Chelsea Fans Rejoice As Drogba Takes Centre Stage

Chelsea fans better have their tissues at the ready for tonight’s Champions league clash against Turkish giants Galatasaray. Not because of nerves, or even excitement from the return of the Champions League. It’s another return that has been on the minds of Chelsea fans alike since the results of the draw last December. It is the return of the living legend himself, Didier Drogba.

Though tonight’s match will be played in Turkey, (I’m sure Drogba’s return to Stamford Bridge will be even more heart wrenching), fans are still looking forward to a reunion several years in the making. Chelsea fans' emotions are going to be all over the place tonight, or at least I know mine will be.

Not only will Drogba be reunited on the pitch with the likes of John Terry, Petr Cech, and Frank Lampard, but this season marks the return of the Special One. I know that Jose Mourinho and Drogba are going to hug it out before and probably after the match and I guarantee that image will go viral and we’ll all have to discreetly wipe the tears from our face before anyone catches us.

For many people it marks the return of Drogba himself as well. After leaving Chelsea in 2012, Drogba’s first stop was playing for Shanghai Shenhua where it was near impossible for any fan to watch him play - unless you vigorously searched the internet for Chinese football matches.

His arrival at Galatasaray in 2013 was a chance for fans to watch him play again, if you didn’t have access to the Turkish league you could definitely watch him play in Europe, and as of tonight, we finally get our chance. All of this excitement that me, as well as other Chelsea fans, are having is probably stemming from the whispers going round that Drogba is considering a move back to Chelsea.

The fan girl in me went crazy excited when I heard this, however, the practical football journalist in me was like, this is very unlikely to happen. A girl can dream, though. Who knows, maybe playing tonight with all of his old friends will make him realise that he belongs back in blue and that his fans miss him!

Though Drogba playing Chelsea has taken over a majority of the headlines surrounding this match, we do still have an important Champion’s League clash on our hands that Chelsea cannot afford to lose.

We’ve finally made it to the knockout stages and so far in the competition the away sides have had an advantage (with the exception of Olympiakos last night) so lets hope that trend keeps up. Drogba has a special place in his heart for Chelsea, but he is still a top-notch player for his club and he’s been in great form as of late, so the Chelsea defense will need to keep an eye out and stay strong.  

Brazilians David Luiz and Oscar are both a doubt for the match due to injury; Oscar always plays strong in Europe so I’m hoping he’s at least fit enough to come on as a sub. John Obi Mikel is also doubtful due to injury; however, he hasn’t always been my personal favorite so it’s not much of a loss for me.

Chelsea are really going to have to rely on players like John Terry and Eden Hazard for a strong match. Hazard’s talents have really been shining brightly the past few months and as a captain and leader I always think it’s important to have Terry on the pitch leading the team to greatness.

Overall, Chlesea have a great opportunity to gain valuable away goals and hopefully finally getting back into Champion’s League play will get them out of the funk they were in when they played Everton at the weekend. 

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