Champions League 2011/12

Boxtyeater wrote: There's no way the use of the word "cheat" can be applied to Chelsea's victory last night.

I never said that. Drogba is the cheat.

SamiPremier08 wrote:

Boxtyeater wrote: There's no way the use of the word "cheat" can be applied to Chelsea's victory last night.

I never said that. Drogba is the cheat.

After Saturday night's performance, when he pulled the game out of the fire for his side with a stunning goal, and then followed up with the penalty that won the cup, aren't there any other words you could think of to describe him?

Drogba was immense on Saturday night. There are many dislikeable aspects to his game and to his character, but he is one player that would make every single team in the world stronger if he were in it.
He's got great footballing talent, he's strong as an ox, and he's got the work-rate of Roy Keane. I can't stand the man, but by God do I respect him, and I would love to see him playing for United instead of Chelsea.
Whilst the tackle that gave away the penalty was clumsy, the fact that he spent so much time in and around the Chelsea box defending, and was up the other end of the pitch leading the line shows the heart in the big guy. An immense performance.

However, all the hype over the final has been Drogba. It was Petr Cech who won this title for Chelsea. He kept them in the competition with some immense saves against Barca, and again on Saturday he was the match-winner. The clinching save from Schweinsteiger's penalty was incredible (he got the slightest of touches to push it onto the post, despite pretty much every report claiming Schweinsteiger simply hit the post). No man on the pitch deserved the trophy more than Cech, and for him alone I was delighted to see Chelsea lifting the Cup (and even more delighted to see JT getting squeezed out of the pictures )

Go easy on young Sami, he is just getting excited at the prospect of seeing his beloved Wednesday back in the Championship next season and hoping they follow Norwich and Southampton in back to back promotions! Champions League? You're having a laugh! The Championship is the best league in Europe!!!

Thomas Clarke wrote:

SamiPremier08 wrote:

Boxtyeater wrote: There's no way the use of the word "cheat" can be applied to Chelsea's victory last night.

I never said that. Drogba is the cheat.

After Saturday night's performance, when he pulled the game out of the fire for his side with a stunning goal, and then followed up with the penalty that won the cup, aren't there any other words you could think of to describe him?

Plenty. I believe I have already stated in previous posts that Drogba is an incredible player. This does not, however, change the fact that he is a cheat.

I wholeheartedly agree with your comments about his performance, his desire, his goals and his impact on the match. Unfortunately he wins no favour with me because of the above undeniable aspect of his game.

I would rather save my respect and praise for a player who performs well and does so fairly.

bald eagle wrote:Go easy on young Sami, he is just getting excited at the prospect of seeing his beloved Wednesday back in the Championship next season and hoping they follow Norwich and Southampton in back to back promotions! Champions League? You're having a laugh! The Championship is the best league in Europe!!!

Cheat is a very harsh word and is way over the top. L2TR is fairly on the money here to an extent. Drogba may well go down easy but he is well within his rights to do so, the fact that he is engaging in theatrics should not take away from the fact that he is being fouled in the first place.

The Puke wrote:Cheat is a very harsh word and is way over the top. L2TR is fairly on the money here to an extent. Drogba may well go down easy but he is well within his rights to do so, the fact that he is engaging in theatrics should not take away from the fact that he is being fouled in the first place.

This is exactly my point. You and Loyal have a (very dubious) point for some of the instances where Drogba generally is fouled but if you actually watch, the majority of the time he simply finds himself in a position where the ref would be likely to give a free kick in favour of the attacking team and throws himself to the ground, pretending he has been fouled when TV pictures show quite clearly that he hasn't even been touched by any opposition players. If this is not cheating then I don't know what is.

As a person, there are few professional athletes that i respect more that Didier Drogba. The work he does in his native Ivory Coast, that a lot of people are completely unaware of, is simply humbling.

I used to really dislike the man, simply for his actions on the pitch, but after watching a documentry on how he helped stop the civil war in Ivory Coast, as well as donating a lot of his sponsorship money to develop ares of the country, my view on him changed.

I was delighted that he won a Champions League medal as he is a man i respect massively! Cheat? Call him what you like, but we have been all guilty of a form of cheating at one stage as players! As i have said on here before, cheating is cheating. The pull of the shirt, the call for a line ball/45/65/goal kick/free kick that we know for a fact favours the opposition, these are all forms of cheating! People just accept them and dislike diving!

Cheat? Again call him what you like, but he is more of a man that most professional athletes!

A bit of background on Didier Drogba, the person i respect very highly!

