Didier Drogba – 32 and better than ever
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is at his prime but he is still determined to reach greater heights. According to Anthony Sciarrino of goal.com, the Ivory Coast native thinks that he has improved since he first arrived in Chelsea. He intends to stay with the club for five more seasons.
Injuries won’t get in his way. As a matter of fact, the striker feels rejuvinated after his summer surgery that fixed his long-term groin injury. He’s sprung back from that surgery and is preparing to play for the years to come. Last Saturday, he scored a hat-trick in the his club’s season opener. Chelsea massively defeated West Bromwich Albion 6-0 last Saturday. Florent Malouda scored the opening goal five minutes into the game. Drogba made it 2-0 with a free kick at the stroke of half-time. Ten minutes into the second half, Drogba scored the third goal for the team. Lampard’s goal followed 62 minutes into the game before Drogba made an official hat-trick at the 67th minute. It was Malouda who completed the win at the last minute. It looks like Chelsea is determined to stay on top. Drogba intends to rise with the Blues.
"I am better at 32 than I was six years ago, when I came here," Drogba told the Daily Mail. "I was only 25 when I started at the highest level, so I feel young. I still love the pitch, running. I don't count the runs I make. Maybe in a year or two it will be different."
Drogba was born in Ivory Coast but at a very young age, he kept shuttling back and forth to France. He moved to France at the age of 5 to live with his uncle, Michel Goba, who was a professional football player back then. However, young Drogba became homesick and moved back to Ivory Coast. Both his parents lost their jobs so he moved back to France when he was 11. It was at this age when he started playing football more frequently. He started out his career as a junior player in Levallois, a semi-professional club. He demonstrated commitment at a very early age and showed impressive performance in the Under-17 category. In just two seasons, he won over the club manager’s hearts with 30 goals. He was promoted to the first division in the following year. At the age of 19, he moved to Sarthe were he started his professional career.
Drogba stayed in three clubs, one of them Marseilles, before finally moving to Chelsea in July 2004. He scored 11 goals in the UEFA Championship Legaue and UEFA Cup, which won the hearts of Marseille supporters. Jose Mourinho, then-manager of Chelsea and the current manager of Real Madrid, bought him for €38 million that summer. He earned 20 goals in 2005/06 and was the top scorer of their division.
The striker was devastated when Mourinho left Chelsea. He regained his form just in time to send Liverpool home in the semi-finals of the Champions league but had to settle as a runner up, as Manchester United had won the coveted trophy. He topped the charts in 2009/10 and his team won the FA Cup final.
Ivory Coast’s best striker (and first scorer in a FIFA World Cup) is unstoppable. This year he was part of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people. He may have suffered dips in his career but undeniably, he is a gem to Chelsea and Ivory Coast’s national and he intends to stay that way. "I am scoring more goals, I am more calm, more relaxed on the pitch and it helps a lot. If I keep playing in a team like this I can play maybe five more years,” he said. He scored a total of 37 goals for Chelsea last season but does not mind scoring less as long as his team wins trophies. "I don't want to be too ambitious. I'd rather score 20 goals but win the Champions League and the Premier League,” said the striker. “It's not really about my performance but I've always tried to improve my statistics. It's just the mentality I have. It's important in the collective game to improve as an individual and bring a lot to the team.”
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