Poor old Didier – he’s come in for some criticism over the past few years. Whether it be haranguing referees, feigning injury, throwing coins, slapping Tevez or yapping to French football magazines, many Drogbaisms haven’t exactly endeared him to the average football fan.
And it’s a crying shame. For me, there isn’t a better exponent of the lone striker in world football. Ancelotti alluded to it earlier this week (shortly before suggesting that Drogba would be signing a new contract): Drogba is quite unique in that position. It’s too easy to think that Chelsea’s team has been built around Terry and Lampard for the last five years when, in fact, it has been built around the Ivorian.
But his play acting and sometimes (let’s say) unconventional behaviour has masked all that – and his performances tend to be forgotten by fans of both Chelsea and other clubs. In 06/07 he scored more than a goal every two games - 33 goals from 60 appearances (a ratio Cristiano Ronaldo managed only once, too).
But some of the better parts of Drogba’s off-field behaviour have been overlooked too. By chance I recently picked up an interesting article written by Paul Doyle in the Guardian, who was writing in 2007 about Drogba throwing a tantrum following the departure of Mourinho. The article started as you might expect, but took an unexpected twist when Doyle recounted attempts made by Drogba to use his status in the game to help in the fight for peace in his native country, the Ivory Coast. You wouldn’t believe it, but Drogba acted selflessly and bravely to try and intervene to put a halt to a civil war (essentially between north and south Ivory Coast) that was causing untold death and destruction for the population.
Here’s what Doyle wrote:
“How do you explain his activism in Ivory Coast, where he has courageously and cleverly used his immense popularity not merely to endorse products but also to advance peace and reconciliation amid conflict and distrust?
Drogba could easily have ignored the politically fuelled fighting that finally erupted in Ivory Coast just a few months after he made his international debut in 2002; he could have flown his friends and family to safety and then just kept his head down and left others to sort the mess out... But instead he, more than any other Ivorian player, committed himself to cajoling and pressurising politicians into acting responsibility.
After being presented with his African Player of the Year award earlier this year, he flew to Abidjan to show his trophy to president Laurent Gbagbo, who, of course, was keen to bask in his reflected glory. But Drogba wanted something in return - he asked the president to arrange it so that Les Elephants could play their next home African Nations Cup qualifier not in Abidjan but in Bouaké, the centre of power of the rebels who had been fighting Gbagbo's regime. It would be a heroic, unifying gesture, declared Drogba. Placed squarely before his responsibilities by the country's favourite son, Gbagbo obliged, and last June Ivory Coast hosted Madagascar in Bouaké in an atmosphere of celebration that went far beyond anything a normal football match could muster.”
Later that month Drogba made another visit back to his homeland, this time to the separatist, rebel-held north. He took with him his award and, knowing the arrangements for the next qualifying game, he made a speech from a podium to a huge crowd of Ivorian fans, including New Forces general secretary and new Ivory Coast Prime Minister Guillaume Soro. He said: I’ve come here to offer you a golden ball, it’s a golden ball for the whole of the Ivory Coast. This is only the beginning. 3 June (the date of the game) will be memorable day: it will be a victory for Ivory Coast football, the victory of the Ivory Coast people and quite simply there will be peace”. One can only imagine that, for people in the midst of conflict of the like we will never experience in this country, this must have been pretty stirring stuff.
Through his actions Drogba managed to achieve something no politician, diplomat or intellectual could have got close to with one act. Now of course, Doyle wasn’t suggesting that Drogba alone managed to bring peace (and neither am I). All he’s saying is that Drogba did as much as someone in his position could do to help – and did something remarkable. And in an age when footballers are accused of being selfish mercenaries, I for one think that’s quite refreshing.
So the next time you’re in a pub and some lagered-up Gooner is laying into Didier (shortly after he steamrollered their pubescent defence, again, probably) remind them that the Drog is actually the Kofi Annan of the footballing world. And that can’t be a bad thing. Puts a little slap in a Champions League final into perspective, no?
It looks like he’s staying, but would you get shot of Drogba this summer? Post a comment.
Always loved Drogs...we accept his faults, but the team is much better when he's on the pitch, Here's a great article from Vanity Fair regarding his off the pitch efforts in his home country:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/ivorycoast200707
Keep up the good work
Posted by: Shawn | 23 July 2009 at 19:17
Hi Russell and well said, the journalists especially some journalists from certain crap newspapers like the Mirror which I have officially boycotted are so full of hate and jealousy for our Chelsea that they use their paper to pour their bile on our Chelsea at every opportunity. And they are particularly determined and aggressive with Chelsea players who are true blue heart and soul and symbols of our great, noble and honourable Chelsea like John Terry, Frank Lampard, Micheal Ballack, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba who together with Roman Abramovic and Petr Kenyon get the most and worst of their attacks. The reactions after Chelsea's match against Barcelona was the perfect example with mass declarations of false puritanical shock and scandal at our Chelsea, and especially against Micheal Ballack and Didier Drogba without seeing the whole picture and that the reactions at the end of the match were the natural response to our Chelsea being robbed ain, again, again and again by the referee. With hypocritical scum bags like that, the best thing to do is ignore them, block them out, boycott them and don't buy and read their crap paper. The only papers I read for Chelsea news are the Telegraph and the Mail which seem okay. Like you said the good things our Chelsea do and our players do, like Didier Drogba in this case, will hardly get a mention, or not mentioned at all in these papers, by these pseudo journalists.
Didier Drogba is not only the best attacker in the world Russell but like John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, Micheal Ballack, Ashley Cole and Joe Cole is the heart and soul and symbols of our Chelsea and should never be sold from our Chelsea. On the contrary we should thank God that they are with us and hold on tightly to them forever.
Forever Chelsea!
Posted by: Anthony Calleja | 24 July 2009 at 08:54
im a football fan and am only interested in how they perform in that arena, not whether theyre a rival for mother theresa off the field. and drogba on the pitch is a grade a disgrace, dishonest and devious,
Posted by: m | 25 July 2009 at 18:48
Hi everyone thanks for the comments...am checking out that link now Shawn.
m - I do know where you're coming from. I guess if it were, for example, Roy Keane doing something so special, I'd be less inclined to overlook his harassing of referees or attempts to break other players' legs.
I've shouted at Drogba to get up any number of times, and get as frustrated with him as most people, especially as when he's on his game he's a great footballer.
I guess though that my point in the article was also about footballers in general - they get so much stick for the money that they earn, how little they have to do to earn it and them being poor role models that it was great to see one of them do something meaningful.
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