Source: Telegraph
Didier Drogba feeling at home under Guus Hiddink
Peripheral, downbeat and struggling with injury, Drogba scored only twice before Christmas during a period that became more memorable for a coin-throwing suspension and a series of provocative interviews in which he hinted at a desire to leave.[LNB]Drogba also found himself at loggerheads with manager Luiz-Felipe Scolari and was clearly at the forefront of the Brazilian's mind when he controversially called on players who were not committed to "fighting together" to leave during the January transfer window.[LNB]Yet for all Scolari's concerns, there was no decisive move away from the 4-3-3 formation that is so dependent against the very best opposition on a dominant central striker with more physical and aerial presence than Nicolas Anelka.[LNB]New manager Guus Hiddink's solution has been simple: stick with broadly the same system, but utilise Drogba as the spearhead while Anelka, the Premier League's top scorer, drifts in from the left.[LNB]Drogba duly excelled against Aston Villa last Saturday and scored the winning goal against Juventus on Wednesday to partially answer those who wonder whether he can recapture the form that brought 33 goals during the 2006-7 season.[LNB]Hiddink has been delighted with Drogba's attitude, while the player simply blames injury for his disjointed start to the season. Referring to himself in the third person, Drogba certainly exuded optimism in the immediate aftermath of victory on Wednesday night.[LNB]"You haven't lost your Drogba, he was just not playing," he declared. "Being judged when you are playing is much easier, and to the contrary, when you are not playing you can be criticised.[LNB]"At the moment I feel good when I'm on the pitch. I'm not at my best because I think I need more games but I'm giving what I can at the moment. Physically, I'm not ready yet, but I need to play to get back in good form."[LNB]There was no mention of Scolari, though Drogba's praise for Hiddink appeared carefully worded.[LNB]"The truth is that the coach relies on me, which is a massive psychological boost for a striker," he said. "You can see from the last two games that Hiddink is working a lot on the shape of the team, the organisation, you have to respect that because we know we will have chances to score goals."[LNB]Drogba was also happy to embrace Hiddink's criticisms regarding Chelsea's collective fitness after the Dutchman accused his players of tiring against Juventus. The match statistics certainly appeared to back up that claim, showing that Juventus had collectively covered almost five more kilometres than Chelsea.[LNB]"It happened around 70 minutes and we get heavy-legged," said Drogba. "We feel it. All of us on the pitch and so, with a bit more effort and to help each other, you can see it was difficult for us to carry ourselves from our half to the opponents in the second period and we know we have to improve.[LNB]"Why? I don't know you will have to ask the fitness coach. The second half was more difficult and in one-on-ones I didn't really have the legs to dribble and so I need to work but the best place for that is on the pitch. In three weeks I think [you will see the best of me]."[LNB]Such confidence will greatly enthuse his Chelsea team-mates, with Frank Lampard reiterating a belief that, at his peak, the Ivorian is still the best centre-forward in European club football.[LNB]"Didier's proved over the last few seasons that he is one of the best strikers in the world, if not the best, and he scores regularly," he said.[LNB]"When he is on form, he's the full package. He showed that with his goal and his strength in general. From now on I think you're going to see more and more from Didier."[LNB][LNB]
