Ivorian football legend, Didier Drogba aimed a subtle jibe at Liverpool Manager, Jurgen Klopp for his comment, referring to Africa’s most revered tournament, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) as a “little tournament” during an interview.
Recall that the German, while discussing injury situations and player absence in his team prior to the UEFA Champions League fixture against FC Porto, said: “In January, there’s a little tournament in Africa. The situation is not easy – We will fight with all we have.”
This comment erupted lots of backlash from fans, especially Africans. Sports journalists took him head-on for the “irresponsible” comment.
The Manager, following the backlash, held another interview to address the situation. “I said ‘oh there’s a little tournament in January’ and I didn’t mean a little tournament, I was just saying it’s still a tournament, it’s ironic. It’s still a tournament, a big one. We lose our best players to that tournament,” he said.
Didier Drogba reserved his comment as the incident occurred and decided to comment at the backdrop of the massive success of the African Cup of Nations.
Drogba who was celebrating the heart-warming reaction by Senegalese following the arrival of the Cup in Dakar said “A « little tournament » that means a lot for us Africans.”
