Chelsea fan or not - few will deny that the prospect of Jose Mourinho and Didier Drogba reuniting at Chelsea next season doesn’t tickle your footballing fancy. And with the manager refusing to rule out a return to his former club and the player admitting he would be interested in coming back to West London, the dream reunion is looking all the more likely.
While in London last week for the friendly between Brazil and Russia, Mourinho admitted that he plans on returning to the Premier League and would not rule out a return to Chelsea. “I cannot deny that, despite this weather, I love it here, and as I said I have a house and I have big emotional connections with Chelsea and one day I think naturally I will have to be back to English football, or to Chelsea or to another club.”
Mourinho’s comments - paired with news that Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez will move on at the end of the season regardless of what happens in the Europa League and FA Cup - had the Premier League salivating over the possibility of his return. On Wednesday, Drogba added fuel to the fire when he said that if Chelsea want to return to the top of the Premier League there’s only one man for the job.
“I think for the club it is the best solution to bring Jose back,” Drogba told the Guardian . “The fans want him back. He loves Chelsea.I don’t think he has got over Chelsea and they haven’t got over him.”
Mourinho is a lover of narratives. He went to Chelsea to win the Premier League, to Inter to win the Serie A (and the Champions League) and to Real Madrid to try and become the first manager to win the Champions League in three different countries. So what’s the Special One’s storyline for a return to Stamford Bridge? Drogba fills in the blanks.
“When [Mourinho] came [to Chelsea] he brought success; we won league titles back-to-back with some great football and the only thing he didn’t win was the Champions League,” Drogba said. “Maybe that is one of the reasons why he might want to come back. It is unfinished business.”
When asked of his potential role in that unfinished business, Drogba initially took a political approach. “Let me finish at Galatasaray first and then we will talk about that,” Drogba said.
But eventually, the 35 year old couldn’t help but admit that he could be tempted to work with Mourinho again. “Why not?” Drogba added. “It would be interesting.” Like Mourinho, Drogba has a special connection to West London. “I feel at home when I go to London. When I go to Chelsea’s training ground I feel like I can walk around with my eyes closed and know where I am going.”
For now, however, the striker claims that he’s happy with the Turkish giants and is looking forward to guiding Galatasaray to a semi-final berth in Europe’s premier club competition. To make that happen he not only needs to defeat his mentor but plenty of former Blues as well. “It’s going to be different because I play against José, who is ex-Chelsea, Michael (Essien), who is ex-Chelsea, and Ricardo Carvalho, who is ex-Chelsea,” Drogba said.
The return of Mourinho and Drogba to Chelsea would provide drama of the highest level. But only one man, Roman Abramovich, can make that happen.
Popular opinion suggests that the Russian’s once frosty relationship with Mourinho has since thawed but the issue remains - can two of football’s biggest egos co-exist at the same club? And what message would Abramovich be sending to his players by bringing Drogba back? Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku certainly won’t be impressed. And what about Frank Lampard? After refusing to offer the 34 year old a new contract, is signing the 35 year old Drogba a slap in the face?
It should be an interesting summer at the Bridge.
