Benitez has lost my respect: Drogba
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Liverpool boss Benitez is not a great manager and he has lost my respect: Chelsea striker Didier vows revenge over Rafa's diving slur
Angry Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has promised to make Rafa Benitez pay tonight after the Liverpool boss accused him of diving. In the build-up to the second leg of their Champions League semifinal at Stamford Bridge, Benitez revealed he had compiled a dossier over the last four years detailing Drogba's tendency to win free-kicks and insisted that he "falls down too easily".
Drogba responded furiously today, saying: "Benitez was a manager I respected a lot. Until now, I thought he showed great class and competence. "Now he has disappointed me terribly. His words demonstrate weakness. A great manager would never attack a player in such a low manner.
"Let him concentrate on his own team's game and, if he wants me not to fall down, let him tell his defenders to stop kicking me. "Carragher and the other one [Skrtel] never stopped in the first game. I finished the match with bruises everywhere. "I had a rib broken last year against Liverpool in the semi-final of the Champions League. For some reason, that has escaped the statistics of Benitez."
Drogba, talking in French newspaper L'Equipe, said: "Liverpool have scored just once in eight games at Stamford Bridge - perhaps that is what is working him up and he is looking for things to unsettle us. "But, I repeat, this is unworthy of him. He should know this will have no hold on me. If I fall, I will always get up. I am going to give him the best reply on the pitch.
"Benitez says his team are stronger than the one that knocked us out twice before - they are certainly more attacking, especially with Fernando Torres. But I find them less balanced, more vulnerable in defence. They offer you more space. The Liverpool of 2005 and 2007 defended better.
"Mind you, the present team is very strong and I am wary of them. They can apply very intense pressure on opponents and that is what pushed us into a mistake for Kuyt's goal in the first leg." Drogba was also at pains to explain his embarrassing clash with team-mate Michael Ballack over a free-kick in their 2-1 Premier League win over Manchester United on Saturday.
He said: "It was 1-1, we absolutely had to score and we had this free-kick we both wanted to take because we both thought we'd score. "I had a good feel for it and so did he. There was a lot of tension and emotion on the pitch, it was a big match and, yes, we did have a clash. "These are things that happen. Five minutes later, it was all forgotten. Ballack is a person I particularly respect as a player and a man. "He has had a terrible time this season, but has come back very strong. He makes the difference. He is Chelsea's most important player at the moment."
Drogba, reported to be unsettled since the departure of Jose Mourinho, added: "People are sending me everywhere, but I still have two years on my contract. I only have the end of the season with Chelsea on my mind. "Stories I am going to Inter with Jose Mourinho? I know, I know. It's very flattering, but not for today."