David Luiz Feels Indebted to Drogba

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Mail, Chelsea FC defender David Luiz spoke about the debt he owes former teammate Didier Drogba. Luiz revealed that it was Drogba’s motivational talk that helped him mentally recover for the Champions League final against Bayern Munich despite not playing for five weeks due to a torn hamstring. The Brazilian had recovered physically from his injury but was still tentative about returning to the pitch especially on such a big stage.

Luiz’s comments:

"“I remember before the final I had a big, big injury and had not played (for five weeks), I spoke to him about it a lot. On the day before we sat for a couple of hours and he told me I needed to believe. He said ‘come on, man, you need to believe. Tomorrow can be a great day. You might go to the pitch with one leg but you can run like you have four or five because this is your dream. It is my dream as well – let’s do it’. He helped me a lot and I will never forget what he did for me and Chelsea.”"

Luiz was instrumental to Chelsea’s success in the final that day and his penalty helped the Blues finally win the trophy they had been chasing for years. Whatever Drogba had done for the Brazilian had undoubtedly worked as Luiz played the match with his usual verve and power.

Unfortunately Luiz was unavailable for the first leg due in Istanbul to injury but he should be healthy for the return leg in two weeks time. He went on to discuss his personal feelings and called him a “great friend” as well as “fantastic striker, a fantastic person and a leader”. Despite whatever friendship remains between the two, Luiz leaves no doubt as to who he hopes will triumph in the second leg.

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