Who is Chelsea legend Didier Drogba?
Didier Yves Drogba Tebily, commonly known as Didier Drogba, who was born on 11 March 1978 in Abidjan is an Ivorian retired professional football player. Drogba played as a centre-forward and is best known for his career at Premier League club Chelsea.
Didier was named African Footballer of the Year two times, winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009. The Ivorian striker played his debut game aged 18 for French club Le Mans and signed his first professional deal aged 21.
After finishing the 2002–03 campaign with 17 goals in 34 games for Guingamp, Drogba moved to Ligue 1 club Marseille, where the centre-forward finished as the third-highest scorer in 2003–04 campaign with 19 goals and helped the Olympians reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.
In summer 2004, Didier moved to Chelsea for a club-record £24m fee, making him the most expensive Ivorian footballer in history.
In his debut campaign, Drogba helped the Blues win their first league trophy in 50 years, and a year later, the African striker won another Premier League trophy. In March 2012, Didier became the first African footballer to score 100 Premier League goals.
Drogba played in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, in which the striker scored the equaliser and the winning penalty in the shoot-out with Bayern Munich.
Didier Drogba’s international career
Drogba played in the national team between 2002 and 2014. Didier captained Ivory Coast from 2006 until his retirement from the national team and is the all-time top goalscorer with 65 goals from 105 games.
Drogba led the Elephants to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their first game in the competition, and also scored their first goal. Didier later captained the national team at the 2010 and 2014 Mundials.
Drogba was part of the Elephants that reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2012 but were beaten on penalties on both times. Didier played his 100th international game in a pre-competition friendly with Bosnia.
In the summer of 2014, Drogba was named in the national team’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In August 2014, Didier announced his retirement from international football. In 2018, the Ivorian centre-forward retired from professional football at the age of 40.
Active in social issues in Africa, Didier played an important role in the peace process in Ivory Coast. In 2007 the Ivorian striker was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme, and in winter 2018, Didier became Vice President of the international organization Peace and Sport, according to report.
