Month: May 2016

Didier Drogba says that his physical condition is improving and he may be ready to start the upcoming game for Montréal Impact.

So far, the former Ivory Coast international has been involved only as a substitute in the last two games. A sore knee has prevented Drogba from making an impact in the 2016 MLS campaign so far. The club also took a precaution with regard to the striker by not utilising him in the opening four matches since it was played on artificial pitches. Four out of the first five games for Montréal Impact were set to be played on the artificial pitches.

Due to cold weather the start of a campaign, clubs closer to Canada are forced to play indoors on plastic pitches. Drogba made his debut for the 2016 campaign by coming on as a substitute against FC Dallas. However, he was unable to prevent Montréal Impact from losing 2-0 in the game. His next appearance was also as a substitute against Chicago Fire. This time around, his presence was much more useful for the team as they managed 2-1 win over Chicago. This comeback victory was aided by the equaliser by Drogba. After scoring 11 goals in 11 appearances for the club last season, Drogba will be looking to play on a regular basis from here on.

“I’m improving. It was good to play those minutes, but now I need to push in the training sessions to make sure I’m ready to start.Maybe not 90 [minutes], but at least start and play 60 or 70. It depends how long I can rely on my legs. It’s a good rivalry, I can see our fans are really excited about it. A derby is there to be won. We have to win. But at the end the day it’s only three points,” said Drogba.

Former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku says that the expert advice from the likes of Ian Wright and Didier Drogba has been a major assistance towards improving his career.

Lukaku was dubbed as the next Drogba when he was coming through the ranks at Anderlecht. The Belgian international then joined Chelsea in the hope of living up to his tag name. Even though his time at Chelsea was unfruitful in terms of number of appearances, Lukaku developed as a player. He is now regarded as one of the top strikers in the Premier League – after 12 months of leaving Chelsea on a permanent basis.

Lukaku has just scored more than 25 goals during the 2015-16 campaign. More could be on the cards since Everton are involved in the latter stages of the FA Cup as well. The striker recently spoke about his desire to be involved in the Champions League once again. It has sparked speculation that clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid could offer a massive contract for him. Only Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane have been able to score more than Lukaku. At 23 years of age, the striker has been able to dominate games already and he has attributed the advice from Drogba as a reason towards this improvement.

Lukaku played with Drogba for one season at Chelsea.“I think I answered the question well enough: ‘What can Romelu do, and what can’t he do?’ I spoke about it with Didier (Drogba) and Ian Wright; they gave me a few tips.I changed my game enormously since last year. I am sometimes too introverted. I’m too afraid to ask for the ball and try. If it does not work, I have to try again, continue until it works. This is what has increased my number of goals and assists,” said Lukaku.