ENGLISH FA CUP QUARTER-FINALS: Coventry City 0 Chelsea 2DIDIER DROGBA will never pass off as Chelsea's secret weapon. His muscular running, staggering upper body strength to barge centre-halves from the ball, and thumped finishes into the top corner are all so familiar opposing defenders must shudder at the mere mention of his name. Yet, with each passing game under new management, the sense swells that this team has its colossus back – the African appears increasingly unstoppable.
Coventry, and their jittery centre-backs, were unfortunate enough to be thrust into his path on Saturday and were paralysed in his presence. Scott Dann and Ben Turner do not confront force this crushing in the Championship.
Drogba, when focused, can unsettle the best. Juventus, whom Chelsea face tomorrow, have been bruised once and will be wary of a repeat. The striker departed the Ricoh Arena clutching the sponsors’ man-of-the-match champagne and with three goals to show from his last four outings. He managed that tally in 21 appearances under Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Guus Hiddink has instructed his coaching staff to put the striker through extra specific drills aimed at improving “mobility, how he takes delivery of the ball, and how he deals with centres”.
Drogba has taken on the added workload willingly, relishing the key role he enjoys once more. To witness him marauding through the centre, or even tracking back to stifle opponents deep inside his own half, is to acknowledge what Chelsea under Scolari, largely through injury and suspension, missed most of all.
Not that Hiddink has sought to placate a player whose contract is due to expire at the end of next season, and whose future at Stamford Bridge is constantly in doubt. “He has said nothing to me,” said Drogba when asked what Hiddink had done to revive him.
“All he has done is pick me in the squad and in the team. Then I know what I have to do. That’s normal – there’s nothing unusual in that. You don’t need to speak every day to a player.
“Just the fact I’m in the team is enough and means a lot. He doesn’t need to speak to me. I’ve been in this situation before. You just work, work and work, and I want to improve. If you continue to do that, something good will happen to you. I kept working hard and now people are forgetting what has happened over the past few months.”
Scolari rarely had the option of selecting Drogba either when he was fit or in the right frame of mind. His misdemeanour in throwing a coin back at Burnley supporters in November betrayed just how frayed around the edges the Ivorian was at the time.
These days, there is joy to his game again. He had already embarrassed Dann once when, 15 minutes in, he latched on to Turner’s weak flicked header and dispossessed the Coventry captain, progressing to round Keiren Westwood and ram the opening goal into the far corner from an unkind angle. The visitors’ second, converted on the break by Alex, merely offered a more realistic scoreline to reflect the gulf between the teams.
Drogba will be key in Turin tomorrow night, especially if, as expected, Nicolas Anelka remains absent with a toe injury. Forget the failure to sign Robinho in August: Drogba is the Plan B Scolari never had, and his involvement, combined with the assurance provided down the spine of Chelsea’s side, is what is driving Hiddink’s pursuit of silverware.
The hosts’ full-back Stephen Wright described Chelsea as “awesome”. “They are one of the best teams in Europe and, unfortunately, it showed,” he added.
His manager, Chris Coleman, saw the qualities that had propelled Jose Mourinho’s team while he was managing around the corner at Fulham.
“They are back to where they were before,” he said. “People expected Guus to work a miracle because he’s been where he’s been. He’s worked for top clubs, in top international jobs, and been involved in big games. I’m not surprised at all he’s done so well straight away.”
Coventry can only aspire to compete with the likes of the Londoners in the Premier League. Theirs is a work in progress, the pursuit of promotion a long-term objective given the gap between them and the play-offs.
GuardianService