Didier Drogba brings peace to the Ivory Coast

By Alex Hayes

All he said was: "Come to Abidjan, Alex. You will not be disappointed." Ordinarily, when a footballer tells you to jump on a plane and travel thousands of miles to West Africa for an interview, you tend to hesitate. But then Didier Drogba is no ordinary footballer and, as it turned out, this was to be no ordinary interview.

As soon as I landed in the capital of Drogba's native Ivory Coast, it immediately became apparent just how big a star he was. Almost every street corner housed a giant billboard on which the Chelsea striker advertised everything from chocolate to mobile phones.

It was clear that Drogba was the face of his country; the symbol of a new, post-civil war Ivory Coast. What was yet to emerge, however, was his pivotal role in bringing about that peace.

Civil war had been raging for five years when, moments after leading his nation to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany back in October 2005, Drogba picked up a microphone in the dressing room and, surrounded by his team-mates, fell to his knees live on national television. He begged both warring factions to lay down their arms and, within a week, his bold wish had been granted. "It was just something I did instinctively," he explained. "All the players hated what was happening to our country and reaching the World Cup was the perfect emotional wave on which to ride."

The culmination of the peace process came on the second day of my trip, when the White Elephants played an African Nations Cup qualifier against Madagascar in Bouake, the old rebel stronghold about 300 kilometres north of Abidjan.

"Seeing both leaders side by side for the national anthems was very special," Didier said. "I felt then that that the Ivory Coast was born again."

I had been totally unaware of Didier's incredible feat until I began talking to people in Abidjan. At no point had he mentioned, let alone boasted, about his political involvement. I wondered why he had not spoken about this before, especially when the British press had been on his back? "I don't feel I need to say anything to anybody about who I am in Africa," Drogba replied. "I know what I stand for and that is all that matters."

Had he not, though, sometimes wanted to bite back when his integrity on the field had been called into question? "Honestly," he said, "it doesn't bother me what I get accused of. The people who mean most to me know what I am really about."

Many footballers have used their influence to great effect in recent years, whether by putting their name to an inner city project or sponsoring a charity, but none has ever stopped a country tearing itself apart. Truth be told, no other player could. Drogba is a god to the Ivorian people, not just because he is a famous footballer, but also because he is someone who speaks for the masses. He is in tune with the average Ivorian. "Of course," he said, "because above all I am one of them."

On the way to the house where he grew up in the suburbs of Abidjan, he told me that he could cope without money; that he could easily give up all the trappings of wealth and return to a humble life back home. Before my trip, I would have doubted him. But today I am sure he was being truthful.

Of course Drogba enjoys his lifestyle, but that does not mean he is detached from the world around him. "The money came after my education," he said, "after I became a man."

When standing on the balcony of his ancestral home, looking down on the thousands of cheering locals who had assembled as soon as word got out that he was in the village, Didier looked visibly moved. "There are no words to express how I feel right now," he said. "This is love."

However, he did manage to describe his emotions after the ceasefire agreement. "I have won many trophies in my time," he explained, "but nothing will ever top helping win the battle for peace in my country. I am so proud because today in the Ivory Coast we do not need a piece of silverware to celebrate."

Taken from The Telegraph Online - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/2318500/Didier-Drogba-brings-peace-to-the-Ivory-Coast.html

Oh that's ok then.

Thierry Henry does loads of work for UNICEF and the AIDS Foundation so he was perfectly within his rights to catch the ball in the world cup play-off.

SamiPremier08 wrote:Oh that's ok then.

Thierry Henry does loads of work for UNICEF and the AIDS Foundation so he was perfectly within his rights to catch the ball in the world cup play-off.

I think you'll find that Drogba does a lot more than Henry. Read the piece and see for yourself. As for the Henry handball, he got away with it, we didn't like it but that how the punches roll! If Ireland had qualified by virtue of the same thing, i wouldn't have given a toss!

Sami, let he who is without sin....

bald eagle wrote:

I think you'll find that Drogba does a lot more than Henry. Read the piece and see for yourself. As for the Henry handball, he got away with it, we didn't like it but that how the punches roll! If Ireland had qualified by virtue of the same thing, i wouldn't have given a toss!

My (quite badly made) point is, BE, that, whilst Drogba does some excellent work outside of football, it is not really relevant to his career on the pitch.

Where he is still a cheat.

Excellent article BE, and I hadn't realised any of that previously.

Not surprised though, as he clearly comes from down-to-earth stock. I interviewed his sister for a job several years ago, and it was only midway through the interview that I discovered who she was. I noticed she had been at school in the Ivory Coast, and asked her was Drogba a common surname there. She said it wasn't. To explain myself, I said I had asked because there was a footballer of that name, and it was only then she said he was her brother.

