Drogba is rightly lauded as one of the greats in Chelsea's recent history, earning his place when he slammed home the decisive penalty against Bayern Munich which won the club their first ever Champions League trophy in 2012. His return to the club this season has been greeted with widespread celebration, reducing the pain of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole's departure over the summer. One of the most physically powerful centre forwards of all time, the Ivorian stuck with the Blues through the joy and glory of the first Mourinho era and the ups and downs of the years since, when managers often came and went twice a season. His heroics have led the turbulence of his early years at the club to be almost completely stricken from the record. After arriving for £24 million from Marseille, his return of only 10 league goals in his first season was considered disappointing and he was widely reviled for his play-acting in attempting to win free-kicks and penalties. In fact, Chelsea fans even booed him for a while, seeing him as something of a cheat. He frequently spoke of his unhappiness and difficulty in settling at the club, particularly following the departure of Jose Mourinho in 2007, when he told a French newspaper that he wanted to leave. He later recanted these claims, got his head down and started to prove his worth. The rest is history.
28-year old English writer with a borderline obsessive passion for films, videogames, Chelsea FC, incomprehensible words and indefensible puns. Follow me on Twitter if you like infrequent outbursts of absolute drivel.
