Page 37 - Soccer360 Issue 105

RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM: Didier Drogba Ginaluigi Buffon
BOTTOM:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic enjoyed two excellent spells with AC Milan
RETURNING HEROES
Feargal Brennan picks out three other big name players to have enjoyed two successful spells at one particular club.
DIDIER DROGBA
Didier Drogba is synonymous with Jose Mourinho and Chelsea with the Ivorian playing a crucial role in both incarnations of the Portuguese manager’s project at Stamford Bridge.
Drogba was central to Mourinho’s successive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, although his most prolific campaign came later under Carlo Ancelotti, with 29 Premier League goals along the way towards another title crown in 2010. He later played for Shanghai Shenhua and Galatasaray. However, as Chelsea turned to Mourinho again after Ancelotti’s exit, he sent
out the signal to Drogba in 2014. As a rotating option with Diego Costa, he added a fourth Premier League winners’ medal to his collection with the Blues.
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s career involved
a tendency to ruffle feathers and not hang around at one club too long. After falling foul of Pep Guardiola’s regime at Barcelona, Ibrahimovic accepted a return to Mlian, but in true style, he joined AC Milan, despite his superb former stint at Inter.
He netted 11 league goals, as AC Milan won the 2011 Serie A title, before bagging 28 in the following campaign, and then packing his bags for Paris Saint-Germain.
He returned as an uber-veteran in 2019, and what was supposed to be a brief sojourn turned into four seasons and another league title.
GIANLUIGI BUFFON
Italian icon Gianluigi Buffon has played for two Serie A sides twice after double spells at both Parma and Juventus.
His first spell at Juventus was a trophy filled spell with an incredible 10 Serie
A titles before joining Paris Saint- Germain in 2018. Overall, during his time at Juventus, he made 685 club appearances, a figure only bettered by former teammate Alessandro Del Piero in Turin.
However, his career was bookended with breaking through and then retiring at Parma, where he would win his sole European title with the 1999 UEFA Cup. Buffon infamously lost three Champions League finals in between the posts
for Juventus with losses to AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
However, his decision to make a 2019 move from Atletico to Barcelona was more akin to a soap opera drama than a thrilling novel. After signing a contract extension the previous year, Griezmann antagonised a fan base which had adored him, by openly flirting with Catalonia, before eventually taking the road north.
While it would be unfair to label his time
at the Camp Nou as a disappointment,
the France international had the constant sensation of a jigsaw piece that did not quite fit, mainly due to the Barca side revolving around Lionel Messi and thus diluting some of his creative talents. Ironically, Atletico managed to win the 2020-21 La Liga title in his absence.
In 2021, Simeone stuck by his gut, and brought Griezmann back to Atletico on
loan, despite the incoming wrath of the Los Rojiblancos supporters who weren’t so quick to forgive. Simeone has previously always shown a softer spot for Griezmann than he displayed for his other star names thanks
to his on-field attitude and work rate, but the perception of Griezmann believing he was better than Atletico, but not quite at Barcelona’s level, made his return
more difficult.
Backed by Simeone, Griezmann kept his head down, and openly admitted he had
to prove it all again to the Atletico fans, before he could come close to earning reacceptance in Madrid. As Atletico continued to utilise the small print of Griezmann’s loan, after renewing for the
Aside from his football skills, Ibrahimovic is also a practitioner of Taekwondo. He achieved a black belt in the martial art and credits it for his discipline and mental strength on the pitch.
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