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Chelsea FC: Comparisons To 2015 NBA Champions Golden State Warriors

By Khaled Abdallah

Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Golden State Warriors celebrate with the Larry O
Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Golden State Warriors celebrate with the Larry O /
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Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa (19) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first quarter of game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa (19) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first quarter of game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Leandro Barbosa – Didier Drogba

Where do you go when you need a veteran presence off the bench to revitalize the team? For the Warriors they went to Leandro “The Brazilian Blur” Barbosa and the Blues went to “King” Didier Drogba. The Ivorian striker came back to Chelsea after wandering the world with different clubs for a few years to help bring some veteran leadership and savvy to a young team.

Barbosa was a key player in the Phoenix Suns teams of the mid-2000s but had been wandering around the NBA in relative obscurity with stints in Toronto and Boston before finding his way to Golden State. While there was no dramatic coming home element for Barbosa he fit in easily and soon became one of the leaders of the team.

His calm demeanor in the big moments of the Finals were similar to Didier Drogba stepping in to big matches for the Blues and scoring important goals to help them win a championship.  Drogba decided to call it quits with Chelsea for the second time but it seems that Leandro Barbosa is in no hurry to leave the Warriors.

Next: Shaun Livingston

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