Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba

Personal information
Full name	Didier Drogba
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Chelsea
Number	11
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 January 2007

Didier Drogba (born 11 March 1978 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League. He was the Premier League top scorer in 2006–07 with 20 goals as well as the 2006 African Footballer of the Year.

Early life

At the age of five Drogba was sent to France by his parents where he lived with his uncle, Michel Goba, who was a professional footballer. However, Drogba soon became homesick and returned to Abidjan three years afterwards. Drogba played football everyday in a car park in the city but his return to the Ivory Coast was short lived. Both his parents lost their jobs and Drogba again returned to live with his uncle. In 1991 his parents also travelled to France, first to Vannes and then in 1993 settling at Antony in the Paris suburbs, at which point the 15-year-old Drogba returned to live with them and his siblings. He signed for local club Levallois. After leaving school he studied accountancy.

Career

Le Mans and Guingamp

Drogba signed for Ligue 2 club Le Mans in 1998 aged 19, but was not signed on professional terms until he was 21. During the 2001-2002 season, he signed for Ligue 1 club Guingamp. The next season he scored seventeen goals and helped Guingamp finish seventh, a record league finish. This led to him signing for Olympique de Marseille, one of France's biggest clubs.

Olympique de Marseille

Marseille were struggling under the management of Alain Perrin, who signed Drogba from Guingamp, and he was soon replaced by José Anigo. However, Drogba retained his place and was a consistent performer, scoring 19 goals and winning the award for French player of the year. He also scored 5 goals in that season's Champions League, including a goal from a cleverly orchestrated free kick against Newcastle United. At the end of the season he was bought by Chelsea as the club's then record signing for £23.8 million. This record was usurped on the arrival of Michael Essien for £26 million in 2005 and Andriy Shevchenko for around £30 million in 2006. Drogba is still held in high esteem in Marseille where the crowd at the Stade Velodrome continue to chant his name. His shirt from his only season at OM is also framed in the basilica of Marseille, Notre-Dame de la Garde, after he went there before the UEFA cup final and presented it to the church.

Chelsea F.C.

2004-05

Signing for Chelsea in July 2004 for £23.8 million, Drogba started well to the Premier League, scoring in his third game for the club with a header against Crystal Palace. However, his season was interrupted when he pulled a stomach muscle against Liverpool which kept him out of action for over two months. Despite this he enjoyed the second best goals-to-minutes ratio in the Premier League, Thierry Henry being the only player to better him in this respect. He scored 16 goals in 40 games for Chelsea in his first season: 10 in the Premiership, 5 in the Champions League and 1 in the Carling Cup final.

The season proved very successful for Chelsea as they won the Premiership, only their second English top-flight championship and their first in 50 years, and the Carling Cup, with Drogba scoring in extra time in a 3-2 final win against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium. He played an important part in his team's run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, where he scored against ex-club Marseille's arch-rivals Paris Saint-Germain and another two goals in both legs of the quarter-final against Bayern Munich.

2005-06

Drogba made an impressive start to the 2005-06 season, scoring two goals in a Community Shield win over Arsenal. In both goals, Drogba mercilessly exploited the mistakes of young Swiss defender Philippe Senderos. He also put in man-of-the-match performances in two 4-1 wins, one against Liverpool at Anfield, where he had a part in creating every goal, and another against West Ham United, where he scored the first, provided the second for Hernán Crespo, and played excellently throughout.

However, Drogba's reputation was marred amidst accusations of cheating during Chelsea's 2-0 win over Manchester City. Replays showed that he had used his hand to control the ball before scoring the second of his two goals. Coming just a week after a similar incident against Fulham where the goal was disallowed, Drogba was accused of cheating. In a post match interview with the BBC, he acknowledged that he had handled the ball and seemingly admitted to cheating, saying, "Sometimes I dive, sometimes I stand," before immediately retracting his comment: "I don't dive, I play my game". Pundits did state afterwards that the comments may have been due to Drogba's grasp of English as the player was still adapting to life in England. Nevertheless, his comments were ridiculed by the English media.

Chelsea went on to retain the league title with two games to play, becoming only the second team to win back-to-back English Premier League championship titles. Ultimately, Drogba finished the 2005-06 season as the top assist provider in the Premier League, with 11 assists according to Actim Stats. Again he finished with 16 goals for the season: 12 in the Premiership, 2 in the Community Shield, 1 in the Champions League and 1 in the FA Cup.

On 11 June 2006 Drogba, who had previously disclosed that he wanted to return to Marseille because he had been demonised by the English media , said that he was ready to extend his contract at Chelsea and looked forward to playing with new team-mates Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko, Salomon Kalou and Mikel John Obi.

Furthermore, after the departure of fellow striker Hernán Crespo and winger Damien Duff, and manager Mourinho's decision to switch to a 4-4-2 formation after fielding a 4-3-3 featuring only one out-and-out forward over the past two seasons, Drogba's position in the coming season looked more stable as the first choice striker alongside Andriy Shevchenko.

