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Photo by Aurelien Meunier.

The Best African Footballers Playing For Other Countries

Pitching their national football careers away from the continent, we rank the best African footballers, from England’s Bukayo Sako to Austria’s David Alaba.

One of the standout moments at the 2022 World Cup happened in the group-stage game between Switzerland and Cameroon. Breel Emboloscored from a low cross, putting Switzerland ahead, but he did not celebrate in deference to the Cameroonians. Although he wears Swiss colours, he is from Cameroon and was born in Yaoundé. Embolo is only one of many footballers of African ancestry who play for non-African, often European, countries.

At the Qatar World Cup, over 50 players of African descent played for non-African countries. Likewise, dozens of players with African roots participated in the Euros' 2020 edition. Some of these players have been hailed by fans and pundits alike as some of the best of their generation; and many of them have won both team and individual awards.

France's captain Kylian Mbappe is one such player of African descent. His performance at the 2018 and 2022 World Cup editions have had many compare him to Brazil's Pelé and tipped him to pick up from where football icons like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo left off. Bukayo Saka, who is of Nigerian descent but plays for England, has also been hailed as one of the current best wingers in the world, his sparkling form for The Three Lions winning him the England Player of the Year award last season over Declan Rice and Harry Kane. There are many more such players of African heritage who play for other non-African countries—from Jamal Musiala to Alphonso Davies to Cody Gakpo—and OkayAfrica ranks them in ascending order.

10.Cody Gakpo / Ghana-Togo / Liverpool

Cody Gakpo of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brentford FC at Anfield on May 6, 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Cody Gakpo of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brentford FC at Anfield on May 6, 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Photo by MB Media/Getty Images.

Cody Gakpo was born in Togo, is of Ghanaian descent, and has played for The Netherlands' senior team as a forward since 2021.

While Gakpo looks to build a legacy in the Dutch team, he has already established himself as a reliable talent, showing a lot of promise for the Dutch at the last World Cup.

His performance at PSV won him the Dutch Footballer of the Year award for the 2021–22 season. And currently, at 24 years old, his weekly performances for his new club Liverpool show why he is one of the best young players in the world.

9.Antonio Rüdiger / Sierra Leone / Real Madrid

Antonio Rudiger of Real Madrid applauds their support after the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg match between Real Madrid and Manchester City FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 09, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

Antonio Rudiger of Real Madrid applauds their support after the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg match between Real Madrid and Manchester City FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 09, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images.

Rüdiger's African heritage comes from his mother, who is Sierra Leonean. Since his debut for the German national team in 2014, Rüdiger has proven his bona fides as a centre-back.

He was part of the German national squad which won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. At six feet and three inches tall, Rüdiger is adept at dispatching aerial threats. His anticipation and keen reading of the game also allow him to complement his physicality with a cerebral touch. He is, no doubt, one of the world's best defenders at the moment.

8.Aurélien Tchouaméni / Cameroon / Real Madrid

Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid passing the ball during the LaLiga Santander match between Real Madrid CF and Getafe CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 13, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid passing the ball during the LaLiga Santander match between Real Madrid CF and Getafe CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 13, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images.

At the 2022 World Cup, Aurélien Tchouaméni gave a standout performance for France as a defensive midfielder, scoring a golazo against England in the quarter-finals. Like Mbappé, he is of Cameroonian descent.

He made his France debut in 2021, the same year he was named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year for the 2020 - 21 season. At both France and Real Madrid, he is building a reputation through his work rate and precise passing, his spatial awareness and reading of the game, and his ability to break through the lines.

7.Ansu Fati / Guinea-Bissau / Barcelona

Ansu Fati of FC Barcelona looks on during the LaLiga Santander match between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona at RCDE Stadium on May 14, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.

Ansu Fati of FC Barcelona looks on during the LaLiga Santander match between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona at RCDE Stadium on May 14, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.

Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images.

Nothing bespeaks Ansu Fati's football talent more than that FC Barcelona bestowed on him the number 10 jersey, previously worn by the club's greatest player Lionel Messi.

Like Messi, Fati is of stocky build and has a low centre of gravity which, as markers often find, makes it hard to shake him off the ball. He combines that with an ambidexterity that makes him an unpredictable shooter. He has also shown a facility for playing in multiple positions upfront, either centrally or on the wings.

