Drogba managed just nine club goals in the calendar
year, lost two cup finals, was sent off in the Champions League
final against Manchester United and also missed out on the title to
Alex Ferguson’s men.
But now it is clear the problems at Stamford Bridge
have run much deeper for the former Marseille forward.
Drogba, 30, disclosed how
he:
Fell out of love with the game and questioned why he
wanted to carry on.
The £90,000-a- week striker said: “The hardest thing I
had to endure this year wasn’t football related. The death of my
grandmother completely struck me down, more than anything else. “I
was very, very close to her and it really made me suffer. I had the
feeling that all my childhood memories were going with her. I
became old suddenly.
“This made me ask a few questions to myself. I wondered
what I was running after. “I said to myself that it was pretty
useless to run after results, stats or rewards. “It’s true that I
didn’t feel a great support. But that didn’t worry me really. For a
few weeks I didn’t have my head tuned into football at all. “I
didn’t want to hear about targets or ambition. I felt totally
switched off.
“For the first time, I had lost my passion for
football. I was ordinary. I didn’t want to fight. “All summer, I
felt bad. I am not looking for excuses. I just admit that, for a
while, I put football on the back-burner.”
Drogba also had a knee injury when the Blues reported
for pre-season training and did not feature until mid-September.
His previous campaign had been affected by injuries and he sensed
there were doubts he could get back to his best.
He added: “After my injury I wasn’t really in a hurry
to come back. I needed a break. “After four full years it’s normal
that the body — and the mind — say stop. “I looked at my career. I
was tired. But I have the conviction now that I can come back
stronger. I am really hungry.
“What opened my eyes was the way some people at the
club looked at me. I really felt confidence wasn’t the same. “It
wasn’t great to feel and I remarked that some of them didn’t really
believe in my capacity to come back to the highest level. But I
can’t be angry at them.
“They were right to wonder where the Drogba of 2007 was
gone. He is very close! “Now I am better in my body and head,
everything will come back.” The Drog added: “I felt lonely when the
season started in July. Everybody was obsessed with winning their
place in the team. “And I was stuck in the fitness room when the
group left for a pre-season tour. I was alone with the
machines.
“I didn’t really have anyone to talk to. Every year I
have been losing a close friend. “There was Geremi, then William
Gallas, then Makelele. It’s a lot. I went through a big moment of
loneliness.”
Drogba has played in the Blues’ last three matches and
urged Scolari to pair him with Anelka on a regular basis. He said:
“I still don’t understand why managers are afraid to partner
Nicolas and me.
“I fear I am only being considered as a strong
centre-forward able of playing alone up front with fast players on
the wings. But I can also adapt. “All we want is to play together.
But really together. Not one in the middle and the other on the
left.
“Am I at the right place for 2009? Only time will tell.
If we win the Champions League in May, the answer will be obvious.”
But with Jose Mourinho interested in a reunion at Inter Milan,
there are still doubts about Drogba’s future.
He said: “I have only one year left on my contract, so
I am going to go with the flow. “I could be wrong but I feel that
in 2009 beautiful things will happen. There will also be surprises.
“But I won’t say more. If I start to speak about my future, I might
say the wrong thing and that will come back to haunt me.”
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