So, well-educated, younger sister of a multi-millionnaire footballer interviewing for a basic enough admin role. Aside from the gold watch on her wrist, Id've had no clue who she was.

Plenty of money in the family, but none of them are afraid of working hard.

He's no less a cheat than the rest of us Sami, that's the point i am making.

I never said that his work outside the pitch had any bearing on him on the pitch, i said that I was personally delighted for him and that I respected him for what he done. I respect him more than most other professional sportsmen due to his work in his home country.

It's easy for players to stick their names to charities (like the most of them do) and take the credit for it, but i am almost 100% certain that you (like TC) were unaware of anything the Drogba done outside football! He is a great example of a man that doesn't forget where he comes from, he clearly loves his home and his people and never has forgotten his roots and is using his fame a (and fortune) to make a difference without shouting about it!

Well said BE. A great player and especially a great man.

Cashley Cole was immense at full back as was cech with a few penalty saves but drogba was the man of the moment in the first 80 minutes he had 6 touches per ESPN but saved the best for last . Out of contract now I have one thing to say fergie fergie sign him up !

John terry is an objectionable character at the best of times but toggin out to lift the cup , man what a fool. Chelsea full of egotistical people not one of them wanted to move from the front and the presentation ended up a total farce.

This was one of the greatest achievements in the history of the European Cup so begrugers continue slagging off Chelsea and it's great players if it makes you feel better.

I wouldn't go that far RKF, after all Chelsea have paid handsomely for their recent success, both in terms of players and management. This is the curse of being owned by a billionaire, the over-inflated prices that they end up paying for players.

I would be of the mind that Chelsea have been the great under-achievers of the last 8 years (as are Manchester United), for the money they have spent only winning 1 European Cup is paltry pay-back, this can be seen in the frustration of their owner when it comes to the sacking of managers.

In the context of the season, it was a good achievement, but certainly not one of the greatest ever in the European Cup. Celtic winning in '67 with a team from 30 miles raduis of Celtic Park, Manchester United winning in '68 ten years after the Munich air crash, Dortmund beating Juve in '97, Porto winning the cup in '04, Liverpool the following year and in getting to the final in '07 again, all of these rank higher than Chelseas win.

Enjoy it, for they did deserve to win a European Cup and really this should have been the second for them after battering Manchester United in 2008 (yes it really was that long ago!). Who knows, Chelsea may dominate the game in Europe (if they get the right man in charge) now that they have this monkey off their back.

bald eagle wrote:He's no less a cheat than the rest of us Sami, that's the point i am making.

I never said that his work outside the pitch had any bearing on him on the pitch, i said that I was personally delighted for him and that I respected him for what he done. I respect him more than most other professional sportsmen due to his work in his home country.

It's easy for players to stick their names to charities (like the most of them do) and take the credit for it, but i am almost 100% certain that you (like TC) were unaware of anything the Drogba done outside football! He is a great example of a man that doesn't forget where he comes from, he clearly loves his home and his people and never has forgotten his roots and is using his fame a (and fortune) to make a difference without shouting about it!

I did know about it actually... and it's all really great and admirable but, like you said yourself, isn't relevant to what we were talking about.

You don't half twist stuff Sami, you'll do well in the hack game!

Read back over my posts again will you, you will see that i have made various points on Drogba both on and off the field, if you choose to focus on one point (like a hack would) then you fire away!

bald eagle wrote:You don't half twist stuff Sami, you'll do well in the hack game!

Read back over my posts again will you, you will see that i have made various points on Drogba both on and off the field, if you choose to focus on one point (like a hack would) then you fire away!

I'm not trying to twist anything. It just seems that you are trying to influence opinions of Drogba on the pitch by bringing up his charitable work. To me this is a completely different issue.

No, i am giving MY opinion on Drogba as a person, you have your own (a cheat) and i have mine. I have not in any post mentioned that he should be forgiven for trying to trick a referee because of what he does off the pitch, have a look and see if you can find where i have.

On cheating, my views are simple, a dive is no different to the pull of a shirt or a hurley, or calling for a line ball when you know for a fact that it was against you. These are examples of cheating as you are trying to deceive a referee, it's just that people don't like diving and appear to accept the others. People appear to have a certain hypocrisy when it comes to diving when compared to other forms of cheating.

Sami, whether or not you are twisting, you are totally missing the point. Your initial post on the final, the one which met with general derision, strongly implied that Drogba was not deserving of being on a winning side.

If you watched the final, and that is the view you came away with, then you obviously watch sport for different reasons to most people, and are moved (or, in this case, unmoved) by different things to the rest of us.