It was not his three-match Champions League ban, the prospect of being sold by Chelsea last summer or the disapproval of some fans that convinced Didier Drogba to change his ways, but being reprimanded by his young son. Shortly after his infamous wild-eyed rant at Tom Henning Ovrebo, the referee, which followed his side’s Champions League exit to Barcelona last season, the striker was approached by eight-year-old Isaac Drogba, who told him what he and even the most avid fan knew in their heart of hearts: that Daddy had done wrong. Drogba had already apologised to Ovrebo and the watching millions shocked by his very public profanities, but being shamed by his son increased his determination to alter his behaviour.
“I don’t always worry about what people think, but on this occasion it was really important to come out and apologise because of kids watching the games,” Drogba said. “My son was watching with his friends from school and I was embarrassed by my behaviour. The good thing was that Isaac came to me and said, ‘It’s not right what you did, Dad, you should have had more penalties, but it’s not right to do that to referees.’
“I told him never to do what I did. He’s 8 and plays for Chelsea Under-9s, but is very different to me. He’s really calm.”
It is difficult to reconcile the angry, out-of-control Drogba from that unforgettable night at Stamford Bridge, who earlier in the season hurled a coin at a Burnley fan at the same stadium, with the mild-mannered individual encountered this week chatting amiably to an elderly couple taking tea in a slightly stuffy Surrey hotel. The notion of the ultra-aggressive competitor who is as meek as a mouse off the pitch, whether it be the eye-gouging forward or sledging fast bowler, is one of sport’s great clichés, but in Drogba’s case it may just be true.
The Ivory Coast captain is genuinely gratified at the photographer’s words of praise for his country’s capital city, Abidjan, where he is planning to build a hospital, and thankful for the interest shown in his charity work.
Drogba is shrewd enough to acknowledge the disparity between his public persona and the way he is viewed by those who know him, which he attributes to his all-consuming passion for his sport and an intense desire to win, a characteristic that goes some way to explaining the strength of his bond with his former manager at Chelsea, José Mourinho. He claims to be unaware of the source of such emotional volatility, but an amateur psychologist could find several clues in his unusual upbringing.
Drogba left home at the age of 5 to pursue a career as a professional footballer in France, making a limited impression at several small clubs before establishing himself with Marseilles in his mid-twenties. Such repeated rejection forged an understandable determination to make the most of every opportunity, although even he was shocked at the extent of his outburst after the defeat on the away goals rule by Barcelona.
“I’ve always been very emotional, but don’t really know why,” Drogba said. “My parents are very calm and quiet people, as am I in private, but when I’m on the pitch I’m different. Sometimes I see videos of matches and think, ‘Did I really do that?’ You’re kind of aware you’re doing it at the time, but when you sit on your sofa watching the game you think, ‘Was it really that bad?’
“It was really difficult after the Barcelona game because I made a mistake, but was frustrated that people didn’t understand why I reacted. I apologised and everything, but I also wanted to show I’m not the person people think I am. I’m not a bad guy, I just want to win and sometimes I react. The passion drives me. It’s a part of my behaviour I need to improve, but people are human beings.”
Drogba made his peace with Ovrebo at his Uefa hearing in June, a meeting that played its part in changing his attitude to referees. The 31-year-old also claims to have altered his thinking regarding the other controversy that has dogged him since signing for Chelsea five years ago, the thorny subject of diving. Although Drogba still occasionally goes to ground rather too easily for a man of his size, he makes a convincing case that height is not an advantage for staying upright, while his theatrics have diminished over the years.
“I had to adapt my game from the French culture to the English culture, which was not easy,” Drogba said. “I had to understand that in England, even when there’s strong contact, the referees will not always give a foul, so I had to go to the gym a little bit more and get stronger.
“It means nothing to be tall in football. For example, a player like John Carew is big, but with a small contact you can put him on the floor. If he’s running fast and you push him, he’s on the floor. Wayne Rooney is small, but very strong. He has a different body shape and lower centre of gravity, so he won’t go to the floor as easily as us tall players.”
Irrespective of Drogba’s protestations of innocence, his imperious form at the start of the season is beyond dispute, resulting partly from an improved mental attitude, but also because he is finally over a serious knee injury. Drogba’s superb performances are largely responsible for Chelsea’s two-point lead in the Barclays Premier League, which he hopes to extend to five by beating second-placed Manchester United tomorrow in a match that also gives him the opportunity to atone for other sins.
The red card that marred Chelsea’s Champions League final defeat in Moscow two seasons ago has been largely forgotten, but Drogba is anxious to make up for his poor performance at Old Trafford last season, when the visiting team were humiliated 3-0 by a rampant United.
“It’s not about revenge, but I want to make up for last season’s embarrassment,” he said. “I
didn’t play well that game. It was the third game in a row I’d played after a long period without many games.
“I had a bad game, the whole team had a bad game, but since then things have changed and the team is in a different shape. The players are the same, but mentally we’re in a different position. We’re two points in front now and have to maintain the gap, or create a bigger one.”
In those final days of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s regime in January, with the club’s main goalscorer struggling for fitness and being largely overlooked by the manager, it was difficult to see Drogba staying at Chelsea beyond the rest of the season, never mind agreeing to the new contract he signed last summer. Such is his contentment now, however, that he is talking about finishing his playing days at the club and even staying in England at the end of his career. The itinerant warrior may have finally found a home.
“I’d like to end my career at Chelsea, but hope I can play for more than the three years on my contract,” Drogba said. “I played my first Champions League game at 25 so am still very fresh and hungry. Maybe I’ll spend some time in France, but I see no reason to leave England when I’m finished.
“I said to my kids that maybe we’re going to leave, but they said, ‘No, no, no, we stay here.’ They have lots of friends and go to birthday parties every week. I don’t want to leave.”
Once again, Drogba is content to listen to the advice of his son.
How death of a young boy initiated player’s charity
•Didier Drogba is enjoying the best form of his career, but takes more pride from the work he does for a charitable foundation in his name. The Chelsea striker set up the Didier Drogba Foundation after the death of a close friend from leukaemia three years ago and it gained impetus after the stadium disaster in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, this year, when the collapse of a wall killed 19 fans.
•Drogba’s present project is to build a new hospital in the city and, having bought the land himself, the striker is committed to raising £2.5 million to get it open within the next two years, with a fundraising dinner being held at The Dorchester in Central London this month.
•“This foundation is really important to me as it started because of the death of Stefan, who was only a young boy,” Drogba said. “I did everything I could to bring him to Europe for treatment, but it took a long time and as soon as he got the visa, he died two days later. I started with some work with an orphanage but am ready for a bigger project that can make more impact. Building this hospital should improve conditions for at least some in Ivory Coast.”
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