'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Legends do exist amongst us and Didier Drogba is one of them. The iconic striker has wowed us since 2004 after joining Chelsea and is set to do it again after returning to the club this summer. Drogba transformed into one of the most feared strikers in Europe at Chelsea and it is safe to say that the Blues would not have achieved the things they have today if it wasn’t for him.
Didier Drogba was born on 11th March 1978 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast but was sent to live with his uncle Michel Goba, who was a footballer, in France. However Drogba soon grew homesick and was sent back to his parents three years later. The youngster was clearly influenced by his uncle and played football in a car park every single day before jetting out to France again due to his family’s poor economic condition.
Drogba’s parents soon joined him in Paris and the youngster joined a local football team where he gained quite a reputation. The striker soon earned a transfer to Levallois where he was the top scorer in their youth side and broke into the first team and even scored on his debut but was deemed not good enough by the team’s head coach Jacques Loncar. The club realised their mistake later and named their new stadium Stade Didier Drogba in his honour.
Besides football Drogba also excelled in studies and even took up accountancy which earned him a transfer to Ligue 2 side Le Mans. However Drogba struggled for form at the club and scored just 15 goals over the course of four seasons and was soon shipped off to Guingamp.
It was at Guingamp where he met his future teammate Florent Malouda and the pair formed a superb understanding which helped the club avoid relegation. Drogba netted 24 goals in 50 appearances for Guingamp and was finally noticed by Marseille who signed him up for £3.3 million.
The striker began firing on all cylinders at Marseille and netted 32 goals in 55 appearances including five goals in that seasons Champions League. Drogba’s heroics won him the UNPF Player Of The Year Award. The strikers performances for Marseille was noticed by Chelsea, one of the top clubs in Europe, and was soon signed up by them for £24 million making him the most expensive Ivorian footballer in history. Even though he was at Marseille for just one season, the club still hold him in high regard and even framed his jersey in the Basilica of Marseille.
Drogba acquired a cult status at Chelsea, scoring 157 goals for them in all seasons making him the first African player to score more than 100 goals in the Premier League. The striker also lifted 3 Premier Leagues, 4 FA Cups, 1 League Cup and 1 Champions League in his first stint at Chelsea. He was also crowned the African Footballer Of The Year twice during his time with the Blues.
After his first stint with Chelsea ended Drogba moved to Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua where he linked up with his former Blues teammate Nicolas Anelka once again. The striker managed to net 8 goals in 11 appearances for his new team but a contract dispute caused him to move to Turkish club Galatasaray which saw him re-enter the European scene.
The Ivorian scored 20 goals for Galatasaray over the course of two seasons which helped the club win the Super Lig, TFF Super Kupa and Turkiye Kupsai and managed to endear himself to the clubs fans in the process.
Drogba complete a fairytale return to Chelsea this July on a free transfer and has a contract until the end of the season. The 36-year-old spoke of his delight on returning to Chelsea saying "It was an easy decision. I couldn't turn down the opportunity to work with Jose again. Everyone knows the special relationship I have with this club and it has always felt like home to me." The iconic number 11 made his second debut as a sub against Burnley in a 3-1 win.
Drogba has been married to his longtime partner Diakite Lalla since 2011 and has three children with her. Even though he stayed in Europe for most of his life Drogba hasn’t forgotten his roots and still eats African food, listens to African music and dance to African songs. The striker is a devout Catholic but visits the mosque occasionally.
During his childhood in France Drogba grew fond of Camara Laye’s novel ‘The Dark Child’ as he identified himself with the books protagonist who was an American student exiled in France.
Drogba does a lot of charity and set up the Didier Drogba Foundation in 2007 which mostly helps people in his homeland. He donated the £3 million fee he received as a signing fee from Pepsi to build a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan. The striker also helped temporarily resolve disturbances in his homeland after he called for a ceasefire during the 2006 World Cup.
Drogba is currently sponsored by American sportswear manufacturer Nike who supply the striker with their Mercurial IV boots. Some of his other sponsors include Pepsi and Samsung mobile.
He is active on the social media, you can connect with him on Facebook over here – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Didier-Drogba/476609922465576 and on Twitter over here – https://twitter.com/didierdrogba
All that’s left to say now is that Drogba was the life of Chelsea for years and not even a Diego Costa or an Eden Hazard can replace him. Let’s hope his second stint at the club he holds so close to his heart will be as successful as his first.
