“Is this his last kick of a football for Chelsea? You can’t believe it. It all comes down to this. One kick of the ball from Didier Drogba.”
A harrowing silence ensues. The net ripples.
“It’s the greatest night in Chelsea history. Champions of Europe at last.”
Didier Drogba’s penalty that secured Chelsea their first and only Champion’s League trophy to date has to go down as one of the greatest moments in modern footballing history.
The Ivorian – on his last appearance for the club – almost single handedly rescued the Blues from the brink of defeat to hand the club, the fans and Roman Abramovich the trophy they had been waiting for a lifetime.
Drogba was and still remains Chelsea’s greatest ever. He won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and, of course, that Champions League trophy during his two-stints at Stamford Bridge, making him one of the club’s most coveted players of all time.
351 goals for club and country. But which 10 are the best? Here, on what is his 39th birthday, we take a closer look…
10) Galatasaray 3-2 Real Madrid, 2013
The big man proved he still had it with this sublime back heel finish vs. Real Madrid in the knock-out stages of the Champions League back in 2013.
3-0 down from the first leg, Drogba and the Turkish outfit did their best at a thrilling comeback, but it wasn’t to be, with a late Ronaldo goal ending all hopes of a revival.
9) Chelsea 2-1 Hull City, 2010
Did he mean it? I’m convinced he did. This audacious finish gave Carlo Ancelotti a winning start to his Chelsea career as Drogba’s last minute chip secured all three points for the home side in what was a tense opening day fixture at Stamford Bridge.
Some would say the Ivorian was aiming for Kalou in the middle, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
8) Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea, 2012
It would seem rude not to put an international goal in this list considering Drogba is his country’s all time top scorer with 65 goals.
Many of them weren’t the stunning strikes he was used to scoring, but this goal vs Guinea was an absolute trademark header from the big man, who rifled Yaya Toure’s cross into the top corner.
7) Marseille 1-0 Montpellier
There was a reason Chelsea paid £24million for Drogba, and this is why. Voted Ligue 1’s Goal of the Season, this terrific volley secured Marseille victory in a tense 1-0 victory over Montpellier and added to Drogba’s tally of 19 for the season in his only term with the club.
6) Chelsea 2-1 AC Milan, 2009
A goal that may fall into the category of insignificant in terms of importance considering it was a pre-season friendly in America, but this was still a fantastic strike.
The sheer audacity as Drogba picks the ball up 30-yards from goal and nonchalantly hammers it into the top corner without so much as even a look up is outstanding.
5) Everton 2-3 Chelsea, 2007
Pick that out. This thumping half volley secured Chelsea a dramatic late victory at Goodison Park in what was a thrilling fixture.
Drogba won the Premier League Golden Boot that season, but perhaps this was the pick of the bunch.
4) Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United, 2007
Mr Cup Final himself at it again as he played a brilliant one-two with Frank Lampard, only to dink the ball over Edwin Van de Sar and all but seal the FA Cup for the Blues.
It was the first cup final goal ever scored at the new Wembley Stadium, and it was certainly one to remember.
3) Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea, 2006
The Blues came from behind to clinch the 2006 Carling Cup final with this textbook header from the striker. Possibly the best big game player there has ever been, this was one of nine cup final goals he scored for Chelsea, which is an astonishing record, and something that no player has yet to replicate in world football.
2) Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool, 2006
That is absolutely outrageous. The control, the swivel and the strike. Quite how Didier Drogba managed this I’ll never know, as his 18-yard wonder strike left Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina wondering what on earth had happened.
1) Bayern Munich 1-1 Chelsea, 2012
Yes, the penalty is arguably the greatest moment in Drogba’s career, but the best goal? It has to be the one that earned him that spot kick. The Blues looked down and out in the Champions League final, but thanks to this bullet header in the 88th minute, the game went to extra time and penalties – we all know what happened next.
