Three coaches, boardroom upheaval and a players' strike - Didier Drogba's first season in China hasn't exactly been smooth, but it looks like he'll stick around next year.

Speculation about Drogba's future has been intense but the Ivorian striker appeared committed to the Chinese Super League when he spoke of making a fresh start with the club next season.

"Because I joined Shenhua relatively late, I didn't prepare with the team early in the season, so our results this year were not very good," he told the Shanghai Morning Post. "But I hope next season I can start again from the beginning with Shenhua."

After scoring in the final game of the season, a 3-0 win over Qingdao Jonoon, he signed off with a promise to return next year. "Wait for me, I'll be back," Drogba told the Oriental Sports Daily.

Drogba has scored eight goals in 11 games since joining former Chelsea colleague Nicolas Anelka in Shanghai mid-term, but despite his prolific record, Shenhua finished a lowly ninth out of 16 teams.

It's a disappointing return after the club's owner, video game mogul Zhu Jun, splashed out on Anelka and Drogba, who are reportedly on hundreds of thousands of dollars a week, in a bid to land Shenhua's first title in nearly a decade.

Season of strife

However, after a season of serious internal strife, it's something of a surprise that both players are still at the club.

Drogba was given a hero's welcome by hundreds of cheering fans at the Pudong Airport, with Shanghai police saying it was their biggest operation ever mounted for a celebrity. Chinese football's biggest star quickly became a hit on the pitch, delighting the fans by scoring a brace in a 5-1 demolition of local rival Hangzhou Greentown in early August. However, the feel-good factor didn't last long as by the end of the month Drogba and Anelka became pawns in a boardroom dispute that raised questions over their futures in Shanghai.

Pictures of casually attired players strolling around instead of training filled the back pages, as newspapers said they were protesting at not being paid.

Drogba and Anelka missed several games towards the end of the season, apparently due to injury, but many fans drew a link with the ownership dispute, which is still dragging on. "I don't think many people believed they were injured," said Shenhua fan Ma Haiping, 31.

But Drogba is a huge hit with fans. "Drogba is massive, he motivates the players, he reactivated Anelka, and terrified the opponents, he's the king no doubt," enthused Shenhua fan Bobby Lu.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)