Brave Drogba shows workshy Cole the way
Thursday 11 November 2010 16:43
If there’s one piece of media work that deserves a bit of credit this week, it’s Chelsea choosing to reveal only now that Didier Drogba has had malaria for a month (and that he’s better now).
A month. Do you know how long that is in football? It can be measured only by being broken down into headlines and column inches: somewhere in the region of 17,000 hours spent writing and reading them, all on the subject of malaria.
If, that is, Drogba’s malaria woe had been revealed a month ago, at the start of his battle. Oh, imagine the press coverage if Fleet Street had known straightaway.
We would have had appeals for charity from one camp, accusations of disease-bringing foreigners from the other. "Bobby Charlton never got malaria," sniffs a tabloid columnist, "and if he had he’d have played on like the pro he was – he once scored a hat-trick while clinically dead."
Meanwhile, we’re treated to a history of malaria in football, lists showing The Greatest Footballers With Names That Are Anagrams Of Malaria and a debate over whether the English national football team’s fortunes could improve if they were exposed to life-threatening diseases more often. "Is malaria a serious issue affecting African football?" asks the Guardian. "Is Drogba the bravest footballer since Bert Trautmann?" asks the Independent.
And this is not to mention the extensive analysis into his play before every Chelsea game, after every Chelsea game, and indeed every time he touched the ball. “What a hit, son,” cries Andy Gray as Drogba spoons wide from six yards. “For a man with malaria, that’s a great effort. Take a bow.”
But thanks to Chelsea’s silence until now, this has all been avoided. Thank you, Chelsea. This is meant with 100 percent sincerity: thank you so, so much. They have brilliantly nipped it in the bud by waiting until the bud – and bug – was already nipped. The media can’t do much now. It’s old news. Drogba’s better again. Expect a small amount of localised chatting, then malaria to die the death it tried, and failed, to inflict on football’s Chuck Norris.
And as for Drogba, he deserves credit for carrying on as if he was the healthiest man on Earth. He’s obviously not been at his best over the last month (still provided an assist though), but to manage a full 90 minutes without coughing up blood, or even without anyone noticing he was suffering, is incredible. You didn’t see that kind of effort from Cheryl Cole. All in all, her performance during The Malaria Months was beyond poor.
Which brings us on to how Drogba caught malaria in the first place. Was it Cheryl? Is Ashley’s ex getting revenge on the love rat by having a series of malaria-ridden trysts with his team-mates? Thankfully for our legal team, the answer is almost certainly no.
Still, what a headline that would make.
or
to add your comments
About Huw Davies
After being told by Alan Hansen in a dream to give up playing football on account of being rubbish, Huw focused on writing about the sometimes beautiful game instead. He is fiercely Welsh and a Spurs supporter, but concentrates most of his energy on internally debating whether he hates Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger more. Huw is not related to fellow
FourFourTwo writer Gregg Davies, nor the marginally better footballer Simon Davies. He can, however be relied upon to regale anyone who will listen, and anyone who won't, about a goal he scored in 2004, which becomes more impressive every time (picked it up on the halfway line, took it past three players, chipped the 'keeper....)
Oh, and he reads Batman comics (hence the shirt).