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Didier Drogba wants to stay and fight for first team place at Chelsea

• Striker under pressure since arrival of Fernando Torres
• 'I have everything I dream of at Chelsea' says Drogba




  • Press Association
  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 March 2011 13.42 GMT <li class="history">Article history
    didier-drogba-007.jpg
    Chelsea's Didier Drogba says he is at one of the best clubs in the world. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images Didier Drogba does not want to leave Chelsea, despite the arrival of the £50m striker Fernando Torres.
    The 32-year-old Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, has been linked with a return to France since the arrival of Torres from Liverpool in the January transfer window.
    But the Ivorian, who is under contract with the Barclays Premier League champions until 2012, is happy to stay and fight for his place in the first team.
    "I have everything I dream of at Chelsea," he said. "I'm at a great club with extraordinary team-mates, in a perfect life for my family.
    "A few years ago, I could say 'I dream of playing for AC Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United'. However, today I no longer feel the need.
    "I'm at one of the best clubs in the world. These desires left me long ago," he added on the French television channel Orange Sport.

 
Chelsea will be galvanised by the sight of Manchester United

The champions' recent home record against today's opponents suggests they can restore some pride to a deflating season



  • Chelsea-007.jpg
    Manchester United have struggled at Stamford Bridge in recent seasons. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images The match at Stamford Bridge will be presented as a grand spectacle. It is simple enough to make the claim when Chelsea, reigning champions who have effectively lost their title, seek to insist upon their status by beating Manchester United, the leaders of the Premier League. In this trying season the hosts can almost feel relief at the arrival of Sir Alex Ferguson's team.
    Chelsea were last beaten by United at home in April 2002, more than a year before Roman Abramovich bought the club. The sense of occasion that comes with this match regularly galvanises them. The superiority has been so marked as to be incongruous.
    The side has not simply avoided losing to United at Stamford Bridge but also prevented them, on many occasions, from making any impression. Over the 10 games without defeat by these visitors Chelsea have conceded a paltry four goals and a couple of them were in a draw that took place as long ago as August 2002.
    The encounter ahead, however, sets before us teams that need careful management. Carlo Ancelotti and Ferguson no longer have quite the means enjoyed in recent times. While Chelsea completed the double last season, that looked the feat of a club that had fulfilled itself and hardly expected such impact again.
    Ancelotti should feel sheepish about the key issue. The priority for Chelsea is merely to claw their way past Tottenham Hotspur and, at the minimum, hold on to fourth place so there is a path to next season's Champions League. In the broader context a great deal has gone wrong at Stamford Bridge. In times gone by the side would have preserved a 1-0 lead late in an FA Cup replay at home but this year Branislav Ivanovic conceded a free-kick near the 18-yard line and Leighton Baines equalised. Everton won the penalty shoot-out.
    Last season's exploits now seem like a show-stopping finale to an era. There were 103 goals in the league alone but not even Ancelotti's acumen could keep such form intact. While Ferguson's side is to the fore there are parallels with Chelsea. He, with more success, has also been wringing out drops of influence from the old guard.
    With Ryan Giggs injured, he still calculated that he could cope with the Champions League away leg at Marseille while asking no more of Paul Scholes than a 17-minute interlude in a tolerable 0-0 draw. The calibrations are delicate. It assists Ferguson, too, that there are certain younger men who can achieve an impact and Nani made the French champions too uneasy ever to take risks.
    There has been a dividend for United's grand continuity in the manager's office but few clubs ever discover someone who merits so extended a tenure. This campaign is also a prolonged trial to Ferguson. No one anticipated such a small return from Wayne Rooney. His greatest impact of late may have come with the elbow to the head of Wigan's James McCarthy on Saturday.
    He did at least remember to score and four goals for Rooney in February might encourage Ferguson to think that there will be a return on the effort and expense the club went to when holding on to the forward. This could be presented as a disrupted campaign for United were it not for the fact that results are somehow good.
    It is not a claim to be made for Chelsea. The signing in January of Fernando Torres, below, and David Luiz, with the latter ineligible for the Champions League, did not smack of a grand strategy. All the same those purchases confirmed Abramovich's readiness to fund a new phase. The process will certainly get the attention of the squad if, as looks likely, John Terry has to fight for his place when Ivanovic and David Luiz also compete for the centre-back roles.
    Chelsea, however, lack adroitness and it is not easy to envisage them coming up with an inexpensive scorer such as United's Javier Hernández, with the initial fee to the Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara thought to be no more than £6m. He has nine Premier League goals so far despite starting a mere eight games in that competition. A stability dividend is hard to come by and, although Frank Arnesen is coming to the end of a six-year stay at Stamford Bridge, his role varied and influence has fluctuated.
    Every proprietor craves continuity but they are also terrified of staying loyal to the wrong man. While Ancelotti is expected to depart in the summer, that is more likely to lead to upheaval than to a golden age at Chelsea.

