Afternoon:
10°c
Didier Drogba has a challenge for Rio Ferdinand. The Chelsea striker wants to take on his rival at Manchester United, one-on-one. Drogba doesn't want the clash to take place on a football pitch or in a boxing ring - he wants bragging rights over Ferdinand on the basketball court.
The Premier League's top two do not meet until next month and Drogba will, first, be fully focused on this Sunday's encounter with Liverpool but the Ivory Coast international would like nothing more than to show Ferdinand that his talent is not just limited to football.
"I would love to play one-on-one against Rio Ferdinand," Drogba told me this week.
"We have had a few duels on a football pitch and he's a good guy. I think he can play a bit with a basketball but I want to see if he's as good as when he's playing football."
Drogba famously got the better of Ferdinand when scoring the winner in extra time against United in the 2007 FA Cup Final and he believes it was honing his skills with a basketball back home in Africa which helped him become one of the best forwards in the world.
It was as a boy in the Ivory Coast where Drogba first began to practise his jump-shot while watching the NBA on television.
For several years he devoted his time to both sports until his football career took off in France.
Since then, Drogba has secured a reputation as a fearsome striker with an ability to hold off defenders and somehow still get his shot away in tight spaces.
"Basketball has helped me become the striker I am today," the 31-year-old added. "I used to play a lot when I was younger. When I was small I would play basketball in the afternoon after school and in France, when I was 17, we played games of three against three.
"It helped my football because in basketball you have to be very smart and your movement with your feet must be very co-ordinated. In football you need to do the same, especially if you are a striker.
"In basketball the defenders play very tight to you and are always trying to get the ball off you and I had to hold them off with my body and use my strength. It is something that helps me in the Premier League where there is a lot of contact.
"When I am closely marked I have to find my own space to be able to shoot and it is something you have to do all the time on a basketball court.
"It really helped me to be able to create my space on a football pitch when I want to shoot, when I want to score, even when I jump for headers now it is easy because that is what I'd have to do to collect a pass sometimes or to put the ball through the hoop.
"I still play, although obviously not as much as I used to. I have a hoop at my home here in London."
Drogba is not just making an idle boast regarding his basketball talents. A promotional video for NBA's Take To The Courts event which takes place at Clapham Common this weekend shows him displaying some of his best tricks for the camera.
Fellow footballers Darren Bent (Sunderland) and Spurs pair Michael Dawson and Jamie O'Hara will be aiming to demonstrate their skills as part of the proceedings, which acts as a precursor to the NBA pre-season match between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz at the O2 on Tuesday.
Drogba will, however, be concentrating on the massive clash with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea try to get their League campaign back on track against Rafael Benitez's side after the shock 3-1 defeat at Wigan.
It was a day that should have been special for the former Marseille striker because his equaliser had taken him to the notable landmark of 100 goals for Chelsea. The result meant that Ferdinand and United went back to the top of the table on points difference but Drogba has a message for their red rivals in Manchester and Merseyside.
He said: "It was special for me to get to 100 goals but I would have preferred to win the game.
"I want to score another 100 goals for the club but winning titles is more important for me."
* Didier Drogba was talking to the Evening Standard as an ambassador for NBA Take To The Courts - a weekend of free NBA-themed activities and entertainment, featuring NBA players, legends, mascots, prizes and special guest appearances - taking place on Clapham Common tomorrow and Sunday. For more information visit: facebook.com/nbataketothecourts
Didier Drogba shows off his basketball skills
