Champions League, Chelsea 1-1 Valencia

Drogba gives Chelsea Hope!

Didier Drogba kept Chelsea's Champions League challenge alive with a second half equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw against Valencia on Wednesday. Drogba came to Chelsea's rescue after David Silva's stunning strike had put Valencia in control of a hard-fought quarter-final first leg clash at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea opened brightly enough but left-back Ashley Cole rushed a cross which eluded both Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou as it flashed across the six-yard box. In the ninth minute, Kalou hit the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area after Roberto Ayala had blocked Andriy Shevchenko's path to goal with a crude challenge.

Ayala's block went unpunished by Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere despite Chelsea's appeals for a penalty. Two minutes later Villa squandered a chance when he failed to hit the target from close range after escaping the shackles of the Chelsea defence.

Valencia missed another good chance to take the lead in the 21st minute when Joaquin's shot found David Silva unmarked in the penalty area. Silva only had to touch the ball goalwards to beat Cech but mistimed his kick completely and the Blues escaped again!

Silva made up for his misfire right on the half hour mark though with a simply awe-inspiring goal. Silva picked the ball up ten yards inside the Chelsea half, sprinted forward on the left side and let rip with what can only be described as the sweetest of shots from 35 yards.

The ball took a diagonal trajectory and arrowed into the top right corner, leaving Cech no chance and silencing all within Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea started the second half in a much more positive fashion and Kalou was unlucky when he mistimed a shot from a cross by Lassana Diarra. There was far more urgency about Chelsea's play now and for the first time in the game they looked capable of unsettling their opponents.
Lampard wasted a free-kick after Drogba had been brought down by Ayala - hitting the ball straight at Valencia's defensive wall.But Chelsea's higher tempo football paid off in the 53rd minute when Drogba equalised.

The 53rd minute a hopeful ball over the top from Ashley Cole was latched onto by Drogba. The Ivorian used the bounce to his advantage to catch the ball on the hop and loop a header over Santiago Canizares in the Valencia goal.

Carvalho had a shot blocked in the 84th minute before Shevchenko's over-head kicked flashed wide, but Chelsea had run out of ideas.

Chelsea: Cech, Diarra, Terry, Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Kalou (Wright-Phillips 74), Ballack, Lampard, Mikel (Joe Cole 74), Shevchenko, Drogba.
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Makelele, Boulahrouz, Bridge, Ferreira.

Booked: Drogba, Diarra.

Goals: Drogba 53.

Valencia: Canizares, Miguel, Ayala, Moretti, Del Horno, Vicente (Angulo 57), Albelda, Albiol, Joaquin (Hugo Viana 86), Silva, Villa (Jorge Lopez 90).
Subs Not Used: Butelle, Curro Torres, Nacho Insa, Pallardo. Booked: Silva, Albelda, Ayala.

Goals: Silva 30.

Champions league, Chelsea 1-1 Valencia highlights:

Chelsea Drogba named African player of the year.

Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba was on Thursday named African Footballer of the Year, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on its website. In 2006, Drogba helped Ivory Coast reach the final of the African Nations Cup and played in the World Cup finals. He beat Barcelona and Cameroon striker Samuel Eto, the winner in 2003, 2004, 2005, into second place with his Chelsea teammate, Michael Essien of Ghana, in third place. The 28-year-old Drogba scored both goals in Chelsea's League Cup final win over Arsenal last weekend. He also played in Chelsea's Premiership-winning teams of 2005 and 2006.

Carling Cup Final, Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal, match highlights and report

Chelsea snatches the Cup from Arsenal! Didier Drogba grabbed both goals as Chelsea came from behind to win a Carling Cup final that ended in ugly scenes at the Millennium Stadium.

Theo Walcott was entitled to feel for a while that this day would be the key to open the adult phase of his career. Theo Walcott's first goal came when he chased a lax clearance, turned, exchanged passes with Diaby and lifted a finish high past Petr Cech in the 12th minute.

With 20 minutes gone, Michael Ballack lifted the ball to the right and Drogba was kept onside by the trailing foot of Philippe Senderos before he went through to shoot past a tentative Manuel Almunia. The gradual transformation of the final was in progress.

The Blues lost skipper Terry midway through the half when he took a boot in the face from Diaby as he tried to finish off an Arjen Robben corner.

Terry looked to be knocked unconscious and a mask was applied to his face to help with his breathing before he was carried off the field and taken to hospital.

Arsenal waned and their bar was to be struck by both Frank Lampard, with a 25-yard shot, and Andriy Shevchenko in the second half. The balance of power was also tipped by Mourinho's astute replacement of Claude Makelele with Arjen Robben. He neeeded Arjen Robben to disrupt a lively Arsenal by compelling them to spend more time covering and tracking back.
Robben steered the exact cross for the winner that flew over Touré and was headed in powerfully by Drogba with six minutes remaining.

Let's see the goals:

The game ended disappointingly when Obi clashed with Toure and several players from each team, as well as both managers, got involved in an ugly scuffle.
Referee Howard Webb dished out three red cards as well as yellows to Fabregas and Lampard.
Over 11 minutes of added-on time was played before the final whistle was blown to hand the first major trophy of the season to Jose Mourinho's side, who are still in the hunt for three other pieces of silverware.

Now for the fight:

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: