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Backed by the financial clout of Roman Abramovich, Chelsea grew into a football superpower at the beginning of the 21st century. The Blues' top brass worked relentlessly to bring in the right personnel at every level in order to take the club to the very top.
Among the many high-profile players that arrived at Stamford Bridge and left an indelible mark on the club, there's one name that stands out to this day and that's none other than Didier Drogba. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to have worn the blue Chelsea shirt and is a massive fan favorite in India.
Several Chelsea fans across India looked back upon Drogba’s illustrious career at Stamford Bridge and recalled his finest moments as a Blue.
Aditya Nair from Navi Mumbai mentioned the Ivorian’s debut as his favorite moment, as Drogba provided an assist for Eidur Gudjohnsen against Manchester United.
Shreya Roy from Hyderabad mentioned Drogba as the player who made her love Chelsea Football Club. She also went on to mention his heroics against Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final as her favorite Drogba moment, as he scored the equalizer and the winning penalty in the shootout to win the game for his side.
Sidhant Mishra from New Delhi looked back on the 2012 FA Cup final, as Drogba lashed a fierce drive from inside the box to win the game for Chelsea against Liverpool. Shehwaz from Ahmedabad also recalled another memorable goal against the Reds, this time in 2006. Drogba scored one of the best goals of his career that day, as he brought down the ball with his chest and slammed home a volley with his left foot.
As he celebrates his 43rd birthday on March 11th, we wish him all the very best and celebrate the great player by taking a look at his greatest moments in a Chelsea shirt.
#1 Signing for Chelsea in 2004 and dream debut
Didier Drogba was signed by Chelsea amid huge fanfare in the summer of 2004 and he hit the ground running. He made a dream debut against title-rivals Manchester United by providing a beautiful assist to Eider Gudjohnsen and Chelsea went on to win Jose Mourinho's first game in charge 1-0.
#2 Memorable goal in the 2007 FA Cup Final against Manchester United
When Chelsea needed him the most in a crucial cup final, Didier Drogba stepped up to the plate and delivered spectacularly in 2007. With the game against Manchester United failing to produce a goal in normal time, extra time was enforced to decide the winner.
In the dying embers of the game, Drogba decided the final with a well-worked goal after receiving the ball from Frank Lampard. The Blues scored in the 116th minute to break Manchester United hearts and saw off the game, as Jose Mourinho added yet another trophy to the cabinet in his time as Chelsea manager.
#3 Winning the Premier League and League Cup in his debut season
Despite being sidelined for two months with a stomach injury, Didier Drogba enjoyed a dream debut season for Chelsea. He played a crucial hand as the Blues went on to win the Premier League and the League Cup that season. The Ivorian scored a total of 16 goals from 40 appearances across all competitions in a triumphant campaign.
#4 Back to back Premier League titles
Kicking off the 2005-06 season, Chelsea squared off against Arsenal in the FA Community Shield. Didier Drogba bagged a brace to truly announce his arrival as the next big thing in the Premier League.
Both of his goals were teasers of things to come as Drogba put his technical ability and physicality on the show and battled to find the netting on both occasions, with the second goal, in particular, leaving the supporters gasping for breath as he fought off the goalkeeper and three defenders before stroking the ball home.
He went on to become the top goalscorer in the fixture, scoring 13 goals in 15 appearances against the Gunners. Drogba led from the front in the 2005-06 campaign, once again scoring 16 goals, as Chelsea became only the second club to win back-to-back Premier League titles.
#5 Scoring the equalizer and the winning penalty as Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League
Drogba reserved his best moments for a few years down the line. In the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League final, Didier Drogba scored the equalizer for Chelsea against Bayern Munich in the 88th minute of the game.
He then put the icing on the cake by scoring the winning penalty in the shootout and etched his name into Chelsea folklore.
Over the course of his two stints at Chelsea, Didier Drogba won four Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League title, four FA Cups, and three League Cups. He has also won two Premier League Golden Boots and has also won Chelsea's Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year once each.
A great athlete who was also an incredible human being, Didier Drogba's name has been etched into Chelsea's history and it will remain there forever.
