Chelsea legend Didier Drogba’s legacy still growing in Premier League

Didier Drogba inspired young footballers around the world, building a legacy that few can match in modern times.

Overuse of words like ‘leader’, ‘hero’, and ‘legend’ make it nearly impossible to describe Didier Drogba. Their weathered uses have tarnished their true meanings to the point where even the combination does not seem a complete description of a man like Didier Drogba.

It’s a genuine argument whether his on-the-pitch contributions outweigh what he has done off-the-pitch. He single-handedly won Chelsea its only Champions League.. .but then he also halted a civil war. See what I mean?

For now, let’s stick with his footballing brilliance.

Earlier this week, Leicester City’s Riyadh Mahrez and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha revealed that they both watched Chelsea as youngsters because they were captivated – like the rest of us – by Didier Drogba. “He was literally a beast,” Zaha said.

Indeed. He was a 6’2″ 200lb pacy, powerful, skillful, technical marvel. His touches were phenomenally light (not just for a man his size) and deathly purposeful. He would shift the ball into space then punish it and every nearby defender, beating keepers with power from outside of the box with a ferocity that must’ve felt like a punch.

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The beauty of a great Drogba goal is watching him pull off something so diabolically premeditated before anyone else even realized the danger. Like his chest-to-volley blast versus Liverpool, the instant control turn and strike against Barcelona, and his insane long-range blast versus Everton.

Once you’ve reeled your tongue back in, the other thing you will notice about those three goals above was that each one broke a tie (literally and figuratively, for that matter). Whenever Chelsea needed a goal, Drogba was there.

Nowhere was that more evident than on 19 May 2012. His Chelsea career culminating in a story of retribution Disney might pass off as unbelievable. Rarely do you get a moment to atone for your biggest missteps on a stage so much grander. Drogba did, and he did. An 88th minute bullet header then a trophy winning penalty.

Drogba’s Major League Soccer club, Montreal Impact, is shifting their “designated player” tag from Drogba to Blerim Dzemaili. That is the normal course of business and football, but no player can or should hope to replace Drogba in any real sense. Whatever Dzemaili brings to Montreal will pale next to what Drogba has done for the Impact, Chelsea and football writ large.

Years from now, players will still trace their football lineage back to Drogba and his days at Chelsea. He is and will always be a leader, a hero, and a legend.