West Ham vs. Hull may not be the most exciting tie on the cards this weekend, but it really is an intriguing one given reports from the London Evening Standard this week.Indeed, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic is facing three games that may decide his future at the London Stadium with the board worried about the progress, or lack of, made in the east end of the capital this season, and with Arsenal and Swansea the other two ties, the Croatian really cannot afford to lost to Marco Silva’s Tigers.[ad_pod id=’eplayer’ align=’center’]However, the aforementioned Portuguese tactician’s home record as a manager will surely be keeping Bilic up at night…
Silva has not lost a match in his own back yard in three years, winning a staggering 31 of the 38. That record spans the latter months of his time at Sporting CP in his homeland and the entirety of his Olympiakos reign in Greece, in which time he lifted the Greek Superleague title and Portugal’s equivalent to the FA Cup, the Taca de Portugal.
Though Newcastle United have the joint-best defensive record in the Sky Bet Championship this season, Chancel Mbemba’s performance against Sheffield Wednesday over the course of the weekend raised an interesting debate.
The Congolese was afforded a rare start by manager Rafa Benitez in the game prior to the loss at Hillsborough and he appeared to take his chance against Burton Albion, though was poor in Sheffield on Saturday evening.
Since, there’s been talk online as to whether or not the former Anderlecht man is indeed the Toon’s best defender. While he looked promising at times last season, life in the second tier doesn’t appear to suit his game, despite the ability shown in the Premier League.
Clearly, Mbemba has talent. Still, the form of Ciaran Clark since his move from Aston Villa last summer has seen the Irishman become influential in a Magpies side trying to make an instant return to the English elite.
So, we asked our Newcastle-supporting readers here on Football FanCast exactly who they thought was actually the club’s best defender.
As you can see from the ratings below, Clark comes out on top by a distance, with 22 positives votes compared to his teammate, who garnered just 6. That’s a mammoth 88% of voters who believe Clark can claim the mantle.
Chelsea have offered support to Borussia Dortmund after their team bus suffered an attack ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Monaco at the Westfalenstadion.
Dortmund police have confirmed that three explosions hit a coach carrying the football team as they travelled to the stadium, reports BBC News.
Marc Bartra suffered a broken wrist as a result of the glass windows smashing during the attack, and the Bundesliga club later confirmed that the Spaniard underwent an operation in hospital.
No other people were hurt and all the players were taken to safety after the attack.
The Guardian reports that a letter claiming responsibility for the incident was found at the scene, but police are refusing to give further details until it is checked thoroughly.
As a result of the attack, the quarter-final first leg was rescheduled for Wednesday at 5:45pm UK time.
The severity of the incident has encouraged football clubs around Europe to offer their support, and Chelsea were one of them.
The Premier League leaders tweeted the German outfit, and the Chelsea fans praised them for doing so.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte gave Nathan Ake just his third start of the season in his side’s 4-2 victory against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday after he replaced the ill Gary Cahill, and the Italian confirmed in his pre-match press conference for the Premier League clash against Southampton that he was impressed with his performance.
The Blues skipper missed the clash against Spurs after picking up a virus that hospitalised him late last week, with 22-year-old Ake brought in to replace him in his first appearance since a 2-0 win against Wolves in the same competition back in February.
The defender impressed in the three-man defence alongside David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta, helping to nullify the threat of the impressive Tottenham attack, but could be replaced by Cahill after the centre-back returned to training.
Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on the performance of Ake and potential return of Cahill via social media, with many keen to see the former keep his place in the starting line-up at the expense of the England international.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction to the news…
Arsenal ended Manchester United’s 25-match unbeaten run in the Premier League and kept their chances of securing a top-four spot alive by beating the Red Devils 2-0 at the Emirates on Sunday.
Quick-fire second half goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck saw the Gunners close the gap on fourth-placed Manchester City to six points as they look qualify for next season’s Champions League, and they have a game in hand against Southampton on Wednesday.
As well as being the first time Arsene Wenger had beaten Jose Mourinho in the league, it also provided the north London outfit with a bit of revenge after United ended their 49-match unbeaten run in 2004.
