Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (born March 11, 1978 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) is a footballer from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) who currently plays for Chelsea F.C. of the English Premier League.



Club career;

Le Mans and Guingamp:

Drogba signed for Le Mans in 1998 (aged 19), who at the time were also in Ligue 2. After achieving a professional contract, he had a respectable first season, scoring seven goals. His next two seasons were dogged by injury, though his potential was clearly noted by En Avant Guingamp, who signed him in 2002, taking him up to Ligue 1 (aged 24). Drogba spent one and a half seasons at Guingamp, scoring in his first game and repaying the manager's (Guy Lacombe) faith in him. In his only full season with the club, Drogba scored seventeen goals and helped Guingamp finish seventh, a record high for them. This led to him signing for Olympique de Marseille, one of France's biggest clubs.

Olympique de Marseille;

Marseille initially struggled, with Alain Perrin, who signed Drogba from Guingamp, being soon replaced by José Anigo. However, Drogba was an outstanding performer, scoring 19 goals and winning the award for French player of the year. He also collected a UEFA Cup runner's up medal, Marseille losing to Valencia in the final. Again he attracted attention from bigger clubs, and at the end of the season he moved to Chelsea as the club's then record signing for £24 million.

Watch a compilation of Drogba's AMAZING goals with Marseille:


Chelsea;


Signing for Chelsea in July 2004, Drogba adapted well to the FA Premier League, scoring in his third game for the club with a thunderous header against Crystal Palace. His season was interrupted when he pulled a stomach muscle against Liverpool, which kept him out of action for over two months. Despite this he enjoyed the second best goals-to-minutes ratio in the Premier League, prolific Frenchman Thierry Henry being the only player to better him in this respect. He scored 16 goals in 40 games for Chelsea in his first season, but was criticized for being inconsistent.

2005-2006;

Drogba made an impressive start to the 2005-06 season, scoring two goals in a Community Shield win over Arsenal. In both goals, Drogba mercilessly exploited the mistakes of young Swiss defender Philippe Senderos. He also put in man-of-the-match performances in two 4-1 wins, one against Liverpool at Anfield, where he had a part in creating every goal, and another against West Ham United, where he scored the first, provided the second for Hernán Crespo, and played excellently throughout.
After the departure of fellow striker Hernán Crespo and winger Damien Duff, and manager Mourinho's decision to switch to a 4-4-2 formation after fielding a 4-3-3 featuring only one out-and-out forward over the past two seasons, Drogba's position in the coming season looked more stable as the first choice striker alongside Andriy Shevchenko.

2006-07;

Drogba is currently having an amazing season, having scored 17 goals in all competitions for Chelsea and topping the scoring charts in the Premier League with ten goals. A diving header off a cross from Wayne Bridge against Manchester City opened the floodgates, and was followed by a solo goal against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, an instinctive effort against Charlton Athletic, a stunning twenty yard volley in a 1-0 victory over Liverpool, and a crucial goal poked in against Aston Villa. Drogba also earned a second-half penalty in Chelsea's first Champions League game of the season, a 2-0 home victory over Werder Bremen.
On November 3, 2006 he committed his future to the club by signing a new four year deal. His first goal since signing his new contract was the fourth goal in Chelsea's 4-0 romp over Aston Villa in the 4th round of the 2006/2007 Carling Cup.

Watch some of Drogba's goals with Chelsea this season: