Friday, March 29News That Matters

Felipe Scolari reveals how Drogba & Anelka led to his downfall at Chelsea

Former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has spoken about his ill-fated reign at Stamford Bridge, conceding that he failed to see eye to eye with Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.

The 71-year-old coach masterminded a 12-match unbeaten run at the start of his Chelsea career, but results began to drop over the Christmas period.




He ended up being sacked after just seven months in the role, after a poor run of form which culminated in a poor 0-0 draw to Hull City.

Scolari has now offered an insight into the “problems” he faced at Chelsea, including a number of injuries to important players and his fractious relationship with some of the club’s key stars.




“Chelsea had some problems with injuries, some problems in the team. I had a form of leadership that clashed with one or two players,” he told Yellow and Green Football.

When asked which players he had issues with at the club, Scolari said: “Anelka and Drogba.”

“Our medical department thought that we should let Drogba go and recover [from surgery] in Cannes, in the middle of summer,” Scolari added.

“I thought he should stay in London. I’d also like to go to Cannes in the middle of summer. I’d stay there for a month, two months, enjoying myself.



“When he came back, I tried to adapt so that Drogba and Anelka could play together. Anelka was the top scorer in the league. We had a meeting and Anelka said: ‘I only play in one position’.

“So, there was a bit of a lack of friendship, of respect, of trying to play together with Drogba. They were both great, but someone had to do something different, to get back to help when we lost the ball.

“That was when it changed a bit. But we’ve met since then, me and Drogba. The last time was in Russia in 2018. We spoke openly about it.

“There wasn’t any ill intention from him or Anelka. But it happened and I lost out on one of the great chances of my life.”

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