Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho paid credit to Didier
Drogba ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League tie against Galatasaray.
Mourinho and his side will come up against former Chelsea
striker Drogba at Stamford Bridge with the last-16 clash evenly poised after a
1-1 first-leg draw in Turkey.
The Ivorian is Chelsea's fourth highest scorer in the
club's history and he is expected to receive an excellent reception in west
London.
Mourinho said the forward is one of the greatest players
ever to play for Chelsea and that he still has plenty to offer, despite being
36 years old.
"Undoubtedly (Didier Drogba) is one of the most
important players in the history of this club," he said.
"That is not a doubt. We all, as Chelsea supporters,
agree with that. We don't say the most important one because that is not fair.
"Is he the same level as when he was 26? Nobody is.
But he is one of the best strikers in the world, that's for sure."
Galatasaray came from behind to salvage a draw in the
first leg, but will need to raise their game if they are to beat last year's
UEFA Europa League winners.
Mourinho feels that the likes of Drogba and Wesley
Sneijder will make life tough for Chelsea ahead of what he predicts will be an
even encounter.
"If you look at the (first leg) one team was better
in the first half, another was better in the second half," he added.
"I believe the result will go until the end. I don't
believe one of the teams is going to make a result where everyone knows at
half-time who is going to win.
"For me (Sneijder) is one of the two or three best
number tens in the world. It is as simple as that."
Chelsea defender Gary Cahill is confident his side will
progress but joined the queue of Drogba admirers.
"The game will be tough in general but we're playing
at home, we'll be on the front foot and hopefully it goes well," Cahill
said.
"I admire Drogba as a guy, he's a fantastic players
and playing against him is going to be tough. He has a lot of quality."
Culled from Soccerway
0 comments:
Post a Comment