Angry Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has promised to make
Rafa Benitez pay tonight after the Liverpool boss accused him of
diving. In the build-up to the second leg of their Champions League
semifinal at Stamford Bridge, Benitez revealed he had compiled a
dossier over the last four years detailing Drogba's tendency to win
free-kicks and insisted that he "falls down too
easily".
Drogba responded furiously today, saying: "Benitez was a manager
I respected a lot. Until now, I thought he showed great class and
competence. "Now he has disappointed me terribly. His words
demonstrate weakness. A great manager would never attack a player
in such a low manner.
"Let him concentrate on his own team's game and, if he wants me
not to fall down, let him tell his defenders to stop kicking me.
"Carragher and the other one [Skrtel] never stopped in the first
game. I finished the match with bruises everywhere. "I had a rib
broken last year against Liverpool in the semi-final of the
Champions League. For some reason, that has escaped the statistics
of Benitez."
Drogba, talking in French newspaper L'Equipe, said: "Liverpool
have scored just once in eight games at Stamford Bridge - perhaps
that is what is working him up and he is looking for things to
unsettle us. "But, I repeat, this is unworthy of him. He should
know this will have no hold on me. If I fall, I will always get up.
I am going to give him the best reply on the pitch.
"Benitez says his team are stronger than the one that knocked us
out twice before - they are certainly more attacking, especially
with Fernando Torres. But I find them less balanced, more
vulnerable in defence. They offer you more space. The Liverpool of
2005 and 2007 defended better.
"Mind you, the present team is very strong and I am wary of
them. They can apply very intense pressure on opponents and that is
what pushed us into a mistake for Kuyt's goal in the first leg."
Drogba was also at pains to explain his embarrassing clash with
team-mate Michael Ballack over a free-kick in their 2-1 Premier
League win over Manchester United on Saturday.
He said: "It was 1-1, we absolutely had to score and we had this
free-kick we both wanted to take because we both thought we'd
score. "I had a good feel for it and so did he. There was a lot of
tension and emotion on the pitch, it was a big match and, yes, we
did have a clash. "These are things that happen. Five minutes
later, it was all forgotten. Ballack is a person I particularly
respect as a player and a man. "He has had a terrible time this
season, but has come back very strong. He makes the difference. He
is Chelsea's most important player at the moment."
Drogba, reported to be unsettled since the departure of Jose
Mourinho, added: "People are sending me everywhere, but I still
have two years on my contract. I only have the end of the season
with Chelsea on my mind. "Stories I am going to Inter with Jose
Mourinho? I know, I know. It's very flattering, but not for
today."