Chelsea ace Drogba: Mourinho yes. Scolari no
Didier Drogba says he'll always be grateful to his former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
The Ivorian hitman admits he would have risked breaking his legs
playing for the Special One but was not happy with one of the
successors Luiz Felipe Scolari who dropped Drogba - a decision that
cost the Brazilian his job.
He said: "Mourinho is somebody very strong tactically but
mainly from the psychological side. He knows how to get through to the
players.
"I remember sometimes I would talk to him and say 'Why are you
giving me two days off even though we have a match in a few days?' And
he said that my rest was mostly psychological.
"That means you can cut yourself off for a couple of days and
you rest and you're mentally well and you come back fresh. The mental
side is 90 per cent of football. The players are with him absolutely.
He gives you everything.
"He says 'Do what you want, with me you can do what you want.
But on the pitch you give me everything. You don't betray me. I give
you everything you want, I give you days off but you must be performing
on the pitch.'
"He would come and tell you if you had a bad game that you
didn't play well but the next match if you played well he'd also come
to say 'For me you were man of the match.'
"I loved him because he made me progress as a player. I was ready to break my legs for him.
"For Scolari also but I didn't have the chance. Football is like that."