JOIN USDrogba returns to familiar territory
Former Chelsea great Didier Drogba does not know how he will react when he returns to Stamford Bridge with his Galatasaray team for their last-16 second-leg of the Champions League, the Ivorian striker said.
Drogba won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and, most memorably, the 2012 Champions League when his penalty in the shootout clinched victory for the Londoners against Bayern Munich in the final at the Allianz Arena.He scored 157 goals in 341 appearances for Chelsea between 2004-12 and was voted the greatest player in the club's history.
“It is the club where I experienced everything,” Drogba told the UEFA website. “I experienced the highest level, big games -- it allowed me to get closer to the best players in the world.“It is a very special moment because I do not know what my reaction will be. I am quite apprehensive about it,” he said of the second leg after the opening match in Istanbul ended in a 1-1 draw.
Drogba's successor as the leader of the Chelsea attack, Fernando Torres, gave his side the lead in the first half in Istanbul.
Galatasaray were outplayed in the opening period but they forced Mourinho's men on to the back foot in the second half and earned a deserved draw thanks to an equaliser from Aurelien Chedjou.
The Turkish team are the underdogs but Chelsea must clear their heads quickly after Saturday's meltdown at Aston Villa. Galatasaray warmed up for the trip to Stamford Bridge by drawing 0-0 at Karabukspor on Friday.
Roberto Mancini's side are second in the Turkish championship, five points adrift of leaders Fenerbahce. Drogba believes that if Galatasaray are firing on all cylinders they are capable of knocking Chelsea out.
Chance for IscoReal Madrid, who have all but sealed a place in the quarterfinals after their 6-1 first-leg away victory over Schalke, could hand Isco another opportunity to prove his worth in the startin XI.The playmaker has not been able to hold down a regular place in Carlo Ancelotti’s side since his big-money move from Malaga.
Isco was one of the hottest properties on the market at the end of last season after a starring role for Malaga as they progressed to the last eight of the Champions League.He was among yet another generation of young Spanish players who had come off the conveyer belt and his success with the Spain Under-21 side meant that a place in this year’s World Cup squad was on the cards.
Since then, however, it has not gone according to plan for Isco who has not been able to find a role in Real’s expensively assembled squad.