Chelsea
All hail the legend as former Chelsea star bows out of professional football
Some weeks ago, it was England international Joe Cole who hanged his boot after being a professional player for 20 years.
Another former Chelsea player –indeed a greater player — has put an end to his 20-year successful football career and he’s no other person but Didier Drogba. The player announced last night via all his Social media accounts that he is no longer fit enough to continue his professional career.
Drogba needs no introduction to any football fan, his skills, shots, dribbles, and achievements are too famous for anyone to ignore nor forget.
How did it start for the Ivorian Legend
Drogba started his football career as a striker with Tourcoing at the age of ten. He was a determined young player who put so much determination and seriousness into his game.
After just a year with Tourcoing, Drogba move to Abbeville, followed by Vannes, before heading to Levallois and then Le Man’s where he signed his first professional career at the age of 20.
The Making of a legend
At Le Man’s, a Ligue 1 side, the striker was full of strength and running despite his young age.
He spent four years with the team, where he played 64 matches and scored 12 goals in the process.
Due to his exploits with Le Man’s, Guingamp came calling in 2002 with an offer which the young player can’t afford to reject.
He joined the Ligue side for a fee which was said to be £800,000 (according to Wikipedia) but could only play one year with the team. In his only season with Guingamp, Drogba scored 20 goals after 40 games in the French League.
In 2003, following his prolific performance in front of goal, Marseille splash £3.3m on his signature and he didn’t disappoint.
The Ivorian couldn’t stay more than one season with Marseille due to the breathtaking performances he put up during his time with the Ligue 1 giants.
His high goalscoring record caught the eyes of many European clubs, including Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Real Madrid but Marseille are reluctant to let him go.
After playing 35 matches with 19 goals, Drogba eventually made his move to Premier League as Chelsea beat Arsenal and Liverpool to his signature in 2004.
The Rise To Stardom
Though the player’s rise to fame started since his days at Le Man’s, Chelsea was the club that catapulted his fame to every part of the world.
Having made a £24m move to Stamford Bridge in 2004 under Mourinho, nothing was expected from the player but to justify his price tag and the faith imposed in him by the Portuguese manager.
In his first season at the West London club, the star striker managed to score 10 Premier League goals in just 26 matches.
After eight years of action for the Blues, Drogba became a well respected and highly regarded figure in football history due to the number of matches he played and the goals he scored.
After eight seasons, he played 226 League games for the Blues, scoring 100 goals in the process with so many assists.
After his Chelsea career, Drogba went on to play for some clubs including Shanghai Shenhua ( Chinese Super League), Galatasaray (Turkish Super League), Montreal Impact (MLS) and Phoenix Rising( United Soccer League).
Achievements and trophies won
Drogba won’t be celebrated enough if his achievements are not reeled off, this is why we shall be listing some of his awards achievements during throughout his 20 years of active career
One-time UEFA Champions League winner
Two-time FA Community Shield winner
Three-time Football League Cup winner
Drogba was a Four-time FA Cup winner
Five-time Premier League winner.
One-time Süper Lig, Turkish Cup and the Turkish Super Cup winner.
He won numerous player of the month awards, player of year awards, CAF player of the year awards, BBC player of the year awards among others.
Landmark achievement
In 2017, Drogba became the first player-owner in history when he purchased an American Super League club, Phoenix Rising.
Indeed, the 40-year-old isn’t just Chelsea legend but an African Legend, football Legend.
We wish him a great life after football. Will he become a football manager just like his former teammates — Terry and Lampard? Only time will tell.
