Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (: French Pronunciation

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (French
pronunciation: [didje iv dʁɔɡba tebili]; born 11 March 1978) is an

Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a striker.[5] He is
the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast
national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom
he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is
currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. Drogba
was named Chelsea's greatest ever player in a poll of 20,000 fans
conducted by Chelsea Magazine in 2012, and he was also named
in the Chelsea team of the 2010–2020 decade by Chelsea's fans in
2020.[6][7] Regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time,
he was noted for his physical strength, speed, ability in the air,
powerful, accurate strikes and ball retention. Drogba was
named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the award in
2006 and 2009.
After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut
aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans, and signed his first professional
contract aged 21. After finishing the 2002–03 season with 17 goals
in 34 appearances for Ligue 1 side Guingamp, he moved
to Olympique de Marseille, where he finished as the third highest
scorer in the 2003–04 season with 19 goals and helped the club
reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.
In July 2004, Drogba moved to Premier League club Chelsea for a
club record £24 million fee, making him the most expensive Ivorian
player in history. 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.[8] Just two
months later, he scored in Chelsea's 2012 FA Cup Final win over
Liverpool to become the first (and as of 2017, the only) player to
score in four separate FA Cup finals.[9] He also played in the 2012
UEFA Champions League Final, in which he scored an 88th-minute
equaliser and the winning penalty in the deciding shoot-out
against Bayern Munich.[10] After spending six months with Shanghai
Shenhua in China, and one and a half seasons with Turkish
club Galatasaray where he scored the winning goal in the final of
the 2013 Turkish Super Cup, Drogba returned to Chelsea in July
2014.[11][12] With a career record of scoring 10 goals in 10 finals
winning 10 trophies at club level, Drogba has been referred to as
the "ultimate big game player".[13][14] He joined Canadian
club Montreal Impact in 2015 as a Designated Player and played 41
matches over two seasons, scoring 23 goals. Drogba became a
player–owner for Phoenix Rising of the United Soccer League in
2017, and retired a year later at the age of 40. On 21 April 2022, he
was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.[15][16]
An Ivory Coast international between 2002 and 2014, Drogba
captained the national team from 2006 until his retirement from the
Ivory Coast team and is the nation's all-time top goalscorer with 65
goals from 105 appearances.[1][17] He led the Ivory Coast to the 2006
FIFA World Cup, their first appearance in the tournament, and also
scored their first goal. He later captained the Ivory Coast at
the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.[18] He was part of the Ivory
Coast teams that reached the final of the Africa Cup of
Nations in 2006 and 2012, but were beaten on penalties on both
occasions. On 8 August 2014, he announced his retirement from
international football.[19] In 2018, Drogba retired from professional
football at the age of 40.[5]
Active in social issues in Africa, Drogba played a vital role in the
peace process in his home country.[20] In 2007 he was appointed
a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development
Programme, and in December 2018 he became Vice President of
the international organization Peace and Sport.[21]
Early life
Drogba is a member of the Bété people.[22] He was born in Abidjan,
Ivory Coast, and at the age of five was sent to France by his
parents to live with his uncle, Michel Goba, a professional
footballer. However, Drogba soon became homesick and returned
to Abidjan after three years.[23] His mother nicknamed him "Tito",
after president Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, whom she admired
greatly.[24] He played football every day in a car park in the city, but
his return to the Ivory Coast was short-lived. Both of his parents lost
their jobs and he again returned to live with his uncle.[23] In 1991, his
parents also travelled to France; first to Vannes and then, in 1993,
settling in Antony in the Paris suburbs, at which point the 15-year-
old Drogba returned to live with them and his siblings.[25] It was here
that he began playing team football more frequently, joining a local
youth side. Drogba then joined the semi-professional club Levallois,
gaining a reputation as a prolific scorer in the youth team and
impressing the coach with his professional attitude. His
performances earned him a place in the senior squad but despite
scoring in his debut, the 18-year-old Ivorian failed to make an
impression on Jacques Loncar, the first team coach.[26]
Club career
Le Mans
When Drogba finished school he moved to the city Le Mans to
study accountancy at university and changed clubs, becoming an
apprentice at Ligue 2 club Le Mans. However, his first two years
there were marred by injuries and he was physically struggling to
cope with the training and match schedule.[23] Former Le Mans
coach Marc Westerloppe later remarked that "it took Didier four
years to be capable of training every day and playing every week".
Furthermore, Drogba had never attended a football academy and
only began daily football training as an adult.[27]
By age 21, Drogba realised that he had to establish himself as a
player soon or else he would have little chance of becoming a
professional footballer.[28] He made his first team debut for Le Mans
soon thereafter and signed his first professional contract in 1999.
The same year, he and his Malian wife Alla had their first child,
Isaac. He grew into his new responsibilities, later stating: "Isaac's
birth was a turning point in my life, it straightened me out".[23] His first
season, in which he scored seven goals in thirty games, boded well
for the future, but during the following season he did not live up to
expectations. Drogba lost his place to Daniel Cousin due to injury,
then upon his return, he failed to score throughout the remainder of
the season. However, he returned to form the following season,
scoring five goals in 21 appearances.[29]
Guingamp
Halfway through the 2001–02 season Ligue
1 club Guingamp consolidated months of interest with a transfer
offer and Drogba left Le Mans for a fee of £80,000.[23] The second
half of the 2001–02 season saw Drogba make 11 appearances and
score three goals for Guingamp. While his contributions helped the
club avoid relegation, the coaching staff remained unconvinced of
their new young striker.[30] However, the next season he rewarded
his coaches' patience, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances and
helping Guingamp finish seventh, a record league finish.[23] He
credited his teammates for his impressive season, highlighting the
contributions of winger Florent Malouda, a long time friend of
Drogba, as a key factor in his goalscoring prolificity that season.
[28]
His strong goal scoring record attracted interest from larger clubs
and at the end of the season, he moved to Ligue 1 side Olympique
de Marseille for a fee of £3.3 million.[27]
Marseille
After a switch of coaches, Drogba retained his position in the team,
scoring 19 goals and winning the National Union of Professional
Footballers (UNFP) Player of the Year award. He also scored five
goals in that season's UEFA Champions League and six in
the UEFA Cup. At the end of the season, he was bought
by Chelsea as the club's then record signing for £24 million.[28] His
shirt from his only season at Marseille is also framed in
the basilica of Marseille, Notre-Dame de la Garde, which he
presented to the church before the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.[31]
Chelsea
2004–06
Signing for Chelsea in July 2004 for £24 million,[32] Drogba scored in
his

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Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (French

pronunciation: [didje iv dʁɔɡba tebili]; born 11 March 1978) is an

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