Drogba vs Deco at Chelsea

By: Daryl | August 19th, 2008

Don’t let that headline mislead you: Didier Drogba and Deco are not getting into any fistfights at Stamford Bridge. Mostly because Deco would get dismantled. I’m talking about a clash of styles here.

For the last three season Chelsea have played a distinct style of football. I wouldn’t call it long ball, because Chelsea’s players are far too talented to go all Bobby Gould kick and chase, but I would call it direct. Chelsea have had a lot of success playing direct balls to Didier Drogba.

And why wouldn’t you play direct balls to Didier Drogba? He’s possibly the world’s most effective target man. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast. He can flick it on, he can hold it up, he can turn and shoot from 25 yards. The man could bring a grand piano down on his chest.

With those sort of attributes, Mourinho built a system around Double D (one fearsome target man, two attacking wingers, support players coming from midfield, tight defence) that won a lot of football matches and two Premier League trophies. But it didn’t win over many neutrals because it wasn’t all that nice to watch.

However, the Chelsea we saw destroy Portsmouth 4-0 on Sunday was altogether different. There was no big scary Didier Drogba (injured) to aim for, but there was a little fella named Deco. Deco played alongside Joe Cole behind Nic Anelka. He made himself available, came short and demanded balls to feet. It made Chelsea an altogether more attractive proposition.

In Jacks words: “Expansive, open and fluid, Chelsea worked the ball around, through and past Portsmouth with ease.” And Deco was at the heart of it.

The question is: what happens when Drogba returns to the team? Will Chelsea play the Drogba way or the Deco way?

Drogba is such a tempting target man that it’s going to be hard for Chelsea to resist playing those balls directly to him, isn’t it? Will Deco still get all those balls to feet, or will he be reduced to feeding off the scraps of Didier Drogba knock downs?

The reality is likely that the two styles aren’t all that mutually exclusive. Deco might not do well in a team that plays directly, but Drogba is probably perfectly capable of being dangerous in a team that favours short passing. The whole thing won’t revolve around him like it did under Mourinho, but he’ll still score a shitload of goals.

Maybe Scolari is planning some sort of compromise? Lots of pretty football with the occasional deadly direct ball, or maybe a a team that can switch from one style to the other at will? I wouldn’t like to play against that team, but I’d quite enjoy watching them play.