Didier drogba will be back at the Orange Vélodrome. Even if the striker has retired, even if OM now have Arkadiusz Milik to occupy the forefront of their attack, it remains an event. It will therefore be for a charity match, for the benefit of the actions of Unicef in Côte d’Ivoire which are close to the heart of the one who was also the captain of his selection. The cast is huge with 63 personalities who will take part in this “OM Legends” match against Team Unicef. A few days before kick-off, the striker who entered the legend in just one season at OM has therefore agreed to give the Phocean an interview.
Didier, the first question must have already been asked 5,400 times, but what do you think of telling yourself that you are going to play again at the Orange Vélodrome?
Didier drogba : “It is a great pleasure, especially since the cause is noble, in partnership with Unicef and the Didier Drogba foundation. It is to build classes and schools in Côte d’Ivoire. We are talking about education therefore. I am very happy and excited too “.
Excited because you are going to play for the first time with some of your Olympian idols?
D.D : “Yes, like Mr. Fabrizio Ravanelli. He was” al dente “. He was a great player, of international class, whom we were lucky to have in Marseille and who rendered us very great services. And then of course my brothers like Djibril Cissé and Mamadou Niang. It will also give me great pleasure to work with Eric Di Meco, who is a legend, a legend of this club, even in the city of Marseille. a pure product from here. I would also have a lot of pleasure to find Fabien Barthez or Habib Beye with whom I played in this jersey. When I think about it, we really have a very, very good team “.
Opposite, you will have Ricardo Carvalho, who recruited you to Vél during an OM-Porto in 2003 (2-3).
D.D : “It’s normal, I had so tired him … I had scored but they had beaten us. It had been a very rough game where Ricky, as usual, was hitting. But he was surprised because the more he put in, the more I came back to him. So when José Mourinho asked him to do a post-match report, he told him he had to recruit me. What happened in the summer following when they both went to Chelsea. It is to his credit and I will be happy to find him. “
You have already returned to a perfect configuration in 2010: in the Champions League, with Chelsea qualified, OM already qualified, a match just for you.
D.D : “It was a special moment. These are moments that we very rarely experience in a football career. I had the opportunity to play a Champions League match against Marseille, at the Orange Vélodrome, with Chelsea. If you were there you might have noticed that it was a lot of emotions for me and I couldn’t, I mean, it didn’t even occur to me to score against OM. It was really a gala match. But we had lost and it still sticks in my throat. I play to win, and even for this charity match. You have to keep good habits. Score and win at the Vélodrome “.
Be careful, you will line up Basile Boli behind …
D.D : “We have integrated this data, we know that we will have to score a lot of goals because he is not going to run a lot, we will have to take care of that”.
To come back to this OM-Chelsea, what we did not know at the time is that you could have made your definitive return, with a transfer, a few months earlier. It had discussed with Didier Deschamps just after the title of champion …
D.D : “Yes, it could have been. It was an opportunity and unfortunately it was not seized. Afterwards, things happened, it’s football, it’s like that”.
Okay, you stayed at Chelsea and won the Champions League in 2012.
D.D : “I scored with a header from a corner in the final in Munich, like Boli. As for Basile, a corner taken by a left-hander, I scored with a crossed head … the whole scenario of this goal reminds me of OM’s victory in Munich “.
Behind you went to China, Turkey, but you still followed OM news. On The Phocaean as a result ?
D.D : “Sure. You got better over time, that’s good, that was the goal I guess, congratulations.”
Informations
Heroes’ match at the Orange Velodrome
The ticket office and the raffle are accessible via the following link: www.unicef.fr/match-des-heros
Wednesday 13 October 2021 – Kick off 7:00 p.m.
Live TV broadcast on the L’Equipe Channel, web broadcast on OM’s Twitch and TikTok channel, Orange on the platform « Immersive Now » broadcast live immersive (360 ° video), and on France 3 PACA on October 17.
(To experience this event in Lodge spaces, contact the OM Hospitalités department: [email protected])
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