Didier Drogba, 11# Forward
Didier was born in Abidjan, the largest city within his homeland, but spent a lot of his childhood in France with his uncle. Due to the problems within the Ivory Coast, he permanently moved here. With his uncle being an ex-footballer for small teams in France, Didier started playing the game at a young age.

He first joined a team however when his parents joined him in France when 15, and he made his way up the youth team ranks with Levallois, and featured in the National 2 League in France. However, he left at 18, as the club didn’t see enough promise, and instead he began to study accountancy.

He joined Le Mans shortly after as a semi-pro in Ligue 2, and was here for a few years. He signed professional two years later, but than choose to step up a level to Ligue 1 with Guingamp.

It was here, at 22 years old Didier started showing his quality. He bagged seventeen goals, earning him a move to French giants Olympique Marseille.

The following season he made a huge impact not only in France, but in Europe. Marseille had qualified for the Champions League the following season, with Drogba scoring 5 goals during the group stage, including a hat-trick against Partizan, and a goal in the Bernabeu against Real Madrid.

They didn’t progress though, but they qualified for the UEFA Cup, where Drogba was instrumental in ‘OM’ reaching the final. In the process, they knocked out both Liverpool and Newcastle, with Drogba scoring a sublime goal against the later.
He was now a regular in the Ivorian national side, where he now captains. He has featured in the World Cup, as well as two African Nations Cup’s for them, and has hero status in his homeland. Drogba was really catching the eye, with Europe’s biggest clubs looking at him. He not only performed on the European stage, but also in Ligue 1, scoring 19 league goals, and picking up the French Player of the Year award.
And at the season, Didier was on his way again. Chelsea and Juventus showed the biggest interested, and in July 2004, he became Chelsea’s record signing, for £24 million.

Despite early struggles in his first two seasons in the Premier League, where he was heavily criticised, he became a back-to-back champion. He scored 32 goals in two years and showed pace, strength and great ability to find the back of the net. He wasn’t at his best however, and he was repeatedly linked away from the Bridge.

The following season, he was nothing short of magnificent however, scoring 33 goals in all competitions from all parts of the pitch, winning the golden boot in the process. This feat saw him become the first Chelsea player score 30 in one season since 1984, when Chelsea legend Kerry Dixon did the same. Despite Chelsea signing Milan’s Andriy Shevchenko for huge money in pre-season, it was Didier who became the spear head of the Chelsea attack, and established himself as the top striker in England, and possibly Europe.

He scored the three goals that delivered both the Carling Cup and FA Cup to Stamford Bridge, cementing himself in the Chelsea record books for ever, and the attributes mentioned above have been taken to a new level. Despite having the likes of Nicolas Anelka and Andriy Shevchenko at the club, as well as Hernan Crespo and Eidur Gudjohsen earlier in his Chelsea career, Didier has been a regular starter and goalscorer since joining in 2004, and is now not just a hero in Ivory Coast but also in South West London.

His ability was evident upon arriving at Chelsea, but he has since added consistency that makes him one of the games deadliest forwards.

Written By David Pickett    Discussion Topic