Drogba and Carragher: From foes to friends

Seeing the pair potentially on cordial terms will be a strange experience for Kopites. For the best part of a decade, the two enjoyed one of the most hard-fought and intense on-pitch rivalries in English football.

Drogba's arrival at Chelsea in July 2004 proved to perhaps be the catalyst that turned Roman Abramovich's extravagant spending into Jose Mourinho's first indomitable Chelsea team.

Such dominance saw the Blues and Drogba deprive Liverpool of what would have been their first silverware under Rafael Benitez in the 2005 League Cup final - with Drogba putting Chelsea ahead in extra-time.

By the time Liverpool arrived at Stamford Bridge for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with the Blues later that year, Drogba had helped Mourinho's side bulldoze Arsenal's Invincibles aside in the quarter-finals. The Reds had been given little hope.

After just 12 minutes of the second leg at Anfield on May 3, Drogba beat Carragher before bursting into the box and falling at the feet of Sami Hyypia. For much of the first half, it seemed as though Chelsea's power and pace would be too much for the Reds, with Drogba getting the better of Carragher and Hyypia, but failing to capitalise.

But in the second period, the steel that had taken Liverpool back from the brink before in the competition that year began to show, as Carragher executed a brutal-but-fair challenge on Drogba, helping to fire the Reds' spirit and belief.

Luis Garcia's early goal had put the hosts ahead in the tie and a gladiatorial battle ensued, with Carragher continually challenging Drogba and causing rare frustration for the Ivorian.

However, two late chances could have sunk Liverpool and brought it all to an end. One fell to Drogba and one saw the striker and Carragher locked together as they strained to reach an Eidur Gudjohnsen cross-shot deep into six minutes of injury-time.

As Carragher wrote in a Daily Mail column: "It missed me and Didier Drogba by centimetres. How close was it? I felt the ball graze the top of my legs as Drogba and I dived towards it. A fraction lower and we wouldn't have gone to Istanbul."

The former centre-back would have been well within his rights to add that, without him winning his battle against Drogba over the two legs, there would've been no Istanbul for the final and no fifth European Cup for the club.

The defeat left Mourinho and Chelsea staggered and aggrieved, and it helped lay the foundations of a rivalry that would become one of the Premier League's bitterest.

As Carragher said: "We seemed to be playing them four or five times a season. They are a great side and have had great players. We respect them and I am sure they respect us.

"Me and Drogba, Stevie and Lampard, have had some great battles over the years."

The duel between Drogba, who most sides found completely unplayable, against a defence marshalled by a stalwart like Carragher was one of the key struggles between the two teams.

In 2005, Liverpool drew Chelsea in the Champions League group stage, with Carragher again winning his personal battle as both matches ended in stalemate. Drogba did overcome the Liverpool blockade in that year's FA Cup semi-final, but Mourinho's men went on to lose the Old Trafford showdown 2-1.

After the Portuguese manager left Chelsea, in 2007, some of the antipathy disappeared from the rivalry between the clubs, but the professional pride of Drogba and Carragher ensured that the pair constantly found themselves locked in combat on the pitch.

By the time Carragher retired in 2013, they had faced each other an incredible 26 times - with familiarity breeding respect of the highest order.

As Drogba told LFC TV's documentary, 'Carragher', which celebrated the Scouser's career: "I played a lot of games against him and it was always a battle. When I thought I'd won the duel, he'd be there again, but it was always in a good spirit. That's what made him a great player."

The feeling is undoubtedly mutual, as Carragher told The Mail that Drogba was one of two players - the other being Thierry Henry - who he rated as unstoppable.

He said: "If Chelsea get the ball onto Drogba's chest on the edge of the box and he can bring it down and turn, well... that's it. You can't get round him without fouling him, it's too late to get in front of him, you just have to hope he misses the shot."

Fans perhaps will have wanted to see the pair go head-to-head again this Sunday at Anfield to add another chapter to this incredible rivalry.

However, after 10 years of blood, sweat, trophies and dare we say tears, perhaps Carragher and Drogba have earned the right to team up this weekend.

LFCTV HD will broadcast the match live and exclusively in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, and the game will be available for fans around the world to watch on LFCTV GO.

For a comprehensive guide on how to tune in to live coverage of the game, click here.

If you are in the UK and would like to donate to the Liverpool FC Foundation and nominated charities by text then please text YNWA15 followed by the amount you are donating to 70070. You may give £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10.*

Example of text message: YNWA15 £10

You will receive a thank you text with a link to gift aid your donation. If you're not in the UK and would like to donate, please visit http://foundation.liverpoolfc.com/get-involved for information.

*Texts are free and your donation amount will be deducted from your mobile phone credit or added to your monthly phone bill. The charity will receive 100 per cent of your donation. You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill payer's permission. For full terms and conditions and more information, please visit www.justgiving.com/info/terms-of-service.