Fati has played for Spain's senior team since 2020, but he originally hails from Guinea-Bissau. He scored in his debut international game and became Spain's youngest ever goalscorer at the time. That September, he won the La Liga Player of the Month award.

However, a spate of injuries has slowed Fati's momentum, especially for Spain. For instance, a knee injury put him out of action for nearly a year, between November 2020 and September 2021. If he can find a way to stay fit, there is little doubt that the 20-year-old will soar even higher in his career.

6.Ousmane Dembélé / Senegal-Mauritius-Mali / Barcelona

Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona run with the ball during the LaLiga Santander match between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona at RCDE Stadium on May 14, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.

Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona run with the ball during the LaLiga Santander match between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona at RCDE Stadium on May 14, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.

Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images.

In Vegedream's "Ramenez la Coupe à la Maison" — the anthemic song made for the French national team during the 2018 World Cup — a line dedicated to Ousmane Dembélé goes: "Can't remember if I'm better on the left or the right/ I shoot with both my feet."

Dembele's ambidexterity makes him both an unpredictable dribbler and shooter. He combines this with a blinding speed and for several seasons has been one of the best wingers in the world, despite his spell of injuries.

He has been crucial to Les Blues since his debut in 2016, a potent force on the wings as France cruised to their third World Cup title in 2018. And yet as French as Dembélé is, he is of Senegalese, Mauritian, and Malian descent.

5.David Alaba / Nigeria / Real Madrid

David Alaba of Real Madrid looks on during the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg match between Real Madrid and Manchester City FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 09, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

David Alaba of Real Madrid looks on during the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg match between Real Madrid and Manchester City FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 09, 2023 in Madrid, Spain.

Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images.

Like Bukayo Saka, David Alaba hails from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. But he has played as a left-back or centre-back for Austria since 2009, where he has often dazzled with his attacking nous and set-piece ability. When he made his debut at 17 years old, he was the youngest player in the history of the Austrian national team.

Having won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award nine times, Alaba is an icon in his country. He has also won the Austrian Sports Personality of the Year award twice.

Alaba's career rests mostly on his exploits at Bayern Munich, for whom he played 11 years, winning many trophies, including 10 Bundesliga and two Champions League titles. He now plays for Real Madrid, with whom he won the Champions League last season, in which time showing why he is still one of the best in his position at 30 years old.

4.Alphonso Davies / Liberia / Bayern Munich

Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern Munchen dribbles with the ball during the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal Second Leg match between FC Bayern Munchen and Manchester City at the Allianz Arena on April 19, 2023 in Munich, Germany

Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern Munchen dribbles with the ball during the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal Second Leg match between FC Bayern Munchen and Manchester City at the Allianz Arena on April 19, 2023 in Munich, Germany.

Photo by Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images.

Although Canada went out in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup, the competition holds a fond memory for the North American country. In the game against Croatia, the country scored its first-ever World Cup goal. And it was scored by Alphonso Davies, Canada's pacy left-back who has two Liberian parents.

Davies has endured a difficult childhood to become one of the best players in his position at only 22 years old. He was born in a refugee camp in Ghana, after the Second Liberian Civil War had displaced his family.

He made his debut on the Canadian team in 2017 and in that time has built a formidable reputation, winning the Canadian Men's Player of the Year award four times. He was also the CONCACAF Men's Player of the Year for 2021.

Davies likewise remains a cornerstone in his club Bayern Munich, whom he helped to win the Champions League in the 2019-20 season, shining particularly in the quarterfinals against FC Barcelona. His merry-go-round dribble past Barça's Nelson Semedo became stuff of legend in the football world.

3.Bukayo Saka / Nigeria / Arsenal

Bukayo Saka of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium on May 14, 2023 in London, England.

Bukayo Saka of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium on May 14, 2023 in London, England.

Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images.

With only a few matches left to play, Arsenal lead in the sack race to win the Premier League this season, a trophy that has eluded them since the 2003-04 season. They owe a large part of their success this season to their right-winger Bukayo Saka, who has scored 13 goals in 36 league matches. Saka has also been instrumental as a playmaker, providing 11 assists in the league this season.

