There is an art or “gamesmanship” to diving and wasting time, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Didier Drogba scored the game winner and was a beast throughout the soccer match, his strength and fight were something Barcelona players were unaccustomed to facing in La Liga. One might even say the downfall of Chelsea of late has been Fernando Torres being used instead of Drogba, displacing Drogba was a terrible mistake by the Chelsea managers.
However, during the game versus Barcelona, Drogba’s repeated falls and dives were beyond the scope of even Sergio Busquets usual play actings. This leap into the air and then fall to the ground was his greatest move in the game. I wonder if we’ll see more of his gymnastics at the Camp Nou next week. Drogba is an incredible forward and goal scorer but maybe his greatest move is the theatrical dive.
After the Drogba leap there was of course the Drogba face plant, like he’d been shot or something. When in reality he leaped up to try to head the ball and miscalculated, sending him crashing to the ground. He hadn’t even been touched.
In total, Drogba spent 6 minutes and 30 seconds either rolling around on the ground or floating in the air during Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final first-leg against Barcelona. Does Drogba have the record for the most time wasted in the English Premier League..?
First-Half:
4th minute: Penalised for a foul on Sergio Busquets (Down for 12 seconds)
14th minute: Clashes again with Busquets, Barcelona play on before Carlos Puyol puts ball out of play. (Out of action for 70 seconds)
34th minute: The Ivorian goes down under a challenge from Puyol inside his own area, exaggerating the contact the defender’s boot makes with his face. (Down for 12 seconds)
35th minute: From a Petr Cech goal kick, Drogba goes down after an aerial clash with Busquets (Doesn’t feature for 110 seconds)
38th minute: Drogba falls to the ground winded and lies prostrate on the ground. “He needs to get on with it,” says Andy Townsend on commentary. (Down for 60 seconds)
45th minute: Goes down theatrically under challenge from Puyol. (Down for 15 seconds)
First-Half total: 4 minutes 37 seconds
Second-Half:
51st minute: Tries to slide tackle Lionel Messi. (Down for 2 seconds)
65th minute: Draws a foul from Javier Mascherano in the view of referee Felix Brych. The defender indicates he thinks the striker dived. (Down for 3 seconds)
67th minute: Suffers what looks like a groin injury in challenge with Puyol. Brych stops play. “Drogba goes down yet again,” says Clive Tyldesley. (Down for 100 seconds)
86th minute: Booked for a slide tackle on Messi. Lies on the floor in a clear attempt at time-wasting. (Down for 10 seconds)
Second-Half Total: 1 minute 53 seconds
Total time wasted: 6 minutes 30 seconds
Source: www.whoateallthepies
While there’s no question that Drogba will go down in soccer history as one of Chelsea’s greatest forwards, but he has been known to try and draw the ref into giving out red and yellow cards quite a bit. Here’s video of Drogba overreacting after claiming he was hit in the face! Chelsea versus Napoli with Drogba diving and acting like he got hit in the face caught on camera!