Managers and players through the years have forged relationships that go beyond simply working together. It’s possible for coaches and their stars to function well together with a special bond, but we’ve often witnessed a certain x-factor that only comes with a deep level of mutual respect and admiration come to the fore in the shape of some truly epic performances.
In the modern era one of the greatest ‘bromances’ has been that of Didier Drogba and Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. In his first spell at the club, the ‘Special One’ was personified on the pitch by his Ivorian striker, who demonstrated the sort of passion, will to win and all-round quality that his manager was providing from the touchline and the training ground.
Their relationship has manifested itself in the form of quotes that we can all look back on, and here are FIVE of the best…
Emotional foreword…
Now this one is pretty slushy, but it sums up Jose’s feelings towards the legendary striker and tells some interesting stories from the pair’s time together. This is the foreword to Drogba’s 2008 autobiography written by Mourinho:
I'm a person who likes to treasure memories, and with them I can tell the world many things. I'm not a writer, even less a poet, but my life has been rich with stories, stories full of extraordinary moments. Looking back at them, I can find only a few special people who I will keep in my soul and in my heart forever.
Didier Drogba came into my life in the fifth minute of a Champions League game in Marseille's mythical Vélodrome. I'd hardly sat down when that giant with the number 11 on his shirt scored. I remember he celebrated that goal like it was his last and he turned an already hostile atmosphere into a fireball of flares, chants and emotion. The crowd went mad, the noise was deafening.
At half-time I found him in the tunnel and told him: 'I don't have the money to buy you, but do you have any cousins that can play like you in the Ivory Coast?' In the middle of this tense qualification game he laughed, hugged me and said: 'One day you'll be in a club which can buy me.'
Six months later I signed for Chelsea. I had found a super powerful club which everybody wanted to negotiate with, everybody wanted to be linked to - and everybody wanted to play for. I had a number of options, but I arrived and said: 'I want Didier Drogba.' Doubts and questions were raised by a few people: 'Why this one?', 'Why not that one?', 'Are you sure he will adapt?', 'Is he really that good?'
'I want Didier Drogba,' I said.
A few days passed and I met with Didier in a private airport in London. Again he hugged me, but this time in an unforgettable way: an embrace that showed this man's gratitude, and the affection he feels towards people who mean a lot to him. Indescribable. Then he told me: 'Thank you. I will fight for you. You won't regret it. I will stay loyal to you forever.' And that's just what he's done...
His loyalty came out in his leadership and in the way he always faced up to the difficult moments. Moments when nothing else matters than to be there for your leader and your colleagues. This was a person I knew I could count on whenever and wherever I needed. When the team was under pressure he would go back and help the defenders; when he felt pain he would stretch himself to the limit and never give up. Then of course came what he did best: he scored and scored. Those goals brought him titles, amazing awards, but what stays with me are the countless stories we have together.
The FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium, 2007. Manchester United: the last game of the season. A lot of people thought this would be my last game in charge of Chelsea. It was a great battle, and then Didier scored in extra-time. The final whistle blew and everybody went mad - apart from two calm individuals. I ran into the dressing room to call my wife. One player avoided the immediate celebrations and followed me down the tunnel. It was Didier, chasing me for a hug. The game was over but in his mind as he left the pitch was only one thing: to hug me as soon as possible. Was he remembering our first encounter? Our second? Or was he thinking that this embrace could be the last...? He found me, we hugged and we cried.
Didier is a special person. And I repeat if I may: person. I could say player of course - and he's an unbelievable one - but above all, his impact on the world at the moment is as a person: as an African, as an emperor of the Ivory Coast, as a father, and as a son and as a friend. And some of us have the privilege to have him in our lives.
Months after the Cup final I was out of Chelsea. As on the first day, there came that same embrace. I couldn't speak and Didier could only say: 'This is not possible, this is not possible, this is not happening.' I could only find the strength to turn and walk away.
Perhaps this preface should focus on Didier the player. But the player everybody knows - the leader, the title collector, the benefactor as well. All these things he has achieved with skill, effort and humility. Didier is in my life as one of the best players I have managed in my career. But much more importantly, he's in my life as one of the best and most unforgettable friends.
Together, the two of us side by side, fighting for the same thing? Far away? In different clubs? In different countries? Or old, with Didier in retirement and me coaching in a wheelchair? It doesn't matter...
Didier. Always near to my heart.
José Mourinho
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Drogba’s reaction to Jose’s exit
Mourinho’s Chelsea exit in 2007 was somewhat controversial, and although Drogba, in an interview with France Football, didn’t go into details, his recollection of the time around it is revealing and emotional:
"I learned that the manager was going when he told me personally — before the club made it official.
“It was a shock because I literally did not believe it could happen to a guy like him.
“When Mourinho went to say goodbye for the last time in the dressing room it only lasted five minutes but it was an immensely strong moment and very moving.
“To watch him empty his locker so quickly and with such little fuss was terrible.
“Some around me were crying. It’s a shame if you are sensitive. He kissed us, one by one — except a few!
“Then he said ‘I wish you good luck to you and to your families and I thank you all. Even those who betrayed me’.
Mourinho didn’t stay a second longer after that because I think he would have burst into tears.
“Then it was like fireworks in the dressing room.
“I really feared that everything was going to explode.
“Finally a sense of resignation sunk over us and my initial feeling, just like a lot of players I think, was to feel alone.
“It was almost like being an orphan after the departure of a father.
Over the following days I struggled to look at some people without getting angry.
“Things went too far. In training, during those days, you could see some players were making basic errors, forgetting the basics of football.
Thankfully that effect didn’t last too long.
“My opinion is that results were only an excuse for getting rid of him. Perhaps his honesty and his way of saying what he thinks were not appreciated by everyone at the club.
“Mourinho explained to me what had happened in the few weeks prior to his departure and I understood why he went.
“I prefer not to share that, I just want to say that I have been really badly surprised by some people.
“I understand now what Mourinho meant when he told me ‘Know that I am happy to leave this place’."
Click here to find out how you make a Didier!
Drogba willing to ‘break legs’ for Jose…
A shorter quote this time, but a revealing one in itself. Speaking about Mourinho’s impact on his career Drogba revealed details about the Portuguese coach’s loyalty to those he trusts and claimed that he would have been willing to go to any length to support his manager:
"I loved him because he made me progress as a player. I was ready to break my legs for him."
Click here to find out how you make a Didier!
‘More than football’
More than football? Don’t go into great detail, Jose…
"I don't say Didier was the greatest player I have worked with because I have had so many great players," he said.
"But he was a great player, a great friend and somebody who will be part of my life forever.
“He would say the exact same about me. We created the kind of emotional links that are more than football."
Click here to find out how you make a Didier!
‘Who’s the daddy?’
In most workplaces this could be frowned upon, but in an interview Drogba revealed just how much affection the Chelsea players, especially himself, had for Jose:
"We call him daddy. I don't know about all of us but he did a lot of things for me during that moment where I had a lot of critics. He was supporting me and helping me. He signed me for Chelsea and did everything.
"He knows how to win and how to create the mentality. For example, when Barcelona were dominating the Spanish league and all the clásicos against Real Madrid, he lost 5-0 at the Camp Nou but he knew that one day they would take over and he would change it, and that's what is happening now. I think Barcelona now are unplayable so for him to win the league last year was something great, unbelievable I think.
"He knows how to create this winning mentality. During a game a player could score two goals but he will go to one midfielder or one central defender and say, 'For me, you were man of the match.' You know if you scored two goals that you had a good performance but to score those goals somebody had to work behind for you not to concede."