Top 5 African footballers of the past 20 years (1998-2018)

#3 Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

Manchester United v Chelsea - Premier League — Didier Drogba is one of Chelsea's greatest players of all time

Didier Drogba is an Ivory Coast player well recognized for his physicality, excellent positioning and the ability to score goals. Drogba has a long list of achievements in his career including 2 African Player of the Year awards (2006 and 2009), 3 English Premier League titles, 3 FA Cup titles, 2 Carling Cup titles, 2 Community Shield titles, Süper Lig title, Champions League, and even the Turkish Cup.

Though best known for his time with Chelsea, where he was voted as the club’s “greatest footballer ever,” Drogba was also the captain of the Ivory Coast national team — and is the all-time top scorer of the National team with 65 goals from 104 appearances.

However, he will be best remembered for his time with the London outfit, where he inspired them to win multiple trophies. The most notable moment of his club career came in 2012 when he secured his name in the history books by leading the club to their first ever Champions League trophy in Munich.

About the author

Jidonu is a European and international football news writer at Sportskeeda. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and has around 7 years of previous experience working with the likes of Tribuna and SportRaba, Jidonu has a good eye for detail and has the ability to created cohesive articles, and reporting exploits have also led him to exclusively cover the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the past.

Jidonu’s tryst with football started after watching the 2002 FIFA World Cup final between Brazil and Germany, being mesmerized by Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Barcelona philosophy and approach towards the game under Pep Guardiola further fueled the burgeoning love for the sport, and he has been a Culer ever since.

Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi is his favorite player and is the one true GOAT for him over Cristiano Ronaldo. The 2022 FIFA World Cup final, where Messi's brace led to La Albiceleste lifting the cup left a lasting impact on him. His love for Messi also sees him follow Major League Soccer apart from Europe’s top five leagues.

In his free time, Jidonu raps and produces music, and also enjoys reading and swimming.

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Edited by Ashwin Hanagudu