Loss hard on Drogba
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has spoken for the first time about the loss of his cousin through leukaemia last week.
Drogba wore a black armband during Chelsea’s 4-2 victory over Blackburn as a mark of respect for his memory.
The Ivory Coast striker scored Chelsea’s first goal against Rovers and immediately dedicated the strike to the child who had the disease.
“I was happy to score against Blackburn because I had to do it for my cousin who died last week,” said Drogba. “It was a difficult week for me but more difficult for his family.
“It is a drama for all the families who have children or a member of the family who is fighting to stay alive.”
Drogba, speaking on Chelsea TV ahead of today’s Champions League clash with Real Betis in Seville , revealed how he had been planning to take his cousin for treatment in France but was just too late.
“I tried to do everything for him and to get him to France for the treatment he required,” Drogba added. “His visa arrived two days after he died, It was difficult for me.”
Drogba is expected to lead the attack against Betis as Hernan Crespo has not travelled to Spain because of a muscle injury collected in the win over Rovers at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Damien Duff is desperate for success in the Champions League to make up for the heartache of missing out on next summer’s World Cup.
Chelsea’s Republic of Ireland winger returns to action against Real Betis after recovering from cartilage surgery.
Duff was injured playing for the Irish against Cyprus in their penultimate World Cup qualifier and missed their final match against Switzerland as a result.
The goalless draw against the Swiss meant Ireland lost out on a place in next summer’s World Cup finals in Germany and no-one felt the agony more than Duff.
“It’s a huge disappointment for me knowing that I am not going to the World Cup,” conceded Duff. “It’s a massive stage but Chelsea is number one and always has been. It is a huge disappointment not to be going but I am looking forward to the rest of the season.
“The Champions League means I am playing against some of the best players in the world and it has more prominence for me because I am not going to the World Cup.
“I have been at Chelsea for two and a half years now and they have been exciting times. So when I am going to be missing out with Ireland in the World Cup next summer, it is even more important for me.”
Duff has been out of action for Chelsea since scoring in their 4-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield at the beginning of last month.
But he will play some part in their Champions League game tonight after an amazingly quick return to full fitness.
Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho was full of praise for the player and for the club’s medical staff who have helped to get him back quicker than the four to six weeks expected.
“Damien is a great player and a special character,” said Mourinho. “He is very important for us and a great example of how important it is to be a tough guy to recover from surgery like he did.
“It is fantastic that he is ready to play so soon after surgery. The medical department is brilliant and worked incredibly well with him. It is a big award for them to have got him ready to play and for sure he will play.”
Victory for Chelsea will guarantee them a place in the knockout stages and while some, including Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, have been quick to criticise Mourinho’s men following their draw with Everton in the Barclays Premiership and a Carling Cup exit on penalties to Charlton four days later, Duff is adamant there was never any talk of a crisis within the camp.
“Last week was disappointing,” admits Duff. “Many people were seeing it as a crisis, or a mini-crisis, but we were not. We did not feel that way at all - it was only two draws. It shows how strong we are to bounce back in the way we did against Blackburn last Saturday.
“We were still positive. We had worse points during last season. The way we looked at it was that they were only two draws.”
