Top man?
Fear
The two players are very different in many ways yet strike the same sort of fear into defenders around the world. Can you imagine the two of them playing together? That really would be a centre-half’s nightmare.
It is really difficult to compare two players but I wonder which one of the two you would rather have in your team? Which one is the better player?
Peak
Didier Drogba is thirty-one years old whereas Fernando Torres is still only twenty-five. If strikers peak in their late twenties, as many experts believe, then we may have seen the best of Drogba but the best of Torres is yet to come.
Drogba is in his sixth season for Chelsea and he in all competitions he has amassed one hundred goals in two hundred and twenty-four appearances. Almost a goal every other game is a fine record and that average is more than matched in European competition where he has bagged twenty-three goals in forty-nine games for the club. For the Ivory Coast, Drogba has a remarkable forty goals from fifty-nine games.
Longevity
Torres is in his third season for Liverpool and has therefore not yet had the longevity of Drogba. In all competitions he has scored fifty-eight goals in just ninety-two games. That is a record of one goal every 1.6 games and that stands comparison against the very best. In European competition he hasn’t been as prolific and has scored just eight times in twenty-one games. His international record does not stand up against Drogba’s with twenty-three goals in seventy games, but it has to be appreciated that the opposition has often been more demanding.
In terms of winning medals and awards, Torres has any number of youth awards together with several senior honours. He has twice been named in the PFA team of the year (both teams that has been possible), he was named in the Euro 2008 team of the tournament and in the 2007/08 FIFPro world team of the year.
Great
Didier Drogba has only once been named in the PFA team of the year but that same season he was also named in the UEFA team of the year and the FIFPro world team of the year.
So it can be seen that both strikers have a great record but it is also true that both players have something of a reputation for hitting the floor a little too easily and for spending rather too much time arguing with officials and opponents. I think fans of Chelsea and Liverpool are prepared to accept the less acceptable side of their star forwards because of the excitement, joy and trophies they help to bring into their lives.
Majority
If a Premier League star team was going to be picked now and two forwards were included then I suggest that a majority of football fans would go with these two. Rooney, Van Persie, Defoe and one or two others would stake a claim, but Drogba and Torres would be the first choice for a majority of people.
It remains to be seen if either or both of them can live up to their reputation this afternoon but whatever happens, we will still be lucky in England to have them both playing in our top league.
Impossible
At the risk of asking the impossible question I would love to know which one of the two players you think is the best. I’ll start you off by saying that I will go for Torres. Didier Drogba has pace, power, strength, heading ability, shooting ability and everything else it is possible for a forward to have. At times he can be completely unplayable. Despite that, for me, there are just too many downsides to Drogba and he can be a little inconsistent. Torres is Mr consistency and rarely lets his side down.
It’s close but I give it to Torres. What do you think?
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