5.
Didier Drogba
Tébily Didier Yves Drogba (French pronunciation: [didje dʁɔɡba]; born 11 March 1978), known as Didier Drogba, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a Striker for Galatasaray in the Süper Lig. He is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. In October 2012, he was voted by Chelsea supporters as the club's greatest ever player. His key attributes include his physical strength, ability in the air, and his ability to retain possession of the ball.
After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his professional debut aged 18 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans. A late bloomer, he signed his first professional contract aged 21; it was not until the 2002–03 season that he realised his potential, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances in Ligue 1 for Guingamp. He moved to Olympique de Marseille in 2003 for £3.3 million. His scoring success at Marseille continued, finishing as the third highest scorer in Ligue 1 with 19 goals and helped the club to reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final.
In the summer of 2004, Drogba moved to 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. In 2006–07, Drogba scored 33 goals, won the Premier League Golden Boot and scored the winning goals in both the League Cup and FA Cup finals. He won the FA Cup for a second time in 2009, scoring the equaliser in the final, and in 2009–10 was instrumental in Chelsea clinching their first double, winning his second Golden Boot and scoring the only goal in the 2010 FA Cup Final. In March 2012, Drogba scored his 100th Premier League goal, the first African player to reach the milestone.[5] He then became the only player in history to score in four separate FA Cup finals, when he scored in Chelsea's win over Liverpool in the 2012 final. He made his last appearance for Chelsea 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.
An Ivory Coast international since 2002, Drogba has captained the national team since 2006 and is the nation's all-time top goalscorer with 62 goals. 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 FIFA World Cup, scoring once. An icon in Africa, Drogba has been named African Footballer of the Year in 2006 and 2009. He was part of the Ivory Coast teams which reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2012, but were beaten on penalties on both occasions. In October 2013, he became the first African footballer to win the prestigious Golden Foot while playing for Galatasaray.
No comments:
Post a Comment