Didier Drogba Best Goals

Didier Drogba, a professional footballer, was born on March 11, 1978 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. At the age of five, he went to live with his uncle, Michel Goba, a professional footballer, in Brest, Brittany, where he practiced football while keeping up with his schoolwork.


Didier Drogba made his international debut, when he played for the Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) national team against South Africa on September 8, 2002. He scored his first goal in the following year in the team’s 3-0 win against Cameroon. In 2006, he helped his team to qualify for the 2006 World Cup held in Germany, the team’s first ever World Cup. Didier Drogba netted his first World Cup goal against Argentina in the 2006 World Cup, which was also the first goal in country’s history.


In the final of the 2006 African Cup of Nations, Didier Drogba captained the national side to play against Egypt and emerged as runners-up. In the 2008 African Cup of Nations, Côte d'Ivoire competed in draw matches against Nigeria, Mali and Benin. He netted two goals in the group stage competing with Benin and the first winning goal against Mali national team.

In 1996, Didier Drogba kicked-off his football career with the Levallois youth club, when he was just fifteen years old. After signing a two year non-professional contract with Ligue 2 club, Le Mans, in 1998 he moved on to the Ligue 1 club, Guingamp, in the 2001-02 season. In the following season with the club, he scored 17 goals and led his team to finish seventh in the league. He then moved to Olympique de Marseille, a Ligue 1 football team, in 2003. Being a consistent performer and scoring 19 goals for his club, he received the ‘French Player of the Year’ award. He was a part of the club in the season’s Champions League netting five goals including the one scored in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup game against the Newcastle United FC.


In July 2004, the Chelsea FC signed Didier Drogba for a whooping fee of £23.8 million. He scored his first goal (header) for the club in his third match against Crystal Palace in the Premier League. During the 2004-05 season, he was a crucial member of the Chelsea squad at the Champions League, netting one goal against Paris Saint-Germain and two goals against Bayern Munich in the quarter finals. For his performances against Liverpool and West Ham United in the 2005-06 season, Didier Drogba was titled ‘Man of the Match’ twice. He was also declared as the top assist provider of the season by Actim Stats, giving 11 assists in the Premier League.


His triumph during the 2006-07 season included the Golden Boot award, and he became the first Chelsea footballer for netting 33 goals in all his appearances for the season, including 20 matches in the Premier League. He received the ‘Ivorian Player of the Year’ award in January 2007 and was titled ‘African Footballer of the Year’ for the first time in March 2007. For his performances in that season, Didier Drogba was named into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year and eventually became the runner-up after to Cristiano Ronaldo. After scoring two goals in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League against Liverpool, which Chelsea won 3-2 at Stamford Bridge, Didier Drogba became the top scorer of Chelsea in the European competition.


Didier Drogba was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador by United Nations Development Programme on January 24, 2007.

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