Chelsea have a great record against their rivals Tottenham, and former Blues striker Didier Drogba enjoyed his fair share of success against them.
The Blues are currently preparing to host Spurs on Thursday night in the latest chapter of the London derby.
It’s a significant boost to hear that Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson are available for the upcoming Premier League clash at home to Spurs.
Chelsea wins Draws Tottenham wins
80 42 56
The history of the Chelsea vs Tottenham fixture via 11v11
Didier Drogba, the Chelsea legend, is the standard that the current players must dream to reach. He scored 164 goals in 381 appearances across two spells with the Blues, winning 14 trophies.
Drogba, 47, is certainly a big part of the club’s history against Spurs. The retired centre-forward often came alive during his career in the biggest matches, especially against rival clubs.
Appearances Wins Draws Losses Goals Assists
20 10 6 4 6 6
Didier Drogba’s career record vs Tottenham via Transfermarkt
Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Jose Mourinho once raved about a 36-year-old Didier Drogba after his Chelsea performance vs Tottenham
The 2014/15 campaign was certainly a special one at Stamford Bridge for so many reasons.
Jose Mourinho, who was working during his second spell as Chelsea’s manager, led the club to another Premier League title in the 2014/15 season.
It was a title-winning team that included Diego Costa as the main striker. However, Costa was absent through suspension when the Blues hosted rivals Spurs on 3 December 2014.
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Mourinho’s solution was to hand Drogba, who was aged 36 at the time, a rare start that season for the league clash at home to Spurs. The player’s response was to roll back the years with a goal and an assist in a commanding display.
When reacting to Drogba’s performance against Spurs, Mourinho said via The Guardian in December 2014: “He’s remarkable. You know … first of all he’s a team player. He’s a team player. After that, he’s got one of these ‘old-days’ mentalities: not selfish, not vain, a humble guy who plays and fights for the team. Fantastic.
“When he is on the bench and comes on for the last few minutes because the team needs someone to hold the ball up or to defend set-pieces, he does that with the same enthusiasm and spirit as he does when he starts a game against Tottenham.”
Even in the twilight of his career, Drogba was still a real handful for opposition teams. In his prime, he could be unplayable when in the right mood.
According to Yaya Toure, Drogba should’ve won the Ballon d’Or during his playing career with his ability.
It’s no surprise that Drogba featured in Chelsea’s greatest ever team, voted for by Blues supporters in March.
Photo by Alex Broadway/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Broadway/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The best strikers to play under Jose Mourinho
Mourinho and Drogba reunited in 2014 for a brief spell when the latter was late in his career, but it was in the previous decade when their relationship really blossomed.
In his managerial career so far, Mourinho has coached some of the world’s elite attackers.
Here is a look at the players with the most goals when playing for a Mourinho side:
Player Appearances Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo 164 168
Karim Benzema 150 78
Didier Drogba 187 73
Frank Lampard 215 71
Zlatan Ibrahimovic 100 58
Top goalscorers under Jose Mourinho via Transfermarkt
Any version of Drogba would be a real boost to this modern-day Chelsea side, who are still crying out for a clinical centre-forward in attack.