Didier Drogba’s time with the Montreal Impact looks like it may prove to be as brief as it was explosive.
According to reports from RDS, Drogba is unlikely to return to the club for the 2016 season after joining the Impact midway through 2015. Drogba is reportedly tempted by a coaching offer from former club Chelsea.
In response, the Impact are reportedly already in the market for a striker to replace the Ivorian, who RDS states has a 10 percent chance of fulfilling his contract with the club.
Drogba’s potential departure comes on the heels of a dominant half-season with the Impact, who acquired the Ivorian’s rights in a midseason trade with the Chicago Fire. In just 11 regular season games, Drogba netted 11 goals while providing an assist to lead the Impact to the postseason.
What do you think of the latest Drogba news? How could the Impact go about replacing him should he depart?
Share your thoughts below.
I love that there’s absolutely no mention of this story on mlssoccer.com
This is Don Garber’s Barnum and Bailey emphasis.
If the Designated Player doesn’t bomb entire in his first year, or subsequent years the DP fails to honor his contract…I mean “retires”…or “retires” then come back to be a player/coach for Chelsea.
Sincere thought: I have no idea how fans of MLS can truly support a league and individual clubs that have such a high turnover for its player base year after year. There’s little to no emotional connection to the essence of the team.
Wake me up when Garber is gone along with his ridiculous vision of being a top league by 2022.
MLS is joke.
I don’t feel that the turnover of players is any higher than let’s say EPL teams. Last year, there were VERY few in-season trades, something that I was very happy with. The emotional connection comes from being able to go and watch your team play every other weekends, go to season-ticket holder events, watch your team train, AND share all of the above with your kids and friends. Something that no other league offers!
Yevgeniy,
Fair point and I imagine you’re not far off. Perhaps it’s just the perception that I’m referring to because it seems like there’s a new “face” of a club and a new “core” each year for a majority of the clubs.
As for the emotional connection, I just don’t buy into (yet). The league feels too forced and intent on a headline rather than substance. Seeing “big names” like Drogba come for 11 games and hearing about Ashley Cole coming (presumably) completely alienates fans like me who want to stick with MLS, but continue to be disenfranchised by such moves.
Garber and MLS are attempting to placate to the lowest common denominator of fans and it shows overwhelming by far too many of their transactions. Not surprisingly their TV ratings reflect this failed agenda.
Well, it’s clear that you don’t buy into that (yet), but just explaining what it is for me 🙂 I am European-born, totally appreciate all the differences, but local soccer always trumps everything else for me. It has been a great bonding thing for me and my sons. We watch it, we go to games, we travel to some away games. Unlike the kids of my Eurosnob friends, my kids actually like soccer. I think all MLS fans know that we are far away from EPL and perhaps will always be, but that is also the case for 100+ other leagues. No other league gets made fun of and ridiculed (mostly undeservedly) as MLS. And it’s not like it’s the worst league out there. There are millions of people that are religious about their teams and leagues such as Belgium, Switzerland, Ukraine, Championship, etc. These leagues are approximately at similar level of play and behind by all other criteria (attendance, stadiums, parity, etc.). Low TV ratings are just an extension of that. It is considered to be cool to like foreign soccer and to hate on MLS. There is no such thing in Costa Rica, Ukraine or Portugal. Same with national teams. USA has been a top 25 team (give or take) for the last 13 years and often much higher than that. The perception in the world (and to some degree here) is that Americans can’t play soccer. What I hate the most is American soccer fans perpetuating this stupid myth.
Appreciate your insight and perspective, Yevgeniy, but this has nothing to do with the term “Eurosnob”. Ironically, it’s quite the opposite. MLS is obsessed with “Americanizing” the sport for domestic fans – essentially considering them stupid – by trying extremely hard to be the NFL.
The TV ratings I referenced are a reflection and disconnect to a mass audience. Try explaining the MLS set-up, rules and player transaction system to a fan of the game. MLS is ridiculed for good reason and the sooner people stop associating discontent with the product and labeling it “Eurosnob” the sooner actual discussion can take place on how to improve the quality of the league on and off the pitch.
