour flight, a
30-hour drive, or nearly an entire continent, apart. But no matter the great
distance, the Ivory Coast international’s presence—or rather, lack thereof—is
still seriously being felt at Chelsea.
When Drogba first announced that he would be substituting
Fulham Road for the Far East, Chelsea fans must have been saddened, but
empathetic. The club had just won its first-ever European Cup to cap off one of
the most miraculous Champions League runs in history due in large part to the
exploits of its now departing star, whose final touch of the ball in a Chelsea
shirt won the club its most coveted prize. But Drogba was 34 years old, out of
a contract, and wanted a change of scenery—he lots more money, too.
“Fair enough,” Chelsea fans said to themselves, still distracted
and jubilant over the capturing of their elusive holy grail. “We’ll miss you,
Didier, but we’ll probably be fine with Fernando Torres.”
Famous last words.
It is no secret—in fact, it is an immutable truth—that
Chelsea have struggled mightily this season without Drogba up front. After
dipping into Roman Abramovich’s endless coffers this summer and revamping their
attack with exuberant youngsters like Oscar, Eden Hazard, and Victor Moses, the
Blues were expected to play like European victors once again, especially with
Champions League winners such as Ramires, Juan Mata, and Frank Lampard
returning. The creativity of the renovated midfield combined with the savvy
knowhow of the veterans was supposed to dovetail beautifully with Chelsea’s new
starting number nine, Euro 2012’s Golden Boot Winner, Fernando Torres.
But it isn’t, hasn’t, and likely never will, go according to
plan.
Last year’s crucial goal against Barcelona notwithstanding,
the Spaniard (formerly) known as El Niño has failed to leave much of any kind
of mark at Chelsea during his 27-month career. Torres has scored just 14 league
goals in his first three seasons with the club, compared to Drogba’s 42 from
2004-07, when he joined Chelsea from Marseille at the same age as his former
teammate (26).
Demba Ba has shone glimpses of greatness, but an injury and
a lack of opportunity with Torres and his £50 million price tag still atop the
pecking order, has stunted his potential growth.
The precocious Romelu Lukaku is enjoying a tremendous year
of first-team football, but unfortunately for another club in West Brom where
he will remain on loan until the end of the season, and perhaps even longer
than that.
Drogba can do little to harm to Chelsea right now while
plying his trade in Turkey, but his absence this season, which in hindsight was
always going to be a rough one of transition, could perhaps best be described
as conspicuously detrimental, as the club has yet to find a suitable
replacement for him.
As a life-long Chelsea supporter, I was initially excited
when I heard that Galatasaray had decided to sign Drogba during the January
transfer window and pair him with Dutch maestro of the midfield Wesley
Sneijder, giving the Turks a genuine chance in the final 16 of the Champions
League. But when I learned of the length of Drogba’s contract (18 months), I
couldn’t help but feel a vague pang of resentment toward the Ivorian, who still
clearly has so much to offer (despite his noticeable late-game huffing and
puffing during the 2nd leg against Schalke over a fortnight ago).
Why hadn’t he simply re-signed for that long with Chelsea?
Drogba couldn’t have possibly foreseen the power struggle
that erupted at Shanghai Shenua so soon after his arrival, which eventually led
to his transfer to Galatasaray. Had he had that particular clairvoyance, he
might have re-signed with Chelsea even on reduced terms following his famous
PK. The Blues reportedly offered Drogba another contract in January to rescue
him away from the tumult in China, but were promptly rejected because they
couldn’t provide the striker with what Galatasaray could: Champions League
football.
To be sure, Chelsea still find themselves playing in Europe
at this particular juncture of the season, despite it being Europa League
football. But one wonders if Chelsea might still be playing in the more
prestigious of the two annual continental tournaments had Drogba opted to stay
at Stamford Bridge for another season.
Drogba wasn’t always Mr. Consistency for the Blues. In fact,
he was a bit of a loose cannon at times. There was the notorious slapping of
Nemanja Vidic and his subsequent sending off during extra time of the 2008
Champions League Final against Manchester United, a dismissal that ensured that
John Terry would suffer the most ignominious moment of his career (and that’s
really saying something) when the defender slipped and missed the winning
penalty—that would have been Drogba’s—in the shootout. Chelsea fans will
remember Drogba’s post-match polemic launched at Tom Henning Ovrebo the
following season when Chelsea crashed out of the semifinals of the same
tournament to Barcelona after the infamous Norwegian referee denied Chelsea a
handful of penalties. The striker sustained his fair share of injuries during
his career at Stamford Bridge as well.
Yes, Drogba might have been a loose cannon at times. But he
was our loose cannon. 100 league
goals in 226 appearances, not to mention 157 goals in all competitions with
nine of those coming in nine cup finals, including the game-tying header
against Bayern, and of course, the penalty kick, have all cemented his legacy
as one of Chelsea’s greatest-ever players (or the club’s greatest-ever player
according to a November 2012 poll of 20,000 fans conducted by Chelsea
Magazine). But the fluorescent orange banner hanging in the corner of the West
Stand and the Shed End of Stamford Bridge that reads: “DROGBA LEGEND” in big
black letters with an accompanying headshot of the Ivorian striker—as well as
the massive void that’s been missing at the spearhead of Chelsea’s formation in
almost every match this season—serves as a constant reminder of just how
unforgettable the two-time African Footballer of the Year really is to the West
London faithful.
And while part of me would like to see Drogba on that big
stage in consecutive seasons and watch as he shocks the world and leads
Galatasaray to a stunning Porto-esque Champions League victory, another part of
me would like to see his Turkish side vanquished swiftly by mentor Jose
Mourinho and Real Madrid, and then to have Chelsea go on to celebrate a Europa
League title, which would surely get Drogba’s attention. Maybe then, as the
Blues hoist the UEFA Cup, cavorting and spraying champagne on one another, will
it finally dawn on Drogba that he should have stayed, and that, had he done so,
the Blues might have won the big one for a second straight year.
Either way, I think I speak for every Chelsea fan when I say
to Didier: You are missed dearly and daily, and your shoes are nearly
impossible to fill. Good luck, old friend.