2006-07

Drogba in 2007

After the departure of Damien Duff to Newcastle United, Drogba switched from the number 15 shirt he had worn for Chelsea since 2004 to the number 11 shirt vacated by Duff. The season was a personal success for Drogba as he hit 33 goals in all competitions (more than his tally in the previous two seasons combined), including 20 in the Premier League to win the Golden Boot. In doing so, he became the first Chelsea player since Kerry Dixon in 1984-85 to reach 30 goals in a season. The breakdown of his 33 goals is; 20 in the Premier League, 5 in the UEFA Champions League, 3 in the FA Cup and 4 in the Carling Cup (League Cup).

Among the highlights were scoring winners from outside the penalty area against Liverpool, Everton and FC Barcelona, a 93rd minute equaliser against Barcelona at the Camp Nou and both Chelsea's goals in their 2-1 Carling Cup final win over Arsenal. He also completed two hat-tricks; one against Watford and the other against Levski Sofia in the Champions League, Chelsea's first hat-trick in European competition since Gianluca Vialli in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1997. In his last competitive game that season, he scored the winning goal over Manchester United in the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium. This also meant that he joined Norman Whiteside and Mark Hughes as players who have scored goals in both domestic Finals in the same year in England.

In January 2007 Drogba was crowned the Ivorian Player of the Year, beating off opposition from such players as Lille's Kader Keita, Lens' Aruna Dindane, and Arsenal's Kolo Toure. In March, he was named African Footballer of the Year for the first time, ahead of Cameroon and Barcelona forward Samuel Eto'o and Drogba's Chelsea team-mate, Ghanaian Michael Essien. His performances during the season saw him named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year and runner-up to Cristiano Ronaldo in the PFA Player of the Year awards.

In March 2007, Drogba's younger brother Joёl attempted to break into English football, with a trial at League 1 club Leyton Orient. However, the trial proved unsuccessful.

Drogba faced problems off the pitch during the close season as his transfer from Olympique de Marseille to Chelsea in July 2004 came under scrutiny. The Stevens inquiry in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the lack of co-operation from agents Pinhas Zahavi and Barry Silkman.

2007-08

Drogba in 2008

The 2007-08 season began badly for Drogba as he expressed doubts about the departure of manager José Mourinho. He was reportedly in tears when Mourinho told him he was leaving the club, and said "Mourinho's departure destroys a certain familiarity we had at the club. Many of us used to play first and foremost for the manager. Now we need to forget those feelings and find another source of motivation". Following these claims, Drogba told France Football Magazine "I want to leave Chelsea. Something is broken with Chelsea, The damage is big in the dressing room". Despite having signed a four year contract with the club in 2006, Drogba reportedly pointed out several favoured clubs in the interview, identifying Barcelona, Real Madrid, A.C. Milan or Inter Milan as possible future destinations, he later admitted he regretted this and was 100% committed to Chelsea. He soon regained the trust of the board and fans , scoring in Chelsea's 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough on 20 October 2007, against Schalke 04 in the Champions League four days later, and 2 goals against Manchester City, giving superb performances in all.

Drogba continued scoring goals but suffered an injury at the training ground and decided to have an operation on his knee. He was unable to play for 4 weeks and missed key games against Valencia, Arsenal and Liverpool. Drogba returned from injury to play half an hour in an FA Cup 3rd round match against QPR but that was his last performance for The Blues before international duty at the African Nations Cup. Upon his return Drogba scored both goals in a key 2-1 victory against Arsenal F.C. on 23 March 2008 which took Chelsea equal on points with leaders Manchester United.

On 26 April 2008 Drogba faced controversy after a clash with Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidić. The Serbian centre-back had to have stitches under his lip after losing a tooth in the clash. There was discussion whether Drogba had the intention or not to injure his rival. The debate also called in to question an earlier incident on 26 November 2006 where Drogba elbowed Vidić. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson expressed concerns over elbowing in the Premiership. Despite media speculation, Drogba's yellow card for the clash was deemed adequate punishment by the FA.

Controvesy still dogged the player as before the UEFA Champions League semi-final 2nd Leg clash with Liverpool FC, Drogba was accused of diving by Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez. Benitez claimed to have compiled a four-year dossier of Drogba's 'diving' antics but Drogba hit back at Benitez saying:

"Benitez was a coach I used to respect a lot. I used to believe he had class but he has seriously disappointed me. His words have shown his weakness. A great coach will never attack a player so meanly. If he doesn't want me to fall down he should focus on his team's game and tell his defenders to stop fouling me. In the first leg, Carragher and Skrtel didn't stop. At the end of the match I was covered in bruises. Last year, I picked up a broken rib during the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool"

On 30 April 2008 Drogba scored 2 goals in the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Liverpool F.C., which Chelsea F.C. won 3-2 at Stamford Bridge. This was the first time Chelsea had beaten Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Champions League, having lost their previous two meetings to Liverpool. This also led to Chelsea reaching their first Champions League Final. Drogba became Chelsea's top scorer in European competition, the two goals he scored putting his tally at 17, beating Peter Osgood's record of 16. Drogba was sent off in the 117th minute of the UEFA Final for slapping Manchester United player Nemanja Vidic, becoming only the second player to be sent off in a European Cup final - after Jens Lehmann in 2006 - and the first for violent conduct. Chelsea went on to lose 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in extra time. Chelsea assistant boss Henk Ten Cate revealed Drogba was due to take the crunch fifth spot-kick in the shootout. Team captain John Terry took his place but missed after slipping whilst taking the penalty.