Saka was born to Nigerian parents from the Yoruba tribe. He was born in England and has represented the country since 2020 in senior international football. Combining speed with sharp dribbling skills, he has made himself indispensable in The Three Lions' squad. He was crucial to England reaching the final in Euro 2020 and was one of the country's best performers at the 2022 World Cup. His contributions to the team made him England's Player of the Year for the 2021–22 season.

As he is only 21 years old, one can only imagine the dimensions his talents would take. He is already among the world's best young players, with a host of individual honours to his name. He has been Arsenal's Player of the Season twice and was the club's top scorer in the 2021 - 22 season. Last month, he was named the Premier League Player of the Month.

2.Jamal Musiala / Nigeria / Bayern Munich

Jamal Musiala of FC Bayern M\u00fcnchen runs with the ball  during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern M\u00fcnchen and FC Schalke 04 at Allianz Arena on May 13, 2023 in Munich, Germany.

Jamal Musiala of FC Bayern München runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern München and FC Schalke 04 at Allianz Arena on May 13, 2023 in Munich, Germany.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images.

Jamal Musiala is of two worlds: England and Germany. He played at the youth level for the former and since 2021 has played for the latter at the senior level. But he is also of Nigerian descent. Nigeria's Super Eagles can only wish he played for them, what with his seeming incapacity to lose the ball, even when severely pressed. A master of the body feint, Musiala dribbles past defenders with an effortless fluency. When Germany faced Costa Rica at the 2022 World Cup, Musiala (then 19 years old) completed 12 dribbles, the most by a teenager in a World Cup game since 1966.

But Musiala is also a competent goalscorer, proof of which are his 11 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches for his club Bayern Munich this season. For an attacking midfielder whose duty primarily is to create chances rather than score goals, this is applaudable. His accurate passing and vision also allow him to create many goal-scoring opportunities in a game for his teammates.

At only 20 years old, Musiala has become indispensable for the German national team. He was their best player at the just concluded World Cup, for which he was named Germany's 2022 Footballer of the Year.

1.Kylian Mbappé / Cameroon-Algeria / Paris Saint-Germain

Kylian Mbappe of France in action during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar.

Kylian Mbappe of France in action during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar.

Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images.

Among football fans of a certain age, France's Kylian Mbappé inspires jokes about the speed force, the fictional dimension in the DC Comics universe that is the source of the preternatural speed of superheroes like The Flash. Using his speed, Mbappé often splinters even the most organised defence, leaving defenders breathless as they helplessly chase after him.

But Mbappé is more than a fast pair of legs. He's also a prolific goalscorer. This season he has scored 26 goals in 31 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, holding his own even against his peerless teammate, Argentina's Lionel Messi. He has also proven to be a big-game player, most recently at the last World Cup, where he scored a hat-trick in the final and won the Golden Boot award. At the 2018 World Cup, he also scored in the final, helping France to its third World Cup title.

But while Mbappé brings football glory to France — a country in which he was born and raised — he is of African ancestry. His father is from Cameroon and his mother is of Algerian Kabyle descent.

Already a three-time recipient of the French Player of the Year award, and having once placed fourth in the Ballon d'Or, Mbappé is on course to become the greatest footballer of his generation.

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Photo by Contrast / Oliver Behrendt/ullstein bild via Getty Images.

Didier Drogba: Revisiting a Hard-Won Legacy

The Ivorian and Chelsea legend has had an imperious campaign in football. Here’s how it happened.

One night in Munich, in May 2012, the hopes of a million Chelsea fans seemed fated for the shredder. For the second time in four years, Chelsea football club was playing in the final of the UEFA Champions League. They had yet to win the trophy, the choicest in European club football. They came close to winning it in 2008 but lost to Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in the final.

In 2012, when they faced Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, they got a second go at it. But with only seven minutes of playing time left, Thomas Müller put Bayern a goal ahead of Chelsea.

For Didier Drogba, Chelsea's main striker who wore the number 11 jersey, losing the final would have particularly stung. Three months earlier he had lost in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, his country Ivory Coast losing on penalties to Zambia. Chelsea losing would have also forestalled Drogba's chance of redemption. In the Champions League final four years ago, he had unwisely indulged a fit of rage and was sent off the pitch. His lapse in self-control had vexed many Chelsea fans.