Arsenal supporters were quick to have their say on the outcome via social media, and they were understandably as delighted with ending the Red Devils’ record as they were with picking up all three points.
Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha has a massive job ahead of him this summer as he tries to not only ship out underperforming stars at Ibrox but attract players of quality to the club that will help him in his aim of closing the gap on arch-rivals Celtic.
Resources are scarce at the Light Blues so Caixinha needs to know that every player coming in can do the job he requires them to do. A key strategy in ensuring that will be targeting players he has worked with before, players he respects and who respect him.
Coming into Rangers and changing the training culture of the club is not proving to be easy so he needs a core group of players who know how he works and how to adapt themselves to his methods.
Having worked in seven different countries throughout his career, the Ibrox boss has likely built up a large network of former players and contacts, so how does he leverage that and who should he target?
Here are FOUR former Caixinha players that we reckon could make an impact at Rangers…
Rashid Sumaila
Rashid Sumaila is a Ghanain international who was one of Pedro Caixinha’s most trusted players at former club Al-Gharafa. A central defender with committed tackling skills and a strong physical presence, he is out of contract with parent club Al-Qadsia at the end of the season.
He has won 6 caps for his country and in 2011 won the ‘Best Defender Award’ with the Ghana Football Association.
This is an area of the team that Rangers badly need improvement in with the likes of Rob Kiernan just not getting the job done this season. With Clint Hill and Philippe Senderos also said to be leaving Rangers this summer, the Ibrox side could do with some fresh blood in the heart of defence.
At 24, Sumaila has his whole career ahead of him and taking the big step to move to Glasgow could be the making of him.
Krisztian Nemeth
Hard working striker Krisztian Nemeth also played for Pedro Caixinha at Al-Gharafa and has scored 13 goals in 26 appearances for the club. With his contract up in the summer, will Pedro Caixinha be tempted to give him the call to come to Glasgow?
Formerly of Liverpool, the 28 year old has led a nomadic life as a professional footballer, never really finding a home, having played for 11 teams already in his career. Perhaps a move to Rangers and Ibrox would provide him a footballing home to ply his trade.
He likely has the quality to be a hit in the Scottish Premiership with 30 caps for his country including experience at international tournaments like Euro 2016.
Far from what you would call a poacher, his grafting style could fit Caixinha’s Rangers perfectly. They definitely need some new talent in attack with the likes of Martyn Waghorn and Joe Garner simply not up to the task for the majority of this season.
Vladimir Weiss
A name very well known to Rangers fans, Vladimir Weiss would be reunited with both manager and club should he make the return to Glasgow. He starred on the wing for the Ibrox boss at Al-Gharafa and of course had an exceptional title-winning season at Rangers in 2010/11, on loan from Manchester City.
Ultimately a move for the winger may come down to what funds are available to the manager in the summer but if Dave King can show a bit of ambition and find a few million quid, a move for the likes of Weiss would certainly prove popular with supporters, who know he has the quality to be a success in the Scottish Premiership.
Since leaving the Gers he’s had spells at Espanyol, Olympiakos and Pescara. With close to 60 caps for his country, it’s clear his ability hasn’t faded.
Jose Abella
Jose Abella is a one club man, having been at Santos Laguna for the entirety of his career. At the age of 23 he may fancy a move away from his homeland and where better than reuniting with the manager who brought Santos Laguna great success?
He was part of Pedro Caxinha’s Mexican title-winning side, starring on the right hand side of defence, an area Rangers fans have been dying for improvement in all season.
James Tavernier isn’t the most popular man at Ibrox after a series of poor defensive performances cost the Light Blues plenty of goals. His positioning is a real detriment to the team sometimes and improving this area of the team would likely go down well.
A former Mexican youth international, Abella clearly enjoyed his spell with Caixinha, telling ESPN last year:
“The fundamental thing was the way he lives games, the passion in each action … it helped me a lot. The training was always based on intensity and exercises with the ball. I learned a lot and will be eternally grateful.”
