Chelsea legend Didier Drogba was one of the best strikers and one of the most famous footballers of his generation.
Everyone knew Drogba and what he was capable of, especially Chelsea supporters. Across two spells at Stamford Bridge, the Ivorian scored 164 goals and won four Premier League titles.
He also got his hands on the most desired trophy in club football, the Champions League, after scoring the winning spot-kick in Chelsea’s penalty shoot-out triumph over Bayern Munich in 2012.
That year was far from perfect for Drogba, though, and the same can be said about 2006.
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Didier Drogba lost 2006 and 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals
Prior to his success in Munich with Chelsea, Drogba and the Ivory Coast lost the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final to Zambia.
That match also went to penalties, with Drogba and his teammates losing 8-7 on the night after a 0-0 draw in extra time.
Six years before that, Drogba was on the losing side in the same competition, with Egypt winning that penalty shoot-out.
In his prime, Drogba was probably as good a goalscorer as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the former centre-forward was never as consistent as those two monsters, while he never won any international trophies.
In contrast, Messi and Ronaldo have won the World Cup and European Championship respectively, among other international honours.
Had Drogba won one of those AFCON finals, he would arguably be in the same category as those two, albeit on a lower level.
Still, his individual record for the Ivory Coast was still quite impressive. For as good as he was, though, Arsenal defender William Saliba has ranked Samuel Eto’o above Drogba.
Didier Drogba’s record for the Ivory Coast
He was unable to win a trophy for his country, but Drogba did manage to reach 100 caps.
The former Marseille man made 105 appearances for the Ivory Coast and scored 65 goals before retiring in 2014.
It is a record to be proud of, but his critics will say that he should have done more for his nation when they were at major tournaments.
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