New Delhi: Didier Drogba, who joined Chelsea in the year 2004 and inspired them to glory many times in his eight-year long career, said that winning Champions League had been a long time goal for him and he is extremely pleased to have achieved that. But the talismanic striker after inspiring the Blues to their first Champions League title is on a way out and said that his next stop is going to be a special and he would let the world know about his decision in a few months time.

"My heart will always bleed blue. I have built special relationship with so many players but then my next stop will be with a special one. The world would have to wait for some more time to know that," added Drogba.

For Drogba, who has spent eight long years with the English Premier League club Chelsea and has played with top managers, Roberto di Matteo would be remembered manager he came in contact with.

"I have played with many top mangers, including Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and everyone brought something to team. Ancelloti brought in a new way of thinking, Mourinho brought in fresh spirit, but di Matteo would be the one most remembered," said Drogba, who is here to coach the national winners of the Pepsi T20 Football.

Di Matteo was an assistant to Andres Villas Boas but after he was sacked Matteo was appointed as an interim coach and he guided Chelsea to their first Champions League title.

Drogba said winning the Champions League has been the proudest moment of his career and it was something which he dreamt of since his childhood. “It was like a dream for me to score in that match. So many different emotions were playing on the mind when I took that penalty shoot. I wanted it badly for my team and my friend Petr Cech,” said Drogba.

Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in the final at the Allianz Arena and Drogba first equalized with a brilliant header and then scored the winning penalty. Drogba stayed with Chelsea for the longest period of time in his career and has scored 100 goals for the club, the most by an overseas player.

"I am lucky to have played and extremely pleased to have contributed in making the club a brand worldwide," said the Ivory coast striker.

Drogba when asked about racism, said, “Racism has been a menace to sports overall and FIFA has stringent guidelines in place to stop it.”

Drogba, who is on his maiden visit to India to support Pepsi T20 Football, praised the Indian cricket team for winning the World Cup and said they do deserve respect for that. “I honestly do not have much knowledge about the game but then did follow it and saw India winning the tournament. They deserve respect and becoming a champion is a great thing,” said Drogba.
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News Network