Drogba knows where his heart lies

The Didier Drogba legend grows. Born in a war zone, emigrated aged five, started life as a fullback, gave up football aged 15, turned out for teams you can’t even find on a map, struggled to score for them. Now, barely two years later, he’s Chelsea’s record-breaking £24-million striker, loved in London, coveted in Côte d’Ivoire.

And he isn’t just a footballing icon. At 26, he’s becoming something of a bringer of world peace too. Last month, he presented a bright blue Chelsea shirt to Côte d’Ivoire head of state Laurent Gbagbo after scoring one of the goals in the nation’s 5-0 World Cup win over the Sudan.

Drogba and Arsenal’s Kolo Toure represent hope for a nation torn apart by civil war. The country remains split between the government-controlled south and rebel-held north.

A football game between the two armies was held last month as hostilities eased; afterwards, both warring factions spoke only of darling Didier. And Drogba knows handing his shirt to the president could help calm the nation. Thousands have died in the rebel fight to unseat Gbagbo.

Drogba knows where his heart lies. After his chat with the president, he said: ‘I was in France since the age of five but I have always kept my love for Côte d’Ivoire. That is why, despite French nationality, I chose to play for my country.”

When was it the English first started to notice him? It was the Uefa Cup semifinal between Marseille and Newcastle at the Velodrome last May. His two stunning goals ruined Sir Bobby Robson’s dream of a European final fling.

Named French footballer of the year last season, Drogba was wanted by just about every club in the Premiership with cash to spare — but obviously Chelski, with their Russian roubles, weren’t going to be outdone. They made him the most expensive of the £200-million of new talent.

And he’s done the job so far, though injury keeps him out of Wednesday night’s clash of Roman Abramovich’s two footballing passions, Chelsea and CSKA Moscow, at Stamford Bridge.

He’s scored two of Chelsea’s rare Premiership goals, three in the Champions League so far.

And the night he secured a place in the cold British hearts probably came when he notched twice against Paris St Germain in the opening Champions League clash last month, showing the name on his shirt and taunting the booing French fans with a hand to his ear and an ironic bow when he was heroically substituted.

It hasn’t always been easy for the big man (1,88m) from Côte d’Ivoire. Born in Abidjan on March 11 1978, a move to France (where the streets are paved with gold if you grow up in francophone Africa) was always on the cards once his footballing talent had been spotted — at age four!

He made his way to Europe in 1983, living with his uncle Michel Goba — a former pro in the French second division. Like so many youngsters, he started out as a fullback for a couple of minor semi-pro sides. He turned out as a right-back with Dunkirk, then found himself playing up front for Abbeville.

At 15, he joined Vannes, but gave up the game to complete his schooling. The hunger for football returned though and he moved to Levallois in 1994, before being handed a trial by Guingamp in 1997 — but he broke a toe and the big move fell apart. It looked like Drogba’s career was over before it had really begun.

Drogba ended up at Le Mans, where he was coached by close friend Marc Westerloppe. But his early years at the home of the famous racetrack saw him fail to glitter. In four years (1998 to 2003), he played 64 times but scored just 12 goals and Westerloppe, his ‘spiritual father”, was sacked.

It wasn’t until he finally moved to Guincamp midway through the 2001/02 season that the goal-scoring prowess became apparent. He got three in 11 that first season, then flourished with 17 goals in 34 games in 2002/03.

Then came the real stuff: a £4-million move and 18 goals in 33 games for Marseille at the top level in France last season. In all, he scored 27 in 46 for the resurrected French club, starring in Europe against all comers. He got five in the Champions League, and six in the Uefa Cup, where Marseille were beaten in the final by Valencia.

Then, in July this year, came the record £24-million move to Chelsea. He signed a three-year deal but only after Jose Mourinho had seen an £18-million bid turned down by Marseille, who made £20-million on their star striker in 12 short months.

Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, oozed: ‘His record speaks for itself”. But what would he know … it was the new manager at Stamford Bridge who had spotted the talent.

Mourinho said he became interested in Drogba when he scored for Marseille against shock European Champions Porto last season. Or did he? Mourinho is rumoured to have made a bid from Porto for Drogba when the striker was still at Guincamp.

Either way, Mourinho says: ‘I see the qualities of power and speed in Didier. Also his control on the first touch and the way he fights for the team. He is a player who can achieve great success.” Mourinho knew what he wanted, and with that bulging chequebook, he got it.

Drogba’s arrival speech was simple and to the point: ‘I want to do well with my national team and my club, so I will do my best to be better than I was last season at Marseille. It is a big chance for me to come here and work with the coach, and to play for my new team.”

The tabloids fanned that up as ‘Drogba can’t wait to tear them apart”, but the striker tends to let his actions speak louder than words. First came three goals in three friendlies … and then the opening Premiership game against Manchester United.

Before that devilishly difficult league debut, he said: ‘The friendly goals are fine, but they mask a bit the fact that, physically, I do not feel good. I have played quite a few matches this summer with the World Cup qualifying games for Côte d’Ivoire. I have had very little holiday, just 12 days, and haven’t had the time to recover from my last two seasons. I am suffering in training.”

He promptly went out and made the winning goal for Eidur Gudjohnsen before being substituted to rousing applause after 70 minutes of a 1-0 win. A perfect start for Mourinho — and Drogba.

The legend has grown since then. He scored in the Blues’ third game against Crystal Palace and added a perfect free-kick to defeat Middlesbrough. Meanwhile, in Europe, two against PSG and another against Mourinho’s old club Porto put him right up in the fans’ affections.

A 38th minute substitution after a groin injury in their last league game, a 1-0 win over Liverpool, raised fears of a striker crisis at Stamford Bridge.

A minor operation on the injured groin means he’ll miss the weekend clash against Manchester City and the home Champions League encounter with CSKA Moscow. He is also likely to miss league games against Blackburn and West Brom later in the month, plus the League Cup third-round date with West Ham.

Chelsea, without Mateja Kezman and the sometimes-injured Adrian Mutu, among others, will struggle to replace Drogba’s firepower. Côte d’Ivoire can’t bear life without Drogba, either — they only beat Benin 1-0 without him last week.

There’s no doubt about his influence for club and country.

Listen to this from defender Marco Zoro, who plays for Italy’s Serie A surprise package Messina and Côte d’Ivoire: ‘[Drogba] is my strength. He promised he’ll come to watch me play as soon as he gets the chance. He’s a role model in every way.”

A role model, eh? How the English could do with one of those.