Montreal Impact and Didier Drogba hug it out after he refused to sit on the bench

Didier Drogba refused to be named on the substitutes’ bench for Montreal Impact this weekend, and the timing of his disagreement with the coaching staff couldn’t be worse. The Impact have fallen out of a top-four spot with their recent skid, meaning they won’t host a first-round playoff game unless they get some help on the final day of the season.

The team has apparently ironed things out with Drogba, and they released this statement from team president Joey Saputo on Tuesday:

“We met with Didier. The situation has been resolved to the club’s satisfaction. Didier has accepted to assume the role that the head coach sees fit while contributing to the success of this club moving forward. When he came to Montreal, Didier said he came here to win, and he still has the same objective.”

Drogba has been slightly disappointing this year, recording 10 goals and six assists. But he’s still an above-average MLS striker, and they’ll need him -- whether that’s in the starting lineup or off the bench -- to challenge for MLS Cup.

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