 
Ryan Giggs's 133 team-mates at Manchester United since 1991

From Anderson to Dwight Yorke, here are the Manchester United players who have played in the first team with Ryan Giggs




  • Will Wainewright
  • The Guardian, Tuesday 1 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Roy-Keane-007.jpg
    Ryan Giggs says Manchester United felt 'invincible' with Roy Keane in the side. Photograph: Matthew Ashton/Empics Sport A

    Anderson
    B

    Phil Bardsley, Fabien Barthez, Russell Beardsmore, Bébé, David Beckham, David Bellion, Dimitar Berbatov, Henning Berg, Clayton Blackmore, Laurent Blanc, Jesper Blomqvist, Mark Bosnich, Wes Brown, Steve Bruce, Nicky Butt
    C

    Fraizer Campbell, Eric Cantona, Michael Carrick, Chris Casper, Roy Carroll, Luke Chadwick, Michael Clegg, Andy Cole, Terry Cooke, Jordi Cruyff, Nick Culkin, John Curtis
    D

    Simon Davies, Fabio da Silva, Rafael da Silva, Ritchie De Laet, Mame Biram Diouf, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Bojan Djordjic, Mal Donaghy, Dion Dublin
    E

    Chris Eagles, Richard Eckersley, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra
    F

    Rio Ferdinand, Darren Ferguson, Darren Fletcher, Diego Forlán, Quinton Fortune, Ben Foster
    G

    Darron Gibson, Keith Gillespie, Andy Goram, Jonathan Greening
    H

    Owen Hargreaves, David Healy, Gabriel Heinze, Javier Hernández, Danny Higginbotham, Tim Howard, Mark Hughes
    I

    Paul Ince, Denis Irwin
    J

    Ronny Johnsen
    K

    Andrei Kanchelskis, Roy Keane, Kleberson, Tomasz Kuszczak
    L

    Henrik Larsson, Anders Lindegaard
    M

    Pat McGibbon, Federico Macheda, Lee Martin (90s), Lee Martin (00s), Manucho, David May, Brian McClair, Liam Miller, Philip Mulryne
    N

    Nani, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Erik Nevland
    O

    Gabriel Obertan, John O'Kane, John O'Shea, Michael Owen
    P

    Gary Pallister, Park Ji-sung, Paul Parker, Mike Phelan, Kevin Pilkington, Gerard Piqué, Karel Poborsky, Rodrigo Possebon, William Prunier, Danny Pugh
    R

    Felipe Ricardo, Kieran Richardson, Mark Robins, Bryan Robson, Lee Roche, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Giuseppe Rossi
    S

    Louis Saha, Peter Schmeichel, Lee Sharpe, Teddy Sheringham, Paul Scholes, Les Sealey, Alan Smith, Mikaël Silvestre, Danny Simpson, Chris Smalling, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jonathan Spector, Jaap Stam, Michael Stewart
    T

    Massimo Taibi, Carlos Tevez, Zoran Tosic
    V

    Antonio Valencia, Raimond van der Gouw, Nemanja Vidic Edwin van der Sar, Ruud van Nilstelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón,
    W

    Danny Wallace, Ronnie Wallwork, Gary Walsh, Neil Webb, Danny Welbeck, Ian Wilkinson, Mark Wilson
    Y

    Dwight Yorke

    &#8226; This article was amended on 1 March 2011. The original headline referred to Ryan Griggs's 131 team-mates. This has been corrected and the missing two players (Anders Lindegaard and Pat McGibbon) added to the lists.

 
Frings to retire at season's end


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Updated Feb 28, 2011 10:34 AM ET
Werder Bremen midfielder Torsten Frings has announced his intention to retire from the game in the summer.
The former Germany international is out of contract at the end of June and he has made up his mind not to seek an extension but, instead, to hang up his boots for good.

