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Retired Damien Duff Has Kickabouts On His Own, Definitely Loves Football

By Ajitesh Rasgotra

London, UNITED KINGDOM: Damien Duff of Chelsea celebrates his goal against Tottenham during a premiership match at White Hart Lane in north London, 27 August 2005. Chelsea leads Tottenham 2-0 . AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN Mobile and website use of domestic English football pictures subject to subscription of a license with Football Association Premier League (FAPL) tel : 44 207 298 1656. For newspapers where the football content of the printed and electronic versions are identical, no licence is necessary. (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)
London, UNITED KINGDOM: Damien Duff of Chelsea celebrates his goal against Tottenham during a premiership match at White Hart Lane in north London, 27 August 2005. Chelsea leads Tottenham 2-0 . AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN Mobile and website use of domestic English football pictures subject to subscription of a license with Football Association Premier League (FAPL) tel : 44 207 298 1656. For newspapers where the football content of the printed and electronic versions are identical, no licence is necessary. (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea FC fan-favourite Damien Duff has revealed that he still goes for kickabouts despite his retired status, and the fact that he may be on his ones…

Damien Duff evidently loves football. His passion for the game shone through during his stay at Stamford Bridge, when he was an integral part of the first Roman Abramovich squad that brought the club to the top level. It hasn’t yet died down either, as he recently revealed.

Duff sat down with the official Blues website to give an interview, as he gets used to the retired way of life. However, he admitted that he has struggled to completely wash himself of the urge to kick a football around.

"Last week I felt a bit of a weirdo and booked the local astropark, bored one morning, and had a kickabout on my own. Still trying to improve my right foot, I don’t know what for, I’m retired, but pure love for the game."

Glorious.

Duff was always an energetic presence in the Chelsea side, racking up 125 competitive appearances in three seasons. He quickly established himself as a firm fan-favourite due to his work-rate and tricky play. The winger’s efforts were rewarded with two Premier League titles and one League Cup, before he was moved on to Newcastle United.

Most recently, Duff spent a season in Australia with Melbourne City where he tried to help the A-League grow. He then returned to his home country of Ireland, in noble fashion. The Irishman signed for Shamrock Rovers, but revealed that all of his agreed wages would be donated to charity. He spent half a season with them before hanging up his boots last December at the age of 36.

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They often say that it is time to retire when your passion for your job is exhausted. Given Duff’s remarks, he may have made the call rather prematurely.

Joking aside, trust the winger to provide Blues fans with something to smile about during a dismal campaign. Chelsea’s failures need no mention, so let’s just focus on the fact that a 37-year-old retired footballer is spending his free time playing football on his own.

The somewhat childish behaviour underlying this confession is exactly what endeared the winger to the Stamford Bridge faithful. In fact, some may use this as an opportunity to point out that such passion for the game is exactly what is lacking from the current squad.

But I said we wouldn’t discuss that.

Next: Reports: Chelsea FC And Real Madrid In Advanced Negotiations

As Duff ventures into his retired life, everyone associated with Chelsea FC will undoubtedly hope to see more of him around Stamford Bridge in the future.

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