Speaking on the Canal Plus programme Champions Club, former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba said that he doesn’t recognise his former club, with whom he won the Champions League in 2012.
Drogba’s penalty at the Allianz Arena in the 2012 final against Bayern Munich won Chelsea their first Champions League title. They have since won a second title with Thomas Tuchel at the helm in 2021. However, the club were knocked out by Real Madrid for the second consecutive year on Tuesday night.
Carrying a two-goal deficit from the Bernabeu, the Blues went on to lose 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, meaning that Chelsea bow out with a 4-0 aggregate defeat. The club will now almost certainly go into next season without any form of European football after a turgid first full season under the ownership of Todd Boehly.
Questioned about whether he recognises his former club, Drogba responded, “I don’t recognise my club. It’s no longer the same club. There is a new owner and a new vision. Of course, we try to compare it with what happened during the (Roman) Abramovich era where a lot of players were brought in, but the decisions were very intelligent. Bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Herman Crespo, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was done to win titles. They are players with a certain experience. The strategy is now different; we bet on young players. But a dressing room of over 30 players is difficult [to manage] for a manager.”
During the conversation on Canal Plus, which came before Chelsea’s second-leg defeat, Drogba added, “They lack charismatic leaders. You need players that take on the game, that assume their responsibilities. You need a player that brings a bit of madness to the stadium.”
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
