Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba was the kind of centre-forward a whole team could lean on. The Ivorian spent his best years at Chelsea, often as the lone striker, a target man who could hold the ball up with his back to goal and bring others into play. Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol and Nemanja Vidić are among the defenders who have named him as one of the hardest opponents they ever faced. Richard Beech of the Daily Mirror felt it was "nearly impossible for opposing teams to isolate him and freeze him out of the game." He got there late. He never went through an academy, only began training daily as an adult and did not make his first-team debut for Le Mans until 21. His early years at Le Mans were full of injuries, and former coach Marc Westerloppe recalled: "it took Didier four years to be capable of training every day and playing every week". Things then moved fast: a breakout season at Guingamp, followed by one year at Marseille in which he was named Ligue 1 Player of the Year and helped the club reach the UEFA Cup final. José Mourinho made him a priority, and Chelsea paid a club-record £24 million in 2004. His tools were plain to see: strength, pace, authority in the air and a shot that was both powerful and accurate. One goal against Liverpool in 2006–07 shows the whole package, as he chested the ball down facing his own goal, turned and smashed a half-volley in from 20 yards. He won the Premier League Golden Boot that season and again in 2009–10. He could create too, topping the league's assist chart in 2005–06, and he hit free kicks with a firm side-foot. In his first MLS start for Montreal he scored a hat-trick with his left foot, his right foot and his head. He was a man for the big day, with ten goals in ten finals. The 2012 Champions League final against Bayern Munich had all of him in it. With Chelsea a goal down, he headed in a corner from Juan Mata in the 88th minute. In extra time he fouled Franck Ribéry for a penalty that Petr Čech saved, then stepped up to take the last kick of the shootout and won the trophy. Sir Alex Ferguson said that Drogba "won the Champions League for Chelsea." The same fire caused trouble. Rafael Benítez accused him of diving, he was sent off in the 2008 Champions League final for slapping Vidić, and UEFA banned him after he confronted the referee following the 2009 semi-final loss to Barcelona. For Ivory Coast he was captain from 2006, scored the country's first World Cup goal and became its record scorer, though both of his Africa Cup of Nations finals were lost on penalties. In 2012, Chelsea fans voted him the club's greatest ever player.