Florent Malouda has revealed how he and Didier Drogba discussed their Champions League dreams during their early days in France - but neither thought they would ever end up winning it together at Chelsea.
The attacking duo were relative unknowns at Guingamp shortly after the turn of the century and went on to form a partnership that made their names in Ligue 1.
In 2007, Malouda followed Drogba to Stamford Bridge, three years after his old pal had signed for the club. By the end of their spell together, they had combined for a Premier League title, three FA Cups, and a famous Champions League triumph in 2012.
While the winger came off the bench in the shootout win over Bayern Munich, Drogba started the match and scored both the equaliser in normal time and the final penalty.
“We played for Guingamp in the French league,” Malouda recalled to Genting Casino. “We had an opportunity to play together when we were struggling, that was the beginning of the super Didi that everyone knows.
“As soon as he got into the starting XI, he never stopped progressing. It was amazing. I think it helped Jose Mourinho sign me because Didier wanted us re-establish that connection again, but at a higher level at Chelsea.
“It was one step at a time. When I look back, we were always talking about Champions League nights on a Tuesday and Wednesday, watching the matches at the academy.
“You don’t picture yourself on the pitch; you’re just watching the games like you go to the movies. At this stage, all we wanted to do was become professionals. Winning the Champions League was not our ambition.
“When we started to make our way as professionals, of course we dreamed of winning it. We wanted to play at the highest level. When you actually do it, you remember where you started from and you realise everything that you had to sacrifice to make that happen.”
Chelsea plucked a number of talents from French football during this era of success for the club, including Michael Essien who Malouda also played alongside before signing for the Blues.
“It was great,” he added. “I even think about when I played with Michael Essien at Lyon when we were younger.
“Our ambition was to go as far as possible in the competition, not even to win it. To then win it together, it was really unbelievable.”
