Didier Drogba new62

Chelsea FSigning for Chelsea in July 2004 for £24 million, Drogba scored in his third game for the club with a 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. Chelsea won the Premiership, only their second English top-flight championship and their first in 50 years, and the League Cup, with Drogba scoring in extra time in a 3-2 final win against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. Drogba scored 16 goals in 40 games for Chelsea in his first season: 10 in the Premiership, five in the Champions League and one in the League Cup final. Drogba started the 2005–06 season by scoring two goals in a Community Shield win over Arsenal. His reputation was marred amidst accusations of cheating during Chelsea's 2-0 win over Manchester City. Replays showed that he had used his hand to control the ball before scoring the second of his two goals. Coming just a week after a similar incident against Fulham where the goal was disallowed, Drogba was accused of cheating. In a post match interview with the BBC, he acknowledged that he had handled the ball and seemingly admitted to cheating, saying, "Sometimes I dive, sometimes I stand," before immediately retracting his comment: "I don't dive, I play my game". Pundits speculated afterwards that the comments may have been due to Drogba's grasp of English being poor. Chelsea went on to retain the league title with two games to play, becoming only the second team to win back-to-back English titles in the Premier League era. Again Drogba finished with 16 goals for the season, 12 in the league, two in the Community Shield, one in the Champions League and one in the FA Cup.
Personal lifDrogba is married to Alla, a Malian woman whom he met in Paris, and the couple have three children together. His eldest son, Isaac, was born in France in 1999. He has two younger brothers who are also footballers: Joël and Freddy Drogba. Freddy, 17, is currently in the youth system of French side Le Mans. On 24 January 2007, Drogba was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Goodwill Ambassador. The UNDP were impressed with his previous charity work and believed that his high profile would help raise awareness on African issues.