Didier Drogba @ 44: A Legend Through And Through

Unarguably, among the best football players to come out of Africa, Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba had a career worth celebrating that paved the way for future generations of football players to aspire to the very top.

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily, born 11 March 1978 is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and later moved to France to live with his uncle, Michel Goba who was a professional footballer.

After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le mans. Indeed, despite the outstanding footballer he turned out to be, Drogba never had the easiest of beginnings chasing his dreams.

He is considered as one of those players with a late peak as he did not sign a professional contract until he turned 21 years of age, after suffering series of failure and rejection at youth level. However, his fight and drive to become a world star pushed him every step of the way as he scored 17 goals in 34 appearances in Ligue 1 for Guingamp in 2002. 

He then moved to Olympique de Marseille where he finished as the third highest scorer in the 2003-04 with 19 goals and helped the club to reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.

His goalscoring prowess was noticed immediately by English giants Chelsea who were launching a new era with manager Jose Mourinho, who based his style of play on physicality and toughness, and Didier Drogba was just the right recruitment they needed as he joined them for a then club record £24 million fee, making him the most expensive Ivorian player in history at the time.

In his debut season he helped the club win their first league title in 50 years, and a year later, he won another Premier League title. His displays saw him named in the FIFA World XI for 2007. In March 2012, he became the first African player to score 100 Premier League goals and just two months later, he scored in Chelsea’s 2012 FA Cup final win over Liverpool to become the first player to score in four separate FA Cup finals.

Drogba ended his 8-year spell for the Blues on a memorable note as he helped them to a first ever European title scoring the equaliser and the winning penalty kick in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich. Drogba then played for a short period in China and moved to Galatasaray in Turkey where he scored the winning goal in the 2013 Turkish Super Cup to create an astonishing career record of scoring 10 goals in 10 finals winning 10 trophies at club level.

The ‘Ultimate Big Game Player’ as he was been referred, rejoined Chelsea in 2014 winning another league title and a league cup crown. His incredible club career ended in 2017 aged 40 as he put an end to a blissfull footballing journey where he would be regarded as one of the greatest ever.

For his home nation Ivory Coast, Drogba was a hero on and off the pitch as he is the leading all-time goalscorer for the Elephants with 65 goals from 105 appearances. The only blemish on his outstanding international career was failing to win a major trophy for his country, losing two Africa Cup of Nations Finals in 2006 and 2012.

When he was not playing, he was active in social issues in Africa, expanding his legendary status off the pitch as he played a vital role in peace process in his home country making a desperate plea to the combatants which was answered with a cease fire after five years of civil war.

686 games, 300 goals and 125 assists, 14 major career trophies, 2 Premier League golden boots, two-time African Footballer of the Year, a record breaker all through his playing career, Didier Drogba deserves to celebrated on the occasion of his 44th birthday as he remains in the history books as one of the best ever African footballers to grace the sport.

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