The Chelsea legend was always known for his bulldozing style of play up front. He is arguably one of the greatest strikers of his generation.
There is a reason why the special one Jose Mourinho bought him at the Stamford Bridge in the first place
But today we are not here to talk about the achievements of Didier on the pitch because that would be an obvious thing.
But instead we are here to talk about how Didier Drogba proved that he is a legend off the pitch as well.
Did Drogba really stop the civil war?
The answer to which can be YES. As it is a story of an African nation by the name of Ivory Coast where a civil war has broken out since 2002. Due to which there was chaos everywhere.
King Pele called Football as “The Beautiful Game” for a reason
As sometimes the impact of the beautiful game could be more than one can imagine. Just like in October 2005 at the World Cup qualifications where if Cameron defeats Egypt they are qualified and anything less would mean Ivory Coast to leapfrog them and qualify in the World Cup for the first time in their history.
As the final whistle blew every person in the Ivory Coast erupted due to immense joy of seeing their country qualify for the prestigious World Cup.
When everyone was celebrating one emerging leader stood up and addressed the most heated issue
Which was that Ivory is still divided.
Drogba accompanied by his teammates said this according to BBC – “Men and women of Ivory Coast. From the north, south, centre, and west, we proved today that all Ivorians can coexist and play together with a shared aim – to qualify for the World Cup. “We promised you that the celebrations would unite the people – today we beg you on our knees.”
The players then fell to their knees as Drogba added: “The one country in Africa with so many riches must not descend into war. Please lay down your weapons and hold elections.”
These statements through a video clip by Drogba were relentlessly played everywhere and this action had instigated a dramatic change in the country.
Now about the aftermath of Drogba’s actions
The two warring sides i.e. the north and the south came to the negotiating table where even a ceasefire treaty was signed.This shows how Drogba and his teammates by the means of Football helped to reunite a whole country.
And this was not all, Drogba took it even a step further
After the World Cup. Drogba being from the south took the initiative in 2007 to hold their fixture against Madagascar at the north side of the country which was a stronghold of the rebels. It was an honest attempt to reunite the country and that’s what happened.
Lastly Didier Drogba as a leader and as a spokesperson helped to bring in peace and harmony in his country and became one of the most respected people in his country.
Though it was temporary because sadly, after five years violence again erupted in the country amidst elections.
But we should never forget about the efforts of Drogba and how at the darkest period he was there for his country and halted the war.
He may have scored a lot of goals and lifted many trophies BUT it was this moment which will always be remembered as his finest performance.