International

Drogba is a Côte d'Ivoire international and helped the team qualify for its first ever World Cup, held in Germany in 2006. His first cap came on September 8, 2002 against South Africa and he scored his first goal with "The Elephants" on 11 February 2003 against Cameroon in a 3–0 victory. He scored nine goals in eight qualifying games - statistically one of the best records in international football. In February 2005 he was voted runner-up to Samuel Eto'o in the African Footballer of the Year awards. He has scored 27 times in 41 caps, as of 21 August, 2007. It is considered probable that he holds the all-time goalscoring record for Côte d'Ivoire, but due to uncertainty surrounding other players' statistics, this cannot be confirmed.

In February 2006, Drogba captained Côte d'Ivoire to their second African Cup of Nations final, scoring the only goal in their semi-final match with Nigeria and putting away the deciding spot-kick in their record-tying 12-11 penalty shootout quarter-final win over Cameroon. However, they lost in the final to Egypt 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw, with Drogba's shot being stopped by Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary in a penalty shoot-out.

In the 2006 World Cup, Côte d'Ivoire were drawn in a "group of death" with Serbia and Montenegro, the Netherlands and Argentina. On 11 June 2004, Drogba scored the first World Cup goal of his career and of his country's history in the opening game against Argentina, but his team lost 2-1. At the post-match press conference, Drogba praised his team-mates for a good overall performance (singling out Bakari Kone and Didier Zokora in particular), but said that he and his team-mates have to work at cutting out mistakes and becoming better organised. "The difference between big teams like Argentina and small teams like us," Drogba said, "is that the big teams make the small teams pay for their mistakes. When you play opponents like Argentina, when you make little mistakes, you pay".

Côte d'Ivoire was eliminated from the World Cup after their next game, a 1-2 defeat to the Netherlands, but came from 0-2 down to win against Serbia and Montenegro 3-2 in their final group game, with Drogba watching from the sidelines following suspension. Drogba was seen celebrating wildly with his Ivorian teammates in the dugout at the final whistle. He later told German television that he was "immensely proud" of his teammates, and felt that the team had done Africa proud, especially by demonstrating resolve and refusing to accept defeat.

On 24 January 2007, Drogba was appointed by United Nations Development Programme as a Goodwill Ambassador. The UNDP were impressed with his previous charity work and believed that his high profile would help raise awareness on African issues.

In the 2008 African Cup of Nations, Côte d'Ivoire were drawn in a group with Nigeria, Mali and underdogs Benin. Drogba scored two goals in the group stage, opening the scoring in the 4-1 win over Benin and the first on the score sheet again in the 3-0 win over Mali. Côte d'Ivoire had beaten Nigeria earlier on in the group through a Salomon Kalou goal, and so they went through to the Quarter Finals comfortably, finishing top of group B. In the quarter finals, Drogba was on the score sheet once again in the 5-0 thrashing of Guinea with the last four goals coming in the final twenty minutes. The semi final was a rematch of the 2006 final against Egypt, but it was to be the end of the road for Didier and the Côte d'Ivoire, at the hands of the 2006 champions, losing 4-1 and then had no more luck in 3rd place play-off, losing 4-2 to Ghana. Drogba ended up joint top scorer for the Côte d'Ivoire along with Salomon Kalou, Abdul Kader Keita and Boubacar Sanogo on three goals.

Career statistics

Club	Season	Domestic League			Domestic Cups			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts
Le Mans	1998–99	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	1999–00	30	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	7	0
	2000–01	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0	0
	2001–02	21	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	5	0
	Total	64	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	64	12	0
Guingamp	2001–02	11	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	3	0
	2002–03	34	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	17	0
	Total	45	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	45	20	0
Marseille	2003–04	35	18	0	0	0	0	16	11	0	51	29	0
	Total	35	19	0	0	0	0	16	11	0	51	29	0
Chelsea	2004–05	26	10	5	6	1	0	9	5	1	41	16	6
	2005–06	29	12	11	5	2	0	7	1	0	40	16	11
	2006–07	37	20	4	11	7	0	12	6	1	60	33	5
	2007–08	17	8	1	2	1	0	10	6	0	29	15	1
	Total	108	51	20	23	11	0	38	18	2	169	80	23
Career Totals		252	102	20	23	11	0	64	29	2	329	141	23

(Correct as of 1 May 2008) [1] [2] [3] [4]

Honours

Chelsea

• Template:Sport honours
• Template:Sport honours
• Template:Sport honours
• Template:Sport honours

Personal

• Template:Sport honours
• Template:Sport honours

References

External links

• Didier Drogba's official website - available in English and French
• Profile on Chelsea's official site
• BBC profile
• Didier Drogba videos at GoalVideoz.com
• Didier Drogba at Soccerbase

Template:S-awards

Template:Persondata