In Munich, with barely three minutes on the clock, Chelsea won its first corner-kick. Juan Mata took it. Drogba lurched towards the ball, Bayern's Jerome Boateng fiercely hounding him. But the Ivorian reached the ball first, redirecting it with his head into the net, his manner slickly practiced, his goal a timely CPR pumping Chelsea back to life. But that equalizer was only the first act of Drogba's canonisation at the club.

Act two happened during the penalty shootout in the same match. Dispensing with the fussy rituals often indulged by penalty takers, Drogba took the last spot-kick matter-of-factly. He sent Bayern's Manuel Neuer the wrong way and then dashed the other way in teary jubilation. Chelsea had won its first Champions League. Didier Drogba had become a Chelsea, nay, football icon.

Humble beginnings

Like the equalizer he scored in Munich, Drogba's childhood was scrappy. He was born Didier Yves Drogba Tébily on 11th March 1978, in Abidjan, to two low-income bankers. Like fellow Ivorian footballers Gervinho and Salomon Kalou, Drogba hails from the Bété tribe. He was born in the Ivory Coast which, despite the discovery of oil in Abidjan in the early '70s, was in an economic tangle. Inflation and unemployment ticked upwards.

It was also a time of political uncertainty. Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who had been Ivory Coast's president since the country's independence from France in 1960, had established no constitutional plan for his succession, leaving the West African country two streets shy of political disarray.

Considering these circumstances, Michel Goba convinced Drogba's parents to allow their son to live with him in France. Goba was Drogba's uncle, and at the time, a professional footballer for the French club Brest. Drogba's parents agreed. Soon a five-year-old Drogba was in a France-bound aircraft.

He wouldn't see his parents until three years later, when he moved back to Abidjan. There he played football nearly every day with other kids at a local car park. It's possible playing football in such improvised venues, and without the proper kit, instilled in the young Drogba the scrappiness he would often rely on as a professional player. It was a quality that allowed him to make a meal out of improbable goal-scoring chances. The cramped park Drogba played in might have also helped him to develop his close control. It perhaps explains why he would become an effective dribbler, retaining the ball even when pressed or in tight spaces.

Early career days

When Ivory Coast suffered a recession in 1989, an eleven-year-old Drogba moved back to France. By that time his uncle played for Dunkerque. Drogba joined the club's youth team, playing initially as a right-back, before playing as a centre-forward upon his uncle's prompting.

Most players sign their first professional contract by age 17 or 18. But Drogba, a late bloomer, didn't sign his first until he was 21, when he was signed by the French side Guingamp. In two seasons at the club, he registered 20 goals in 45 games, his flying form catching Marseille's attention. And in 2006 Marseille signed Drogba for 6 million euros. Its financial merits aside, the deal bore an emotional heft for Drogba: he had adored Marseille as a child.

Marseille: Introduction to the world

With its many Ligue 1 titles, Marseille lives in the imperial palace of French football. In 1993, it also became the only French club to win the Champions League. But by 2003 when Drogba joined the club, Marseille was scarcely in kingly form. It hadn't won silverware since 1993 but hoped to change that with Drogba.

Drogba's season began in full velocity, as though the Stade Vélodrome, Marseille's turf, had always been his home. He played alongside the likes of Egypt's Ahmed Mido and France's Steve Marlet, and he quickly grew a reputation for his versatility and pinpoint decision-making in front of goal. At six and two inches tall, Drogba was a fearsome presence in the eighteen-yard box. Using his immense physical strength, he often easily shook off defenders, as though swatting flies away. And with his deftness at using his body as a shield, retrieving the ball from him was often an arduous task.

Excellent poacher aside, Drogba also sliced through opponents with his speed and dribbling, a bill of goods on which he often relied to create goal-scoring chances for his teammates. His range of technical skills meant he was not the typical centre forward.

In the Champions League in his first and only season with Marseille, Drogba would introduce himself to Europe. He scored five of Marseille's nine goals, but it wasn't enough as the club was eliminated in the group stage of the competition. They continued their European campaign that season in the UEFA Cup, where Drogba scored six goals, helping Marseille reach the final after improbably beating Liverpool and Inter Milan. Unfortunately, Marseille lost in the final to Spain's Valencia.

