What Can Chelsea Realistically Expect from Didier Drogba This Season?

Didier Drogba’s return to Chelsea was one of the more heartwarming stories to come out of Stamford Bridge this summer.

The departure of club legends Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole was tough for the supporters to digest, but Drogba coming home seemed to lessen the blow for some. In fact, there were plenty who seemed to expect Chelsea’s Champions League hero to pick up where he left off, scoring goals for fun in all of the biggest games.

In the interview he gave to the official Chelsea website after his one-year deal was confirmed, Drogba said that he had come back to win trophies. While the Blues’ near-perfect start to the season seems to suggest that he will achieve that goal, it is unclear what his role in any success will be.

At 36 years old, Drogba was not brought in to challenge new signing Diego Costa for a regular starting berth. Although he was given the nod to start against FC Schalke in the opening game of Chelsea’s Champions League campaign, it was clear that much had changed during the time he spent away from Stamford Bridge. The striker missed two clear-cut chances and looked exhausted by the time he was substituted on 74 minutes, suggesting that he should be third in the pecking order behind Costa and Loic Remy.

B/R’s lead Chelsea writer Garry Hayes was vilified in the comments on this piece for daring to suggest that Drogba’s return was not a good idea. However, his position has so far been vindicated to an extent.

When Drogba left Chelsea in 2012, it was as a hero. He had scored the equaliser and the winning penalty as the Blues lifted the European Cup for the first time. After years of heartbreak—some of it his own fault—he had finally won everything.

Anyone expecting the same level of goalscoring drama from his second spell at the club should prepare for disappointment.

Although he has signed a one-year deal in a playing role, it is behind the scenes where Drogba’s most important work will be done this season, as the club continues to transition from the old guard to the next generation. Jose Mourinho hinted that this was the case when he spoke to the press after the signing was confirmed this summer, per James Dickenson at the Daily Express:

I think we need him as a player, we need him as a player for our squad to be the way I like because I like the squad with different qualities. Not just as football players, in terms of personalities. I like to have players with different personalities. I think as a player and a person he's someone we need to be strong.

Despite the obvious downsides that come with his advancing age, especially considering the level Chelsea are competing at, Drogba still has a role to play. Barring an unprecedented injury crisis, he is unlikely to make more than a handful of cameo appearances in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, but his importance as a talismanic figure in a dressing room full of new faces should not be underestimated.