Chelsea legend Didier Drogba is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers to ever grace the Premier League, but two of his former teammates at Stamford Bridge have shared a peculiar pre-match ritual he had.
The Ivorian forward joined Chelsea in July 2004 for £24 million and scored an impressive 157 goals in 341 appearances during his initial stint at the club, which ended in 2012.
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After a two-year hiatus, Drogba returned to Chelsea for another season, adding seven more goals in 40 matches before departing again in the summer of 2015. ..Continue Reading
Throughout his two trophy-laden periods at Chelsea, Drogba amassed four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, and the Champions League.
During his first spell at Stamford Bridge, Drogba formed a crucial part of the team’s core alongside John Terry, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, and Joe Cole.
The two Coles, who shared the dressing room with Drogba for many years, recounted a peculiar pre-match routine he had involving his football boots.
Ashley Cole revealed that Drogba was very particular about not letting anyone touch his football boots before a game once the kitman had placed them down.
This led Joe Cole to recall an incident where winger Arjen Robben took the opportunity to slip vitamin tablets into Drogba’s boots, much to the Ivorian’s displeasure, especially given the smell they emitted.
Speaking on the Football’s Greatest podcast, he said: “Talking about Didier’s boots, I remember I think it was in the FA Cup that Robben put something in his boots, messing about, and I was giggling about it.
“I think it was the vitamin tablets and they stink if you took them out and put them in. “So he put them in his boots and he went sick.
“Even though I was innocent, to this day, I still got scared in case he thought it was me, and Robben did not own up to it.”
Ashley Cole then went on to describe other things that Drogba was particular about and would be upset if they did not happen.
He said: “I’ve seen him lose it a little bit if his boots are not stretched by putting [in] the hot water properly, eating for the right amount of time, he don’t like it.”
