One of the football players who do the most charity work: Who is Didier Drogba?

The Ivory Coast football player, who has organized charity events with many organizations, especially the Didier Drogba Foundation, which he founded in 2007, is greatly appreciated in his country for his work in these areas. The star football player, who sets health and education issues as his main goals, leaves many of his colleagues behind with the many different activities he is involved in, from taking part in the projects of the United Nations to ending the war in his country.

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. Drogba was named Chelsea's greatest ever player in a poll of 20,000 fans conducted by Chelsea FC Magazine in 2012, and he was also named in the Chelsea team of the 2010–2020 decade by Chelsea's fans in 2020.

The story of the football player, who used a significant portion of the money he earned from football for charity, is also told in the documentary called 'Les rebelles du Foot', directed by Gilles Rof and Gilles Perez and narrated by the famous former football player Eric Cantona. The documentary tells the story of 5 football players who took action against the negativities in their country and resisted these practices with the voice of their social conscience.

The film, which tells the story of each football player one by one, begins with Didier Drogba and then shows the struggles of Chilean Carlos Caszely, Algerian Rachid Mekhloufi, Yugoslavian Predrag Pasic, and Brazilian football player Socrates.

Didier's story begins by revealing the love for 'Drogba' on the streets of his country. He is presented to the attention of the audience with scarves and flags bearing his name on the streets and avenues. It continues by explaining that the interest in Drogba stems from his approach to the country's issues, apart from his football skills. What he did during the civil war in his country, which made him different from others and was the point where his efforts came to light, constitutes the main subject of the chapter about him.

Defeating Sudan 3-1 away in October 2005, the Ivory Coast National Team qualified for the World Cup for the first time in its history. After the victory at Al Merreikh Stadium, Drogba took the microphone in the dressing room and called for the laying down of arms in his post-match speech broadcast on television in his country, and repeated this call to the entire team.

In March 2007, he was invited to the presidential palace in Abidjan and made a speech there: “Mr. President, I want to work to bring peace to my country. And I want to go to Bouake with the prize I won.” The award he is talking about is the '2006 African Footballer of the Year' award. Bouake is the city in the north of the country, which is the main base of the rebels. Drogba lands in Bouake a few days later with the official plane allocated to him. The actor, who is welcomed by a large crowd at the airport, tours the city in an open-top vehicle and addresses the crowd, giving the message "We are all brothers." On June 3, he meets with the leader of the rebels in this city and plays in the match against Madagascar. While the opinions of his father, Albert Drogba, and ordinary citizens on the street are also included in the film, it becomes clearer after watching these images why the star football player, who served as a mediator in the civil war, has a Mandela-like image in his country.

When did Didier Drogba quit football?

Didier Drogba played a total of 685 matches in club teams. Drogba scored 300 goals and made 114 assists in these matches. Didier Drogba, who ended his football career at the age of 40, was among the partners of the Phoenix Rising team in the American 2nd League Football League. Didier Drogba was named African Player of the Year twice.

Didier Drogba National Team career

Successful football player Didier Drogba wore the Ivory Coast national team jersey for the first time on September 8, 2020. He scored his first goal with the national team against Cameroon on 11 February 2003. Didier Drogba played in 5 matches and scored 6 goals in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Drogba wore the national team jersey 104 times and scored 65 goals.

Drogba football career

After playing for Galatasaray in the 2013-2014 season, Didier Drogba played for Chelsea and Montreal Impact, respectively. Drogba said goodbye to football in the Phoenix Rising FC team in the 2017-2018 season.