Well, I am totally fine with MLS as is. There are actually very few things I would change. I have tried to explain the rules successfully to dozens of people. Some of them have become outdated, but 90% of them are good rules and got us to where we are now. The biggest difference between soccer in US and lets say in Spain or in Russia is that here not a lot of people would care if it disappeared altogether (hey, more people would celebrate it). IN Spain and Russia, soccer has implicit government support (federal and local) and if someone gets in trouble, public money can be spent to fix things. So, we can’t afford to behave the same way they do.
“The biggest difference between soccer in US and lets say in Spain or in Russia is that here not a lot of people would care if it disappeared altogether (hey, more people would celebrate it)”
Please stop perpetuating this attitude. If “not a lot of people would care” it’s reasonable to believe not a lot of people would celebrate it either.
I’m with you in supporting this domestic league but we disagree on the direction at this point. MLS has come a long way, there’s no denying that, but that doesn’t mean subscribing to the status quo. There’s far too many elements that remain amateur two decades in for a league that publicly states its ambition to be a top league by 2022.
The sooner they stop trying to reinvent the wheel, the sooner they can continue the progression.
Turnover? The NFL is basically the most popular church in this country and its teams have massive turnover year after year. MLS has nothing to worry about in that regard.
Ah, yes. Can’t go wrong with comparing MLS to the NFL. Thanks, Garber.
As a Revs fan, I’m frickin’ relieved as heck. As should be everyone in the Eastern Conference.
Also, in regards to plmedici above… dude. Chill. Top players and, in fact, players of all levels, go back on contracts ALL THE TIME. It is no big deal in relation to how seriously or un-seriously you may or may not want to take MLS.
I wonder if Drogba is leaving because it was just too damn easy for him to score.
It was 11 games. He won nothing. He played 11 games and did well.
A goal per game is nothin….. Right….
This is crap. Coaching positions will always be there.
Fulfill your short playing contract. Play a full season and then go off into the sunset.
This is just mean to the fan base.
I guess the glass half full thought is that the Impact will cash in on him now and put it towards a DP. Rather than deal with the likelihood of dealing with a physically breaking down striker later next year.
Coaching positions (especially in the Premier League, let alone Chelsea) are extremely difficult to get. If this is his dream coaching position or ladder to it. He should jump at it.
You can’t fault MTL for the work they did in landing Didier Drogba, a superstar (albeit, out of his prime) by the utmost definition of the term. Given Drogba’s ties to Chelsea (as the American phrase says, “Face of the Franchise”) and the fact that Chelsea are struggling right now (to my pure pleasure), it isn’t surprising that he would be tempted to take a coaching position with the club that made him a star that also, more than likely, will pay him a lot more than what he is currently making now as a player. Until we hear what MLS gets out of his impending release, this is less of a case of MLS “not taking itself seriously” as it is a player wishing to give back to the club that put him on the map and MLS accommodating. There will most likely be contract buyout clauses and transfer fees that favor MLS so for now, we should table the talk of MLS not taking itself seriously. I’m sure the MTL front office knew the risks of signing a 34-year old player in the twilight of his career.
34??? I am pretty sure he is 37/38.
Wow, i can not express how much i hate chelsea. Please Didier, 1 full season?!
If MLS can’t take itself seriously as a soccer league nobody else will.
Your comment makes no sense. Do you think that the multiple billionaires who own teams around the league, or the cities across the nation who are clammoring to get into the league, don’t take MLS seriously?!?! Give us all a break and quit trolling.
Love it when I hear someone say, “that makes no sense.” Just because you don’t get it doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense.
It makes perfect sense. What’s the good of MLS having contracts at all in trying to bring in these DP-caliber players, if they’re just going to jump ship (i.e. not honor their contracts) whenever they feel like it.
It tells the other DP-caliber players in the world who might be considering MLS that they can do whatever they want to the league without any repercussions.
Think before you comment/call someone a troll.
There is nothing Montreal or MLS can do to stop him from retiring and becoming a coach at Chelsea. Likewise, if Iniesta decided to do that tomorrow, Barcelona wouldn’t be able to do anything. Of course for haters like Rob the facts are irrelevant. Any article that has MLS in it is just a reason to post something negative about MLS! Hence – trolling
Inclined to disagree Yevgeniy for multiple reasons.
