Didier Drogba scored a hat-trick as Chelsea began the defence of their league title with a crushing 6-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Brazil reached the Soccer World Cup’s last 16 with a 3-1 win over Côte d’Ivoire on Sunday which was soured by a controversial red card for Kaka.
Sven Goran Eriksson heralded the newfound discipline shown by his Côte d’Ivoire side in their goalless draw with Portugal on Tuesday.
Didier Drogba appears to be winning his race against time to be fit to play in Tuesday’s Soccer World Cup opener against Portugal.
Côte d’Ivoire saw off Japan 2-0 in a pre-World Cup friendly on Friday — but captain Didier Drogba may miss the World Cup after being injured.
Côte d’Ivoire’s stars backed coach Sven-Goran Eriksson as the squad continued rush introductions to each other ahead of the Soccer World Cup.
Chelsea will waive a potential appeal and accept the two-match ban imposed on Didier Drogba by Uefa following his dismissal in the Champions League.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was on Thursday named African Footballer of the Year for 2009, the second time he has won the award.
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/ 27 January 2010
John Barnes fears African teams will fall short at the World Cup unless they show the mental toughness displayed by their counterparts.
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/ 12 January 2010
The form book was shredded on day two at the Africa Cup of Nations as Algeria lost to Malawi and Côte d’Ivoire stuttered against Burkina Faso.
Tottenham and Chelsea stayed neck and neck at the top of the English Premier League with away victories on Sunday.
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/ 15 December 2008
Nicolas Anelka scored his 14th goal of the season on Sunday to save Chelsea from an embarrassing home defeat to West Ham and earned a 1-1 draw.
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/ 10 December 2008
Didier Drogba became Chelsea’s top scorer in the Champions League with his 19th goal that sealed a 2-1 win over CFR Cluj.
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/ 13 November 2008
Chelsea suffered another dose of penalty shoot-out misery they were dumped out of the League Cup by Championship club Burnley on Wednesday.
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/ 22 October 2008
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has labelled the London club’s striker, Didier Drogba, ”a diver”.
Africa’s top footballers head wearily back from a demanding club season in Europe for an intensive month of World Cup qualifiers starting this weekend. Players like Michael Essien, Samuel Eto’o, Frederic Kanoute, Nwankwo Kanu and Emmanuel Adebayor go from the cauldron of top club competition into an equally demanding round of qualifiers for the 2010 finals in South Africa.
Manchester United were crowned kings of Europe for the third time on Wednesday when they beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a breathless all-English Champions League final had finished 1-1 after extra time. United’s 37-year-old goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, saved the decisive spot kick from substitute Nicolas Anelka.
Chelsea may be playing their first Champions League final and Manchester United appearing in the showpiece event only after a nine-year absence, but there will be no shortage of experience when the two sides line up at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Wednesday.
Manchester United has another English title and Cristiano Ronaldo. Chelsea has a huge, talented squad and the wealth of owner Roman Abramovich. There is no underdog in this Champions League final as two English clubs make history by going head to head in Moscow.
Didier Drogba sent Chelsea to their first Champions League final and got revenge on Rafa Benitez as his double strike clinched a 3-2 win against Liverpool in Wednesday’s semifinal second leg. Drogba had given Chelsea the lead in the first half at Stamford Bridge before Fernando Torres sent the tie into extra-time.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez stoked up a row over Didier Drogba’s theatrics after refusing to retract his claims that the Chelsea striker is a diver. Benitez angered Chelsea boss Avram Grant by revealing he showed his defenders a video dossier of Drogba exaggerating fouls before last week’s Champions League semifinal first leg.
Alex Ferguson has promised a more ambitious approach from his Manchester United side in Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal second leg at home to Barcelona. Ferguson told the media that ”the game now starts at Old Trafford — it’s the decider.”
Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 in a dramatic match at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to pull level at the top of the Premier League and keep alive their hopes of snatching the title from United’s grasp. Michael Ballack was Chelsea’s scoring hero, deciding the game with an 86th-minute penalty after heading the home side ahead at the end of the first half.
The latest chapter in Liverpool and Chelsea’s seemingly never-ending European saga will be written on Tuesday when hostilities resume in the Champions League for the fourth successive season. Including domestic matches, it will be the 19th time the two clubs have faced each other in the last four seasons.
Bafana Bafana desperately need to uncover a new striker ahead of next year’s Confederations Cup. That was the opinion expressed on Wednesday by the CEO of the 2010 local organising committee , Danny Jordaan. While Jordaan is happy with the progress that coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is making, he is concerned by the fact that there is no successor to Benni McCarthy.
Chelsea boss Avram Grant refused to concede defeat to Manchester United in the English Premier League title race, insisting his players still believed they could win it. He admitted the Blues simply had to win Thursday’s clash at fifth-placed Everton, otherwise United could seal the title.
Michael Ballack put Chelsea on course for another Champions League semifinal collision with Liverpool as his goal set up a 2-0 win over Fenerbahce in Tuesday’s quarterfinal, second leg. Ballack’s first-half header was followed by a late Frank Lampard strike at Stamford Bridge to send Avram Grant’s side through 3-2 on aggregate.
Chelsea kept their Premier League title hopes alive with a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Sunday but their performance would have caused few alarms for leaders Manchester United. Ricardo Carvalho’s well-placed header inside the opening six minutes at Stamford Bridge proved sufficient for Avram Grant’s side to close the gap to five points.
Manchester United beat old rivals Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday as the reigning champions were left five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. But it was Chelsea who became United’s nearest challengers after a double from Didier Drogba saw them come from a goal behind to beat Arsenal 2-1.
English football’s big guns were shot down in flames on Saturday as Chelsea and Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup quarterfinals in two of the famous old competition’s most remarkable upsets. Between them Chelsea and United have won four of the last five Premier League titles and boast some of the world’s finest players.
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/ 25 February 2008
Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos savoured the sweet taste of success after beating Chelsea 2-1 in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday. ”It’s always a tremendous satisfaction to win a trophy but I would say this one has a special flavour to it because it was against a team who are supposedly superior to us,” said the Spaniard.
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/ 15 February 2008
There is little doubt Cristiano Ronaldo is the Premier League’s greatest entertainer. Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres are his only rivals for flair and, with 27 goals already this season, Ronaldo is way ahead in the striking stakes, never mind all the counterattacks, dribbles and step-overs he also provides.