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"I will be 35," he told the Kreiszeitung Syke newspaper. "I don't want to carry on, I have had enough."
He could yet be talked into playing for another year if he feels Bremen really want him to keep playing for them, but he rates the chances of that happening as slim.
"We will hold some talks so my decision is not yet 100% certain, but there is a clear tendency towards retiring," he added.
"I have been thinking long and hard about this. People keep on asking me whether I will be staying or not."
Frings has played a total of 392 Bundesliga matches for Bremen, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund and was capped 79 times by Germany.
He was suspended for Sunday's 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen, but has otherwise been a regular in the Bremen team this season.
 
German Bundesliga Roundup, Feb. 27


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Updated Feb 27, 2011 3:19 PM ET
Sebastian Proedl scored in injury time to give Werder Bremen a 2-2 home draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sunday, sparking scenes of celebration at the relegation-threatened club.
The Austrian defender headed the ball past Rene Adler in the 91st minute, eight minutes after Stefan Kiessling's own goal first gave hope to the home side.
Eren Derdiyok and Rolfes had scored for Leverkusen.
With ten games remaining, Bremen is 15th on 25 points, one above Kaiserslautern in the relegation playoff place.
"We have to collect points, one by one. We risked an awful lot in the end," Werder coach Thomas Schaaf said.

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Leverkusen remains second, 12 points behind Borussia Dortmund.
"I think some don't want (to play) in the Champions League. It really makes me sick," Adler said.
Earlier, Tamas Hajnal secured a 2-0 victory for 10-man Stuttgart at Eintracht Frankfurt, condemning the hosts to a fourth straight home defeat.
Hajnal lobbed the ball over the advancing Ralf Faehrmann in the 67th minute, three minutes after Martin Harnik had opened the scoring for Stuttgart.
Harnik's quick free kick to Timo Gebhart caught out the Frankfurt defense, and he pounced when Faehrmann spilled Gebhart's shot to slot into an empty net.
Stuttgart's captain, Matthieu Delpierre, was sent off in the 15th, when he barged into Maik Franz, sending the defender to the ground as Zdravko Kuzmanovic was waiting to take a Stuttgart free kick.
Referee Wolfgang Stark initially showed a red card to Khalid Boulahrouz, before sending off the correct player after consulting with his linesman.
Television replays showed Franz stepping on Delpierre's foot.
"The referee could have shown them both yellow," Stuttgart sport director Fredi Bobic said at halftime.
Faehrmann denied Shinji Okazaki in the 29th, after Christian Traesch released the Japan striker with a well-placed cross-field pass.
Fanis Gekas went close at the other end in the 37th, when his looping header was pushed over the bar by Sven Ulreich.
The Greek striker - searching for his first goal since Dec. 18 - hit the bar in the 55th with Ulreich beaten.
Stuttgart - the 2007 champion - remains second from bottom, two points from safety.

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Frankfurt, still to score a goal in 2011, drops to 13th.
Werder's first chance came in the 19th, when Florian Trinks - in his first Bundesliga start - released Tim Borowski and Adler saved.
The goalkeeper frustrated the home side with numerous saves. His outstretched leg denied Borowski in the 27th, when the former Germany international only had Adler to beat.
Desperate defending prevented Gonzalo Castro from opening the scoring at the other end, and Eren Derdiyok's effort from the rebound was ruled offside.
Tim Wiese pulled off a save to deny Derdiyok from 17 meters (yards), but went missing when the Swiss striker rose highest to score from the resulting corner in the 42nd.
Rolfes - a former Bremen player - scored Leverkusen's second in the 67th, when he calmly slotted past Wiese after Bremen failed to clear a corner.
Trinks forced the own goal from Kiessling in the 83rd, when the striker's attempt to clear his cross backfired.
Adler denied Pizarro from close range again four minutes later, when Arturo Vidal was sent off with a second yellow card after a foul on Clemens Fritz.
But there was still time for Proedl to convert substitute Aaron Hunt's hopeful cross.
"It was shoulder to shoulder with the fans," Bremen defender Per Mertesacker said.
It was the fifth draw in a row between the sides.
Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes has faced Schaaf eight times and is yet to come away with a victory.
"We would clearly have preferred to leave the pitch as winners," Heynckes said.
 
