<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Get all of Brian Straus\u2019 columns as soon as they\u2019re published. Download the new Sports Illustrated app (iOS&amp;nbsp;or Android) and personalize your experience by following your favorite teams and SI writers.&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On Wednesday, which may or may not have been their last day together, Didier Drogba and his temporary teammates on the Sacramento Republic were treated to a video produced by coach Paul Buckle. It mostly featured footage of the USL club\u2019s recent preseason training sessions, but Buckle also sprinkled in a few goals Drogba scored while wearing Chelsea and Impact blue.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The coach wanted to have a bit of fun, give his players something to enjoy and do more than \u201Cjust go and shake hands\u201D as Drogba departed after 10 days in California\u2019s capital. No one will be fooled into thinking that a short stay in Sacramento means as much to the Ivorian icon\u2019s career as his time in London or even Montreal. But it may wind up proving to be a unique and useful footnote to his North American adventure. And for Sacramento, an organization with big ambitions, Drogba\u2019s sojourn could wind up representing another sign that the club is MLS-ready.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CI said a few words and then Didier spoke and he said how much he thought of the team and what a good side he thought we were,\u201D Buckle, now entering his second season in Sacramento, told SI.com. \u201CHe said there wasn\u2019t a great difference from training with our players and what he\u2019s been playing against in MLS. That was big for us. Our defenders marking him training were able to compete with Didier. I\u2019m not saying they got the better of Didier, but they were able to compete.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On Saturday evening in Frisco, Texas, Drogba will be available to make his 2016 debut as Montreal (2-0-0) meets FC Dallas (1-1-0) in a battle between MLS Cup hopefuls. The 38-year-old forward missed the Impact\u2019s first two matches in Vancouver and at the Stade Olympique because he doesn\u2019t want to play on artificial turf. The club said Drogba\u2019s left knee swells up when he does so. But he needed to train, and with Montreal practicing on the fake stuff while its natural grass thaws out, alternate accommodations were required.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Republic technical director Graham Smith sat on the Chelsea board from 1985 to 1990 and was the point of contact for Drogba and the Impact. Sacramento could offer hybrid Bermuda grass fields at its Cosumnes River College training facility and what Buckle promised would be a \u201Cprofessional plan which everyone would be involved in.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sacramento opens its third USL season next Friday in Seattle and Buckle was faced with doing right by Drogba and Montreal while minimizing distractions for his own players.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CSomeone of Didier\u2019s stature, you could maybe have a fiasco on your hands,\u201D Buckle said. \u201CBut we know our players and what they\u2019re like \u2026 We\u2019re preparing for our season so the focus is on our players which we felt confident would remain in place, and I\u2019ll just say that Didier actually enhanced that. He came in and wanted to be part of the locker room straight away. He didn\u2019t want any sort of super favors. He joined in every single session and thoroughly enjoyed his time.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Republic coach continued, \u201CI spoke with Didier from day one: \u2018Anything you\u2019re uncomfortable with, feel free to just step out and communicate with us.\u2019 It was actually difficult getting him off the training field. He showed me and the boys why he\u2019s stayed at the top as long as he has. He was practicing free kicks after training, always joining in the finishing sessions. He did everything, really.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Buckle wasn\u2019t kidding. Drogba made the most of his 10 days. In addition to training, he attended a Kings game and took a selfie with Peja Stojakovi\u0107. He visited Napa. He celebrated his birthday by taking Republic players to dinner at Cafeteria 15L and sat in the rain to watch them scrimmage the University of California. Drogba wasn\u2019t above picking up cones, Buckle said, and put his all into the team\u2019s post-practice games of head tennis, from which he emerged as unofficial champion. He stayed and accommodated autograph seekers who gathered outside the fences.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt shows you the measure of the man,\u201D Buckle said. \u201CWe got used to having him around. I tried to lock the dressing room door and shut the gates so he couldn\u2019t escape!\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But Drogba may be back. Following Saturday\u2019s game against Dallas, Montreal has two more matches on artificial turf in Seattle and then back at the Stade Olympique against Columbus on April 9. The Impact won\u2019t play on grass again until an April 16 visit to the Chicago Fire and won\u2019t get a chance to appear in front of its own fans at Stade Saputo until Toronto FC comes calling on April 23. Keeping Drogba healthy and easing him into the season will be vital for a team with high aspirations. Montreal, which has been fueled by Ignacio Piatti\u2019s hot start, probably won\u2019t need an ever-present Drogba to make the playoffs. But they will need him to challenge for a championship. In 14 MLS games last season, he scored 12 goals.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Montreal coach Mauro Biello told The Canadian Press that the Republic was sending daily reports and video and that Drogba was \u201Chappy there.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That vote of confidence matters to Buckle. The Republic, which averaged more than 11,300 fans per game last season (a USL record) and already has launched a youth academy, has plans to build a stadium at the Sacramento Railyards that could be ready in time for the 2018 MLS season. The club simply is awaiting the expansion green light.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe\u2019ve done a professional job with [Drogba], which we believed we could do. We didn\u2019t have to change anything,\u201D Buckle said. \u201CThey put their trust in us and we\u2019ve repaid that trust. He goes back fit and well.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Assuming the Impact concurs, then Sacramento will have locked up another ally on the MLS board.&amp;nbsp;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2016/03/19/didier-drogba-sacramento-republic-training-montreal-impact>