Didier Drogba - A Century Of Goals

Since the time the lanky Ivorian striker arrived at Chelsea in 2004, talks have been ripe about how good or bad a striker he is. But, amidst all these talks and debates about his character and his diving antics, Didier Drogba, has gone past the century mark of goals scored and is now perched on the 8th position of the all-time highest goal-scorers list for Chelsea. In the process, Drogba has scored more goals than any other foreign player who have played for Chelsea. This is a big achievement for the 31-year old, who has now started to silence his critics with stellar performances especially in crunch games.

 

 

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily made his debut for Chelsea in August 2004 and scored his first goal in the English Premier League against Crystal Palace on August 24th 2004, with an emphatic header. This was the first of many goals to come. Although his first season was marred by injury, he still managed to score 16 goals in all competitions, of which one was the all important winner in the scintillating 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Carling Cup final. Drogba scored 5 goals in the Champions league that season. His first Champions League goal for Chelsea came in the 3-0 win over Paris-Saint Germain.

By now, Drogba had arrived on the World stage and was slowly being recognized as a force to reckon with. His first season ended with Chelsea winning the Premier League and the Carling Cup.

Now there was no looking back for Drogba, he started the 2005-06 season with a bang scoring 2 goals in the Community Shield against Arsenal. Chelsea won the Premier league again the following season and Drogba played his part by scoring 16 goals.

 

But, somewhere everyone knew that nobody had still seen the best of Drogba, which is exactly what the world saw in the 2006-07 season, when he scored 33 goals in all competitions. The amazing part about these 33 goals was the fact that he scored when the situation demanded it the most. He scored the winner in the match against Liverpool. And how can one forget the equalizer against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the 93rd minute. He again scored in the 2-1 Carling Cup final win over Arsenal. 2006-07 saw Drogba scoring 2 hatricks, an achievement which not many strikers can boast off. His first hatrick for Chelsea came against Levksi Sofia in the Champions League, which was followed by another hatrick against Watford in the Premier League. On Boxing Day of 2006, Drogba scored twice in the 2-2 draw against Reading and in the process notched up his 50th goal for Chelsea. He also ended the season as the runner-up for the PFA Player of the Year Award.

 

The 2007-08 season started with the news of Jose Mourinho leaving Chelsea, as a result of which Drogba’s stay at Stamford Bridge was in doubt.The Côte d'Ivoire International had also expressed his desire to leave the Bridge. But, soon he realized that he was 100% committed to Chelsea and decided to stay.

 

First a knee injury and then the African Nations’ Cup saw Drogba missing many of Chelsea’s important games that season. Upon his return Drogba scored a goal in the 2008 League Cup Final which made him the all-time leading scorer in League Cup Finals with four. He also became the first player to score in three League Cup finals and the first to score in three consecutive English domestic cup finals. He went on to score in the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool, which ensured that Chelsea were on the verge of making history. Unfortunately, he was sent off in the final against Manchester United and Chelsea lost 6-5 on penalties.

 

The 2008-09 season was one which saw Drogba plagued by injuries and he struggled to score in the first-half of the season. It was in February of 2009, that Drogba made a famous comeback to form by scoring 4 goals in 5 games. He scored vital goals against Juventus and Liverpool in the Knockout stages of the Champions League, which ensured Chelsea’s passage to the Semi-finals. Soon after, he scored a late-winner against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-finals. He then went on to score a goal in Chelsea’s 2009 FA Cup triumph.

100 goals for Chelsea :

 

The 2009-10 season seen Drogba maintain his high-standards and proficiency of scoring. On 26th September 2009, Drogba scored his 100th goal against Wigan Athletic. Sadly, his 100th goal couldn’t prevent Chelsea from losing 3-1. This season Drogba has scored 18 goals in 21 matches in all competitions, taking his all time goals tally to a staggering 112 goals.

 

Drogba, over the years has been marred in various controversies, but he has always responded to those with game-winning performances and that is the mark of a True Champion!