Can Rangers capitalise on that good relationship and bring a quality right-back to the club?
England captain Wayne Rooney was left out of Gareth Southgate’s latest Three Lions squad for two fixtures next month as rumours suggest that his international career is coming to an end.
They face a crucial 2018 World Cup qualifier against Scotland at Hampden Park before facing France in a friendly at the Stade de France a few days later.
The 31-year-old is his country’s record goalscorer having made his debut in 2003, but despite netting 53 goals in 119 caps since he has struggled to secure first team football for Manchester United under Jose Mourinho this season, and Southgate has opted to pick other in-form players instead.
Fans were quick to give their reaction to the news that the skipper had been dropped via social media, and the majority agreed that it was the right decision and that England must be looking ahead to the future.
The official PFA Team of the Season was announced last month and somewhat inevitably, the line-up was dominated by the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
In fact, title winners Chelsea had the most representatives with five, whilst all eleven members are employed by teams to finish the campaign in the top seven.
Yet that big-club-centric view seems misguided. Of course, the majority of the best players ply their trade at the top of the table and thus, their form has been the most consistent because they’re in the best teams.
But that shouldn’t take away from the number of players who’ve performed repeatedly well for lesser sides under arguably tougher circumstances, with the threat of relegation lingering over them.
With that in mind, FootballFanCast are bucking the trend, focusing on the Premier League’s best of the rest in our non-top seven Team of the Season. Do you agree with our selections? Let us know by commenting below…
GK – Jordan Pickford
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Considering how badly Sunderland would have fared this season without the talismanic performances of Jordan Pickford borders upon disturbing.
Whilst Jermain Defoe produced the goods at the other end, Pickford’s displays between the sticks verged on miraculous and kept the Black Cats’ survival bid alive for far longer than it should have been.
He finishes the season with the most saves of any goalkeeper, a staggering 110, and will almost certainly be leaving Sunderland this summer for a top Premier League club.
RCB: Gareth McAuley
He may not be the most glamorous of defenders and West Brom certainly aren’t the most glamorous of teams.
But Tony Pulis’ boys have performed beyond expectations this term, albeit ending the season in 10th place, and at the age of 37, Gareth McAuley has played a huge role at both ends of the pitch, scoring six and setting one up whilst providing a monolithic presence at the heart of defence.
Rather tellingly, the Baggies lost both of their league games without the Northern Ireland defender this season.
CB – Virgil van Dijk
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During the first half of the season, there wasn’t a better centre-back in the Premier League – Virgil van Dijk combining an imposing physicality with an eloquent ability to play out of the back like no other defender in the division.
Had it not been for a season-ending injury in January the Dutchman would likely have claimed a place in the PFA Team of the Year. Nonetheless, he’s another who looks certain to move to an elite Premier League club this summer.
LCB – Michael Keane
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Burnley’s survival bid hinged on defensive resilience and the near-impervious displays of centre-back Michael Keane were inevitably an underlying factor. The 24-year-old has been immense all season and his form was rightly recognised with two England caps in March.
Not only a fine talent in footballing terms, the youngster has emerged as a real leader of Burnley’s starting XI. The division’s top clubs will be snooping around him this summer.
RM – Michail Antonio
Perhaps an ironic inclusion considering the furore surrounding his selections as a wing-back earlier this season, but needs must for our non-top seven XI and Michail Antonio’s form has been up there with the division’s best, notching up nine goals and three assists whilst being jostled around a variety of roles.
In addition to his impressive output, however, it’s the West Ham forward’s attitude, energy and industriousness that has earned him a spot on the right-hand side in this select XI.
CM – Oriol Romeu
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Oriol Romeu came from big-club football, spending the early stages of his career at Barcelona and Chelsea, and judging by his performances this season, the Spanish anchorman deserves another crack at it.
