London: After maddening and thrilling football fans in equal measures for eight years, Didier Drogba's combustible Chelsea career is over. And it was fitting that one of football's most theatrical characters went out with one final, dramatic flourish.
With the last kick in his last game, the 34-year-old Drogba won the Champions League for Chelsea on Saturday, scoring the decisive penalty in the shoot-out against Bayern Munich.
"Even the greatest stories come to an end," the Ivory Coast forward wrote on Tuesday on his official website. "My contract is finished and I am now prepared to leave the Blues. It is with great sadness but also with much gratitude that I announce [to] you my departure from Chelsea."
"I played my last game for the club in Munich and I am delighted to have finally been able to lift the Champions League trophy after an incredible final."...
more
02:12 AM, May 23, 2012
Madrid: Just one day after lifting the Champions League trophy, Chelsea striker Fernando Torres said he is not happy with his limited role on the team. Torres said he had the worst moments of his career with the club this season and needs clarity about his future role with the newly-crowned European champions. Torres told Spanish sports daily AS that he had been bitterly disappointed at being left out of...
07:18 AM, May 21, 2012
London: Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said that the club will hold talks with forward Didier Drogba about a new contract next week, while also saying that they hope to appoint a permanent manager "sooner rather than later." Drogba, who scored the decisive penalty to defeat Bayern Munich in the shoot-out of the Champions League final on Saturday, is out of contract next month. The 34-year-old Ivory Coast international joined the...
06:51 AM, May 21, 2012
London: In front of tens of thousands of Chelsea fans, the new kings of Europe paraded the Champions League trophy through London's New King's Road on Sunday. The Blues are the capital's first European champions after beating Bayern Munich 4-3 in Saturday's shoot-out in the competition's 57th season. Even Chelsea's notoriously-reclusive owner, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, joined his expensively-assembled squad on an open-top bus to show off the trophy as...
06:26 AM, May 21, 2012
Munich: After leading Chelsea to the biggest trophy in club football, Roberto di Matteo's future as manager of the London club is still in doubt. Di Matteo had a conversation with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich after the team's penalty shoot-out win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday, but he would not disclose what he discussed with the Russian billionaire. "What was discussed with the boss we...
06:11 AM, May 21, 2012
Munich: Chelsea's suspended captain John Terry missed the club's penalty shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday but still described the win as the best moment of his career. The central defender was ruled out of the match at the Allianz Arena after being sent off in the semi-final second leg in Barcelona. "This is an incredible feeling," Terry told reporters after Chelsea won the...
05:21 AM, May 21, 2012
Munich: Bayern Munich's dramatic downfall in the Champions League final is unlikely to have a long-term influence on Germany's biggest club, although it could have a negative impact on Germany's hopes of winning the upcoming European Championship. Bayern's young squad was good enough to eliminate Real Madrid in the semi-finals and largely dominate Chelsea on Saturday before losing on penalties. Time will eventually heal those wounds. But more immediately, eight...
04:22 AM, May 21, 2012
Munich: Lots of money, lots of luck, and players who didn't care about winning ugly " just so long as they won " turned Chelsea into the champions of Europe. The money, of course, is Roman Abramovich's. The billionaire finally got his hands on the shiny trophy with big ears he so coveted. A bargain at $1.2 billion and counting. That's roughly how much of his wealth the Russian has...
01:37 PM, May 20, 2012
Munich: Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben has spoken of his regret as he missed a vital penalty in the Champions League final defeat to Chelsea on Saturday. The match had ended 1-1 after 90 minutes but the Germans were handed a massive opportunity to regain control of the match in extra-time after Didier Drogba had fouled Franck Ribery in the box. Robben's spot-kick was weak, however, and Petr Cech dived...
01:15 PM, May 20, 2012
Munich: Chelsea players made it clear they wanted Roberto Di Matteo to be given the coach's job full-time after the Italian's whirlwind three months in charge ended with the Champions League trophy - the prize owner Roman Abramovich had craved the most. A 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich on the Germans' home ground after a 1-1 draw following extra-time on Saturday was the culmination of a stunning sequence...
09:51 AM, May 20, 2012
Munich: Some Bayern Munich players, including Arjen Robben, refused to take penalties in their shoot-out defeat by Chelsea in the Champions League final on Saturday, forcing coach Jupp Heynckes to nominate 'keeper Manuel Neuer, Heynckes told reporters. "Some of my players did not feel sure enough or confident enough to take penalties," Heynckes said. "They were tired after 120 minutes of play. You cannot force anyone to take a penalty."...
09:37 AM, May 20, 2012
Munich: When Didier Drogba completed Chelsea's quest for a Champions League title on Saturday, he did it in his unique way as a true diva of world football. Drogba scored the decisive penalty to defeat Bayern Munich in the shoot-out, after earning Chelsea an unlikely reprieve with an 88th-minute headed goal to level at 1-1 in a match dominated by a German side that made their home stadium advantage count....
06:51 AM, May 20, 2012
Munich: Chelsea won the 2011-12 Champions League with a gripping 4-3 win over Bayern Munich on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. Bayern set up camp in the Chelsea half for the majority of the match, but were extremely wasteful in front of goal, passing up a number of opportunities that allowed Roberto Di Matteo's men to stay in the contest. Thomas Muller looked to...
03:12 AM, May 20, 2012
Munich: Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has issued a plea ahead of Saturday's Champions League final against Chelsea: No more penalties please.Bayern won a penalty shootout to eliminate Real Madrid in the semifinals and did the same in the German Cup semis against Borussia Moenchengladbach. Heynckes joked on Friday that a third shootout would be too much to suffer through at age 67, although German sides traditionally have a good...
10:04 AM, May 19, 2012
It isnt the final anyone predicted, even when there was only one hurdle remaining. Yet, having defeated Spains, perhaps even the worlds, two best sides, Bayern Munich and Chelsea find themselves on the brink of glory, in the Champions League final in Munich on Saturday. It will also be a night of redemption for one team. While Bayern will be keen to make amends for their loss to Inter Milan...
08:46 AM, May 19, 2012
Munich: For Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben, Saturday's Champions League final against Chelsea in the Bavarian capital is the game of a lifetime and a chance to make amends for 2010. Bayern want to set the record straight with a fifth top European prize after making their second Champions League final in three seasons and losing the 2010 decider 2-0 to Inter Milan. "This is the match of a lifetime," Dutch...
05:49 PM, May 18, 2012
London: Chelsea striker Didier Drogba believes Chelsea deserve their place in the Champions League final this weekend, and hopes they can put the heartache of Moscow in 2008 well and truly behind them by beating Bayern Munich. The 34-year-old is likely to start at the Allianz Arena in what could be his last game for the club, and the striker thinks that a win on Saturday could be the perfect...
05:46 PM, May 18, 2012
New Delhi: The grudge match between Manchester United and Barcelona on May 28 at the new Wembley promises to be a footballing spectacle. Ever since United breezed past Schalke, the war of words has already begun. Barcelona, in their own sly way have downplayed the 'favourites' tag and star medio Xavi has tipped United to win the European title for the fourth time. Vindicating the visionary midfielder, here are five...
09:13 AM, May 07, 2011
Kolkata Knight Riders sealed the second place in the points table with a crushing 34-run victory over hosts Pune Warriors India in their final group league encounter of the Indian Premier League on Saturday. Defending a total of 136 on a difficult pitch, the KKR spinners restricted Pune to a paltry 102 for 8. While KKR with 21 points will get a maximum of two matches in the play-offs to...
03:09 PM, May 25, 2008