1) Drogba’s contract is for 18 months. Has it been 18 months? (http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/09/09/didier-drogba-mls-contract-montreal-impact)
2) I’m a lifelong MLS fan and want to see the league continue to take steps to be relevant in the world market. No argument could be made for a highly successfuly/marketable star like Drogba up and leave 6 months into an 18 month contract being a step forward for MLS.
3) To say that there’s nothing that the league or club could do is precisely the point. If MLS isn’t taken seriously, then players who come here will KNOW that there’s nothing (esp. financially) the league can do to stop them from dishonoring their contracts (anyone remember how Camilo left?). It damages the bargaining position of the league in getting future DP-caliber players. They’ll insist on unreasonable demands, contract loopholes, loan deals, need I go on? (because we’ve never seen any of these from the league’s DPs over the last few years, right?)
Whether Rob was trolling or not is his business. But the point he made, no matter how much we both love and want to defend MLS, is a valid one.
“1) Drogba’s contract is for 18 months. Has it been 18 months? (http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/09/09/didier-drogba-mls-contract-montreal-impact)”
That doesn’t matter if he retires. No team in the world can stop a player from retiring. The only thing MLS can do is insert a clause, if he leaves, in a contract that he signs to preclude him from appearing on a game day roster for Chelsea for x years in the form of a penalty payment/transfer. They also do not have to pay him the rest of the contracted salary they owe They can definitely do that for the life of the remaining contract. They are probably trying to get some sort of monetary compensation for the trade that enabled his contract, but that might be more with MLS.
“2) I’m a lifelong MLS fan and want to see the league continue to take steps to be relevant in the world market. No argument could be made for a highly l/marketable star like Drogba up and leave 6 months into an 18 month contract being a step forward for MLS.”
Wrong – players retire with 1 year or so left on their contract for many reasons: age, injury, other opportunities. It is not as uncommon as you make it seem for players of roughly Didier’s age.
“3) To say that there’s nothing that the league or club could do is precisely the point. If MLS isn’t taken seriously, then players who come here will KNOW that there’s nothing (esp. financially) the league can do to stop them from dishonoring their contracts (anyone remember how Camilo left?). It damages the bargaining position of the league in getting future DP-caliber players. They’ll insist on unreasonable demands, contract loopholes, loan deals, need I go on? (because we’ve never seen any of these from the league’s DPs over the last few years, right?)”
Players force move all the time. Cesc to Barcelona & Ronaldo to Real come to mind. However, there are MANY, MANY more. The only thing you can do is insert a buyout clause. MLS does not have too many outrageous buyout clauses because those players are usually too old to demand such, caliber of talent does justify the clause or player isn’t marketable enough. Listen Man Utd, MAN UNITED couldn’t stop David De Gea from forcing his way out. Only a non-working fax machine did.
He’s retiring to get a coaching position that is hard to come by. Let him go.
I’m with you on a lot of points, Anthony, except that how MLS conducts its business is still a mystery.
We really have no idea what the league does on contract negotiations behind closed doors. They could be approaching this situation exactly like you say. Or not. We don’t know.
The other thing is a lot of your points are contingent on Drogba truly retiring. If he starts coaching, then I stand corrected and will have learned something. But if he pulls that Chelsea jersey on again, then my points stand and the league’s been played.
Care to explain how MLS is not taking itself seriously?
They can’t explain it so they go on long, non-sensical rants about everything they don’t like about MLS.
“Love it when I hear someone say, “that makes no sense.” Just because you don’t get it doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense.”
I understand it perfectly fine, and so do the investors who are paying $100 million for expansion franchises on top of building stadiums. If the league didn’t “take itself seriously” then it would have folded years ago. When people make such ridiculous statements, they’re doing nothing more than trolling.
You obviously didn’t read my post if you’re saying I don’t like MLS…which makes what you wrote look nonsensical.
And you obviously don’t get it if you’re talking about league expansion when we’re talking about DP contracts.
I have yet to hear an explanation as to Jo MLS is “not taking itself seriously.” Try explaining that to me, and then we can continue this discussion.
Really stinks for MTL fans. They better make him/ Chelsea sign something that says any game appearances will trigger a player transfer fee. He’d still be one of Chelsea’s best striker options if he were to play.
So he is retiring from playing?
Or Montreal is getting money?
He is retiring to become a coach at Chelsea. Looks like a dream to Didier. Coaching jobs are extremely hard to come. I cannot stress how difficult they are to come by.