He’s been monolithic at the base of Southampton’s engine room, not only producing the level of tackles and interceptions you’d expect from a defensive midfielder but also playing a huge role in directing traffic with the ball. Rather tellingly, he tops Southampton’s charts for tackles and passes per match.
CM – Gylfi Sigurdsson
Unquestionably the most talented midfielder outside of the Premier League’s top seven, Gylfi Sigurdsson has been the difference in this season’s relegation battle, producing the third-most assists of any Premier League player, 13, whilst weighing in with nine goals.
He also ranks top throughout the top flight for crosses per match, 2.3, and tenth for chances created per match, despite representing a side that spent much of the season lingering either side of the drop line.
LM – Charlie Daniels
One of the most unassuming footballers you’ll ever see, Charlie Daniels looks like he’s just been press-ganged off the street but few left-backs have been effective as the 30-year-old going forward this season, bagging four goals and three assists whilst producing just shy of one created chance and one successful dribble per match.
The Cherries have finished the season in an impressive ninth place and tellingly of his influence, Daniels started all but four of their league fixtures.
RF – Wilfried Zaha
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We’ve finally seen the enormous potential tipped of Wilfried Zaha truly come to the fore this season, finishing it with seven goals, nine assists and the second-most successful dribbles of any Premier League player after Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.
Furthermore, Zaha has produced the goods against high-quality opposition, bagging one goal and five assists against the top six, and when Palace have needed him most, scoring in the 4-0 win over Hull City that guaranteed their Premier League survival.
Perhaps more intriguingly, no attacking midfielder, winger or striker has completed more tackles per match than him this season.
LF – Dimitri Payet
He may have only taken part in 18 Premier League games but Dimitri Payet was a real force during the first half of the campaign. In fact, he’s still finished the season with the most assists of any West Ham player, six, and the highest chances-per-match ratio of any Premier League player with a staggering 4.1.
Despite his incredible individual displays, the Hammers actually improved after the Frenchman left for Marseille – but he still earns a spot in our non-top-seven XI.
ST – Joshua King
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What an incredible 2017 it’s been for Bournemouth striker Joshua King.
Since the turn of the year, the Norway international has pretty much doubled his career tally with 13 goals in the top flight, firing Bournemouth to their first ever top-half finish in the Premier League and himself to joint-eighth in the division’s final scoring chart alongside Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.
It feels like a real coming-of-age campaign for the former Manchester United youngster and Cherries fans will be hoping his stunning 2017 form carries into next season.
Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs is not being considered by Southampton as a candidate for their managerial vacancy, reports the Daily Mail.
What’s the story?
A story in the Daily Mail last week claimed that Giggs was keen to take on the job at St Mary’s, feeling that it was the perfect club to begin his career in management.
Southampton are on the hunt for a new leader following the departure of Claude Puel, who lasted just one season at the coastal club.
The Daily Echo claims that the Saints have set a 10-day deadline to appoint a new man, and Mauricio Pellegrino and Frank de Boer are expected to be interviewed.
One man who is not in the running is Giggs, who the Daily Mail reports is not wanted by Southampton due to his lack of experience.
Another rejection for Giggs
It is the second time in nine months that the Welshman has not been considered by a Premier League club.
Swansea City were thought to be an option for the ex-United star as he was interviewed for the position, but they too went in another direction due to concerns over his CV.
Giggs spent his entire playing career at United and after hanging up his boots, he became assistant coach to David Moyes and then Louis van Gaal.
It was initially thought that he was being groomed as the next United manager, but when Jose Mourinho was hired last summer, Giggs opted to quit.
Since then, he has flitted in and out of TV punditry appearances, but is yet to get his management career off the ground.
What does he need to do?
Giggs has an incredible reputation as a player due to his trophy-laden years at United, but that does not guarantee him a top job in management.
His stature within the game does not automatically give him the right to jump into a Premier League job with very little experience.
Like most coaches, he should attempt to work his way up the ladder by first cutting his teeth at a lower-league club.
A move such as that would also benefit him as he would not feel mounting pressure that he would if given the reins at a top-flight club.