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Woodgate thinks Spurs strikers are top of the league
Simon Johnson22 Feb 2008
Jonathan Woodgate claimed today that Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov are the best strike partnership in the country and will prove it by firing Tottenham to victory in Sunday's Final.
Although Chelsea are strong favourites to retain the trophy, Woodgate believes the holders will struggle against the Spurs double act.
Manager Avram Grant has £39million worth of talent in Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, but Woodgate feels Keane and Berbatov put them in the shade.
Tottenham's front pair have scored 36 goals between them this season, while Chelsea's two strikers have 22, with Anelka having scored 11 at Bolton.
Woodgate said: "At the moment, I don't think there is a better striking partnership in England than Keane and Berbatov. No pair score more goals than them. Any defence that comes up against them is going to have their hands full, including Chelsea. They just click, and it's because they're both top players.
"Robbie can play with anyone, he can adapt his game, and Berba is the same. The two of them have terrific movement and can score goals."
Woodgate's form for Spurs since his £7.5m move from Middlesbrough last month has been impressive but he believes Keane deserves most of the credit for how quickly he has settled in.
The England defender has remained close friends with the 27-yearold striker since they played together at Leeds between 2000 and 2002 and he believes the striker is in the form of his life.
He said: "Robbie has been brilliant since I played with him at Leeds. He always had this enthusiasm about him, but he has progressed so much. He has kept on improving and that is vital when you get older. Full credit to him.
"He was constantly texting me about coming here. He was just pestering me all the time and it was good to know I was wanted.
"Robbie is a cheeky character and is great for team spirit. He made a joke about my haircut while I was being interviewed the other day. "I was going to say something about his chin, but I thought I had better leave it."
While Woodgate may enjoy friendly banter with Keane, he has a score to settle with Drogba, having been denied the chance of winning the UEFA Cup as a Newcastle player four years ago by the Ivory Coast international.
Drogba was playing for Marseille in the UEFA Cup semi-final and, while Woodgate kept him quiet in the goalless first leg, he had to watch the second leg from the sidelines due to injury and saw the hit-man score twice to knock Newcastle out.
"I remember playing against Drogba and he was already a great player back then," Woodgate said. "I watched him a lot because Marseille had dropped into the UEFA Cup after finishing third in their Champions League group.
"I missed the second leg when he scored the two goals. If you're going to get knocked out in a semi-final, you might as well get knocked out in the first round. No one remembers the semifinalists. Drogba is now one of the world's best strikers and everyone knows that. He is a really top player."
It is unlikely that Chelsea manager Avram Grant will partner Drogba and Anelka from the start on Sunday but the duo already seem to have formed an understanding. Anelka, who joined Chelsea from Bolton for £15m last month, went on as a substitute at Olympiacos in midweek to play with Drogba for the first time and the partnership looked promising.
Grant is expected to start with Drogba, with the option of sending on Anelka if things go awry. And Woodgate admits facing both is a daunting prospect.
He said: "All good players can play together and I'm sure those two will hit it off."