It also placed seventh in Ligue 1, ending the season without silverware. But there was the prevalent idea that, should Drogba retain his form in subsequent seasons, the club was bound to win a trophy. That idea didn't make it past the cradle, for Chelsea came calling, offering Marseille £24 million for Drogba, nearly the sum Real Madrid had splurged on David Beckham a year ago. Both player and club couldn't resist the offer. Drogba's romantic season with Marseille ended, and the Ivorian became Chelsea's all-time most expensive signing at the time.

Though trophies eluded him at Marseille, the club was crucial in establishing Drogba as an international star. With his 32 goals in 55 matches, he was Marseille's top scorer in his first season. Still without silverware at 26 years old, Drogba hoped his talent would find productivity at his new club in West London.

Chelsea: A legacy forged

Like when he joined Marseille, Drogba joined Chelsea when the club was in a transition phase. Chelsea had just gotten a new owner—the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich — and newly installed the Portuguese José Mourinho as its coach. The club was desperate for silverware, as it had last won one four years ago and had not won the Premier League for 50 years.

As he was still largely untested, Drogba's signing did not elicit from Chelsea fans the same frisson of expectation that the signing of Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko would evoke two years later. There were doubts about Drogba's signing, to which Mourinho famously said," judge him when he leaves the club."

While Marseille had lacked the financial clout needed to give Drogba the supporting cast his talent deserved, Chelsea had no such problem. Along with Drogba, they signed world-class talents like Petr Cech, Arjen Robben, and Ricardo Carvalho. Also, uppercrust players like Frank Lampard, Claude Makélélé, and Joe Cole were previously in the squad.

Drogba's first goal for Chelsea came in a league game against Crystal Palace in August 2004. Nigeria's Celestine Babayaro whipped in a cross, and Drogba headed the ball into the net. Neither Drogba nor Chelsea fans could have known it at the time, but the header foreshadowed one of Drogba's most important goals in his Chelsea career. Against Bayern in the Champions League final eight years later, he would also score a header from a cross by a left-footed player.

But it was not to be a flawless debut season for Drogba. He scored only 16 goals in 40 games, performed inconsistently, and received flak for his aptness to dive when tackled. He also struggled sometimes with his temper, a character failing that would shadow him closely throughout his career. But his temper was also proof of his competitive nature and hinted at the intense self-confidence which spurred the Ivorian to great athletic heights.

Despite Drogba's tame performance in his debut season, Chelsea won the Premier League. The club also relied on Drogba's goal when it beat Liverpool 3-2 to win the League Cup. Yet many fans remained skeptical about Drogba, becoming doubly so in the next season when the player's form did not improve. And yet Drogba was crucial to Chelsea winning the FA Community Shield in his second year at the club. He scored twice as they beat Arsenal 2-1 in the final.

In his third season at Chelsea, when he scored 33 goals in 60 matches, Drogba started to find firm footing at Stamford Bridge, winning over the fanbase. His consistent performance that season helped him retain his place in the starting eleven, even with the arrival of the immensely talented Shevchenko. Again, Drogba scored in a cup final, this time against Manchester United in extra-time, his lone goal in the match winning Chelsea the FA Cup. A pattern emerged: even when he was out of his element, Drogba was the player for big games. By the end of his Chelsea career, he had scored nine goals in nine cup finals.

In 2007 Chelsea fans again turned on Drogba when he publicly said he wished to leave the club. This was after Avram Grant replaced Mourinho as coach and Drogba became disillusioned with the club's direction. But the ire of the Chelsea fans was overwhelmingly placated by Drogba's brilliant performance that season. Though Chelsea ended the season with no trophies, Drogba placed fourth in the 2007 Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious award for individual brilliance in football.

His legacy at Chelsea, and as a footballer, was calligraphed with permanent ink in May 2012, when his goals won Chelsea their first Champions League. Wanting to leave on a high, later that month a 34-year-old Drogba announced he was leaving Chelsea after playing there for eight years.

In his 341 appearances for Chelsea, he scored 157 goals, making him the club's fourth all-time top scorer. He won 3 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 2 Carling Cups, and 1 Champions League. He was also the first African player to score 100 goals in the Premier League and won the league's Golden Boot award twice.