Carlo Ancelotti angry but Ashley Cole keeps his place in Chelsea team

&#8226; Chelsea will support rather than 'kill him' says manager
&#8226; Training ground is 'not out of control', says Italian




  • Dominic Fifield
  • The Guardian, Tuesday 1 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history
    Carlo Ancelotti angry after Ashley Cole shot a student at the club's training ground with an air rifle Link to this video Carlo Ancelotti has revealed his anger and disappointment at the behaviour of Ashley Cole after the England left-back accidentally shot a work-placement student at the club's training ground with an air rifle. Yet the Chelsea manager tempered his criticism by claiming that the defender remains "one of the best professionals" with whom he has worked over his career, and that the club would support rather than "kill him" for his misdemeanour.
    Cole will start the match against Manchester United having apologised to Tom Cowan, the 21-year-old intern who was shot in the side by the England defender with a .22 calibre air rifle in the changing room 10 days ago.
    Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, and the club's hierarchy were deeply unimpressed to learn of the incident and said they would take "appropriate action" against the player. Having opted against dropping Cole from the first-team they have the capacity to fine him the maximum two weeks' wages, amounting to around £220,000.
    Surrey police will also seek an explanation for the event which took place on Sunday 20 February and left Cowan, who is now on a period of leave, requiring treatment from the Chelsea medical staff. The shooting prompted Ancelotti to say the training ground is "not out of control" despite the fact that Cole had broken club rules, apparently reportedly bringing the weapon on to the premises and then using it.
    "I am angry, obviously," said the Italian. "But to read that [the training ground at] Cobham is out of control is totally wrong. I've been a manager for 20 years and one of the most important things is discipline. Players have to observe the rules.
    "Ashley made a mistake. When he said sorry he was really disappointed [with himself]. But what do we have to do now? Kill him? No. We have to support him. I maintain the same idea about him: he's a good player but a good man also. For this reason, we have to be fair. I hope to be fair with my players. I want to have a good relationship with them but this does not mean there is no discipline here. We have rules here. It would be very different if he had not said 'sorry'. He stepped over the line, but we have to support him. We are really disappointed also for the guy who was the victim in this. But things are not out of control."
    Ancelotti does not have a reputation for being a particularly disciplinarian &#8211; as opposed to the likes of Fabio Capello and the former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari &#8211; and has always opted to put an arm around a player and explain to them why their behaviour has been unacceptable rather than take more drastic action. He employed such tactics when Cole, 30, and the team captain John Terry, also 30, were the subjects of newspaper exposés over the past year and which also served to damage the club's reputation. "If a player makes a mistake and we have to 'kill' them, that's not my way to manage the players," said Ancelotti. "I try to explain that it is wrong, support him and give him the possibility to use different behaviour.
    "Ashley made a mistake last week. Two years ago [when it was claimed he had smuggled a lady back to the team's hotel in Seattle on a pre-season tour of the United States] he made a mistake. This is true. But when I talk about professionalism, I'm talking about things on the training pitch.
    "I can say without problem that Ashley Cole is one of the best professionals I've met in my career. He is a fantastic player and one of the best left-backs in the world. He made a mistake, and who hasn't made a mistake in his life? But we all have to take responsibility &#8211; the player and the club &#8211; for what has happened."
    Chelsea claimed that their own investigation into the matter was under way before the incident was exposed in a Sunday newspaper &#8211; the full-back played in the midweek Champions League victory over Copenhagen, before details of the shooting had emerged &#8211; and there was apparently never any possibility that Cole's £110,000-a-week contract at the club would be torn up despite the gravity of the incident.
    He will play tonight as the reigning champions, languishing in fifth place, look to claw back a 15-point deficit on Manchester United at the top of the table, with Ancelotti weighing up whether to recall Didier Drogba to his starting line-up.
    Fernando Torres will start the game at Stamford Bridge still seeking a first goal since his £50m move from Liverpool while the versatile David Luiz, cup-tied in the Champions League last week, returns at the centre of defence. "We are not mathematically out of the title race so we have to keep believing, but we also need to be honest," added Ancelotti. "It would be difficult to close this gap. But we go into this game excited and hoping to play our own game and win. It is an important game for the future of Chelsea."

 
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