Drogba's duels

Didier Drogba has had some memorably tough
tussles in his time.
A strong and powerful centre-forward who has
scored freely on the domestic, European and
international stages, the Ivorian has grown
accustomed to the physical attentions of some of the
world’s best defenders over the years.
He was recently asked who it was that had given him
the hardest games during his time at the top of the
game, and picked out two recently retired players he
had seen plenty of during Champions League ties in
his first spell at Stamford Bridge.
‘It’s difficult but I would say Jamie Carragher was the
most difficult one in terms of aggression, but he was
always fair,’ the 36-year-old said.
‘Then there was Carles Puyol, he was a strong
defender, tough, but always respectful, and a
gentleman really.’
Former Liverpool defender Carragher has not been
shy in praising the Chelsea man either. Recently
picking an all-time foreign Premier League XI, he
described Drogba as the ‘best big game player I can
remember’, adding: ‘Drogba did what all strikers
should do and that is score in the biggest games. He
scored three winners in the FA Cup final, got the
crucial goals in two League Cup finals and who
could forget what he did in Munich in the
Champions League final? At his best, he was
unplayable.’