Samuel Eto'o hails John Terry gesture & defends Didier Drogba

All hell may have broken lose immediately after Chelsea's elimination to Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek, but the captain from the London outfit, John Terry, managed to lead by example amidst the aftermath.

While Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack continued their protests well after their final whistle, there were reports that Terry graciously went into the Barca dressing room at Stamford Bridge to congratulate the victors. And Blaugrana striker, Samuel Eto'o has backed up that story.

“I want to point out a nice gesture after the game: Chelsea's captain entered our dressing room and shook each and every player's hand. This is what one wants to see,” he said in a press conference ahead of his team's league clash with Villarreal this weekend.

Eto'o then spoke about all the refereeing controversies over the two legs before going on to defend Drogba after the Ivory Coast striker lashed out in front of TV cameras at the conclusion of the match.

“It's a shame, because football is only football. It's just a distraction. People pay their tickets to watch a spectacle, and it should remain just that,” he advised.

“If we had lost, we would be talking about the penalty which wasn't awarded to us [in the first leg]. The referee played his part and I don't think he intended to annoy us. But when things go well for one team, it tends to go badly for the other. It's necessary to accept that.

“There's frustration at Chelsea and it's a normal reaction, especially when a game slips away like that because you have not been able to finish it off. They had chances to kill off the game, but it was not his [Drogba] day.

“I understand him because these things can happen. As one of the more important players, he just wanted to make his voice heard. I understand his frustration and it was nothing more than that,” he concluded.