Not every time you find a Coach speak so highly of his Player but when you find one speaking so highly of an ex-player, then you know the relationship goes beyond the length and breadth of the pitch. Jose's forward on Drogba's Autobiography below.
I’m a person who likes to treasure memories, and with them I can
tell the world many things. I’m not a writer, even less a poet, but my
life has been rich with stories, stories full of extraordinary moments.
Looking back at them, I can find only a few special people who I will
keep in my soul and in my heart forever.
Didier Drogba came into my life in the fifth minute of a
Champions League game in Marseille’s mythical Vélodrome. I’d hardly sat
down when that giant with the number 11 on his shirt scored. I remember
he celebrated that goal like it was his last and he turned an already
hostile atmosphere into a fireball of flares, chants and emotion. The
crowd went mad, the noise was deafening.
At half-time I found him in the tunnel and told him: ‘I don’t have
the money to buy you, but do you have any cousins that can play like you
in the Ivory Coast?’ In the middle of this tense qualification game he
laughed, hugged me and said: ‘One day you’ll be in a club which can buy
me.’
Six months later I signed for Chelsea. I had found a super
powerful club which everybody wanted to negotiate with, everybody wanted
to be linked to – and everybody wanted to play for. I had a number of
options, but I arrived and said: ‘I want Didier Drogba.’ Doubts and
questions were raised by a few people: ‘Why this one?’, ‘Why not that
one?’, ‘Are you sure he will adapt?’, ‘Is he really that good?’
‘I want Didier Drogba,’ I said.
A few days passed and I met with Didier in a private airport in
London. Again he hugged me, but this time in an unforgettable way: an
embrace that showed this man’s gratitude, and the affection he feels
towards people who mean a lot to him. Indescribable. Then he told me:
‘Thank you. I will fight for you. You won’t regret it. I will stay loyal
to you forever.’ And that’s just what he’s done. His loyalty came out
in his leadership and in the way he always faced up to the difficult
moments. Moments when nothing else matters than to be there for your
leader and your colleagues. This was a person I knew I could count on
whenever and wherever I needed. When the team was under pressure he
would go back and help the defenders; when he felt pain he would stretch
himself to the limit and never give up. Then of course came what he did
best: he scored and scored. Those goals brought him titles, amazing
awards, but what stays with me are the countless stories we have
together.
The FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium, 2007. Manchester
United: the last game of the season. A lot of people thought this would
be my last game in charge of Chelsea. It was a great battle, and then
Didier scored in extra-time. The final whistle blew and everybody went
mad – apart from two calm individuals. I ran into the dressing room to
call my wife. One player avoided the immediate celebrations and followed
me down the tunnel. It was Didier, chasing me for a hug. The game was
over but in his mind as he left the pitch was only one thing: to hug me
as soon as possible. Was he remembering our first encounter? Our second?
Or was he thinking that this embrace could be the last…? He found me,
we hugged and we cried.
Didier is a special person. And I repeat if I may: person. I
could say player of course – and he’s an unbelievable one – but above
all, his impact on the world at the moment is as a person: as an
African, as an emperor of the Ivory Coast, as a father, and as a son and
as a friend. And some of us have the privilege to have him in our
lives. Months after the Cup final I was out of Chelsea. As on the first
day, there came that same embrace. I couldn’t speak and Didier could
only say: ‘This is not possible, this is not possible, this is not
happening.’ I could only find the strength to turn and walk away.
Perhaps this preface should focus on Didier the player. But the
player everybody knows – the leader, the title collector, the benefactor
as well. All these things he has achieved with skill, effort and
humility. Didier is in my life as one of the best players I have managed
in my career. But much more importantly, he’s in my life as one of the
best and most unforgettable friends.Together, the two of us side by
side, fighting for the same thing? Far away? In different clubs? In
different countries? Or old, with Didier in retirement and me coaching
in a wheelchair? It doesn’t matter.
Didier. Always near to my heart.”
José Mourinho
It has been a weekend of goals, controversy and sublime football. Arsenal produced a moment of brilliance to score their first goal as they thrashed Norwich 4-1 at the Emirates. United dropped points again at Old Trafford albeit not losing this time. Chelsea edge Liverpool to go 2nd as Samuel Eto controversially setup the first goal in the 4-1 defeat of Cardiff City.