Drogba ready to strike

By Ben Lyttleton

Didier Drogba has been declared fit for tonight's UEFA Cup final - but says that Olympique de Marseille's success this season has not just been down to him.

Skill in reserve
The 26-year-old forward has scored in every round on the way to the final against Valencia CF since Marseille entered the UEFA Cup in the third round after UEFA Champions League elimination. However, Drogba - who until yesterday was a doubt with a hip injury suffered against AS Monaco FC little more than a week ago - insists that the club have not been a one-man band.

Inter triumph
"We have other quality players at Marseille, and remember, this team won away to [FC] Internazionale in the quarter-finals without me," he told uefa.com. "We have been working together since the start of the season, and we all respect each other. We have remained a close unit."

Big moment
Marseille could become the first French team to lift the UEFA Cup - having become the first side from that nation to lift the European Champion Clubs' Cup 12 years ago - and Drogba admits it is a huge opportunity. He said: "Such a game does not come along very often in a career so you have to savour it."

'The best'
However, newly-crowned Spanish champions Valencia will start the game as favourites. "It's going be our toughest match of the competition," Drogba admitted. "Finishing above Real Madrid [CF] and [FC] Barcelona to win the Spanish league shows just how good they are. They will probably be the best team we have played this season."

Close attention
Drogba has scored against every team Marseille have faced in Europe in 2003/04 - including their Champions League opponents FK Partizan, FC Porto and Madrid. However, such goalscoring success comes at a cost and he is now receiving much closer attention from opposition defenders. "I take a lot more knocks than I used to," he said. "At [EA] Guingamp I used to finish games exhausted because of the number of runs I would make, but now I finish games in the same state because of the number of blows I take."

'He is fine'
From blows come injuries, and one put Drogba's participation in Gothenburg in doubt. But yesterday Marseille coach José Anigo - who had said it would be "tragic" if Drogba were to miss out - declared: "He is fine and he will be involved. I hope his presence will give us the best chance to beat this Valencia team."