But most important, is that Drogba completely won over the Chelsea faithful, despite the initial skepticism and occasional vexation which defined their relationship. That Drogba now lives in the hearts of Chelsea fans was made clear in October 2012, when a poll by the club's official magazine — 20,000 Chelsea fans had voted — named Drogba as Chelsea's greatest player of all time.

Didier Drogba of Chelsea vies with Anatoliy Tymoshchuk of Bayern Muenchen during UEFA Champions League Final between FC Bayern Muenchen and Chelsea at the Fussball Arena M\u00fcnchen on May 19, 2012 in Munich, Germany.Didier Drogba of Chelsea vies with Anatoliy Tymoshchuk of Bayern Muenchen during UEFA Champions League Final between FC Bayern Muenchen and Chelsea at the Fussball Arena München on May 19, 2012 in Munich, Germany.Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images.

Ivory Coast: Unlucky campaign

In a video Drogba uploaded on his Instagram account in February 2015, he screamed in rapture as Ivory Coast beat Ghana on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). It was the country's first trophy since 1992 and Drogba, arguably the country's greatest player, was not a part of the team that had won it. He had retired the previous year from the national team, with whom he never won a trophy despite reaching two finals.

He made his debut in 2002 for Les Éléphants in an AFCON qualifier game against South Africa. But he would score his first international goal in his next appearance, as Ivory Coast beat Cameroon 3-0 in a friendly. With his fame ballooning in the football league in France, and later England, Drogba was able to find a permanent place in the Ivorian starting eleven. His surging star power and leadership qualities would allow him to become Ivory Coast's captain in 2006.

Despite losing to Egypt in the 2006 AFCON final, the year remains special to both Ivory Coast and Drogba. Scoring 9 goals during the qualifiers, Drogba helped his country qualify for the World Cup for the first time in its history. He would also score his country's first World Cup goal, against Argentina, though Ivory Coast lost 2-1 and crashed in the group stage.

For his performance that year, Drogba beat Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o to win the 2006 African Footballer of the Year award, becoming the first Ivorian to win it. In 2009 he won the award a second time.

With his goals, he helped his country qualify for two more World Cups, the 2010 and 2014 editions. But each time they failed to reach the knockout round.

In 2012 Drogba would again be heartbroken as Ivory Coast lost in the AFCON final, this time to Zambia. His time at Ivory Coast just couldn't find the romantic ending he'd had at Chelsea. But there's no doubting his place as arguably the country's greatest all-time footballer. With 65 goals in 105 matches, he's the nation's all-time top scorer. It could be argued that Drogba's contributions, and those of Ivory Coast's so-called golden generation with whom he played — Yaya and Kolo Touré, Salomon Kalou, Didier Zokora, among others — helped to set the tempo for the eventual climax which the country reached when it won the AFCON in 2015.

Shortly after the 2014 World Cup, Drogba announced his retirement from international football.

Sunset years

After Chelsea, Drogba moved to China, where he played for Shanghai Shenhua. In 2013 he moved to the Turkish club Galatasaray, where he scored 20 goals in 53 appearances, even with his declining physical abilities. He also won the Turkish league title and the Turkish Super Cup.

After being sweet-talked by José Mourinho, who had been reappointed as coach, Drogba returned to Chelsea in 2014. His one-year deal with the club was more symbolic than it was utilitarian. He was not going to be a regular starter, his centre forward position now occupied by the younger Diego Costa. And yet his return filled Chelsea fans with an excitement eclipsing that which trailed his first arrival at the club. Although he contributed minimally to Chelsea's campaign in the season he returned, Drogba won the Premier League and League Cup.

Drogba played club football in two more countries, Canada and the United States, where he played for Montreal Impact and Phoenix Rising respectively. But in 2018, after a career spanning nearly two decades, Drogba retired from professional football at 40 years old.

He was born in the stiffest conditions, started his football career a little later than most, and had to brave false starts in his Chelsea career. Yet Drogba leaves behind an enviable legacy. Today he's a model for many young players, his name a metaphor in the football world for a goalscoring instinct that's both deadly and elegant. Mourinho was right all those years ago: Drogba could only have been judged when he left the sport.

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