Jose finally lands his man

Chelsea-bound Didier Drogba arrives at Gatwick ahead of his medical at Stamford Bridge.

14 April 2012

Jose Mourinho knows that some people will claim he is taking a gamble by buying Didier Drogba for a Chelsea record transfer of just over £23 million, but he said today he has been such a long-standing admirer of the striker that he tried to sign him during the striker's days as an unproven talent with Guingamp.

Mourinho said: "I tried to buy him for Porto but I did not have enough money to do it. Two years ago, I had no money to buy him so I had to play against him in the Champions League, and he scored against me! But he lost!

"It was when he was at Guingamp. I have my contacts. I had them in Porto and I have them now in Chelsea. We want to know when a player is cheap or expensive at the end of the season or the end of his contract. Sometimes you pay £5 million and think a player is very cheap and he becomes the most expensive player in history because he never plays."

Of course, Roman Abramovich has not accumulated almost £ 9billion through negligent spending, but his decision to sanction the signing of Drogba does represent a huge gamble. It is Chelsea's good fortune to have an owner who can afford to take such risks. There is no questioning Drogba's natural talent or the pace, strength and lightning-quick feet that brought him 29 goals in all competitions for Marseille last season, but whether he can provide such sustained excellence at the highest level of the game has yet to be proven.

Mourinho, though, has been looking hard at Drogba since his goals took Marseille to the UEFA Cup final in May but it was only after Mourinho's appointment last month that their interest intensified.

Chelsea's hierarchy trust their head coach completely, as is shown by the fact that two of his other three signings - Paulo Ferreira and Tiago - come from Portugal, and have backed his judgement by paying a club-record transfer fee.

Whereas Claudio Ranieri had little involvement in signing players, praising new arrivals whether he wanted them or not like a polite child opening presents at Christmas, Mourinho has been integral to the entire process.

His Christmas wish- list to Abramovich, Chelsea's very own Santa Claus, has been well and truly answered.

Mourinho's belief in Drogba springs from his conviction that he can get the best out of the player's God-given talent.

If the 26-year-old can terrorise Europe's top defences while playing in the relative backwater of the French League - he scored six Champions League and five UEFA Cup goals last season - then who knows what he can achieve under the guidance of one of the world's top coaches at Chelsea? The Portuguese is not known for his modesty.

Mourinho rates Drogba as the second best striker in the world behind Thierry Henry and is convinced he will only get better at Chelsea.

"I like Drogba a lot because he is different," he said. "He will arrive as a good player and become a great player. I can do that for him."

Mourinho's faith is also based on something approaching awe at Drogba's astonishing career progression, which mirrors his own rapid rise up the managerial ladder.

While Mourinho was cutting his teeth at UD Leiria four years ago, Drogba was struggling to make an impact at Le Mans, incredibly failing to score in two of his first three seasons in the first team, and it was only a £100,000 move to Guingamp that kick-started his career.

A vastly improved tally of 17 goals in 34 games in his second season in Brittany earned him a £4m move to Marseille and the rest is history.

Drogba's fairytale transformation from being a struggling journeyman to the most expensive striker in the history of British football is matched by his traumatic life off the pitch.

He left his family in the Ivory Coast to escape a bloody civil war between Christians and Muslims at the age of five and made his first steps towards a career in football while staying with his uncle Michel Goba, a professional in northern France. He impressed as an attacking right-back in the youth team at Dunkirk but lost his way after signing for Le Mans, giving up the game for a year to develop his love of fast food and faster living.

How he responds to the temptations offered by life in the English capital could be the key to his career at Chelsea.

Drogba is honest enough to admit that the huge sum offered by Chelsea was a major reason for his decision to leave Marseille but given his background it is difficult to blame him for cashing in when he can.

Drogba said: "I wanted to stay at Marseille because I had enjoyed fantastic times there, but financially and in a sporting sense I could not refuse Chelsea."

Jose finally lands his man

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