The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Drogba

  • Drogba seeks to go past Nigeria

    Drogba seeks to go past Nigeria

    Ivory Coast captain, Didier Drogba is looking forward to the quarter final game of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations against Nigeria on Sunday with victory in his mind, futaa.com reports.

    Like many of his Côte d’Ivoire team-mates, Drogba has won countless trophies with his club sides, but what has eluded him, at least so far, is a winners’ medal from a major international competition with the national team.

    At age 34, time is against the big striker, but he says it would be a grand achievement for the Elephants if they could win the AFCON in South Africa.

    Last year, Côte d’Ivoire made it through to the final of the tournament in Gabon. There the team faced underdogs Zambia, and with the score goalless in the 70th minute, the Ivoirians were awarded a penalty, which Drogba shot over.

    Although the striker made his spot kick in the eventual penalty shoot-out, the Chipolopolo went on to win 8-7 to deny Drogba and his team-mates once again.

    Ironically, given the plaudits for his winning penalty for Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final last year, Drogba is also known in Africa for missing a spot kick in the 2006 final shoot-out against Egypt.

    But the irrepressible Abidjan native is keeping things positive ahead of what is sure to be a rugged quarter-final on Sunday against two-time champions Nigeria as he looks ahead to a possible final on February 10 in Johannesburg.

    -I am really hoping that we can win the tournament this time around. It has been a long wait for us, and it would be massive if we could win, Drogba said.

  • Cote d’ Ivoire vs Nigeria: Bring on Yaya, Drogba

    Cote d’ Ivoire vs Nigeria: Bring on Yaya, Drogba

    Super Eagles chief coach Stephen Keshi has stated categorically that he wasn’t scared of the prospecting of meeting Cote D’Ivoire in the quarter finals on Sunday stressing that: “Ninety minutes will decide the game.”

    “It is a different ball game. I respect the Ivoirens but we will approach the game with a different mentality than what we produced against Ethiopia and other group opponents.

    “I know you guys are worried about Cote d’ Ivoire and I don’t know why. The Ivorians has a good team and we have a good team too. It is going to be a game of eleven players on each side. Cote d’ I voire is Cote d’ Ivoire and Nigeria is Nigeria.so anything can happen when we meet but I am sure we won’t disappoint”, he said.

    “I would say that all my players did very well from Vincent Enyeama to Victor Moses and the rest but the guy that really impressed me most is Fengor Ogude.

    “You people (journalists) may not have noticed his great impact in today’s match but as a coach that gives the instructions I was very impressed with the overall performance of the Fengor. He did the entire dirty job for the team and I am very proud of him”, he told SportingLife.

    The former Mali Coach also told Sporting Life also that he had to caution his players and asked them to cool down and play their normal game in the second half of the game. He said their nervousness did not let them score in the first half of the game.

    “I told them during the first half break to cool down and enjoy the game when they enter the pitch for the second half and that did the magic. In the first half they were anxiously looking for goals which made them to commit so many errors but I am happy they played to my instructions and we won and also qualified for the next stage of the competition.

  • Toure, Drogba, three others listed for BBC award

    Toure, Drogba, three others listed for BBC award

     

    The five candidates for the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2012 award have been revealed.

    Yaya Toure has made the shortlist for the second consecutive year and he is joined by his Ivory Coast team-mate Didier Drogba, Senegal’s Demba Ba, Morocco’s Younes Belhanda and Zambia skipper Christopher Katongo.

    BBC reports that the winner will be decided by African football fans, who have until 1830 GMT on Thursday, December 13 to vote for their choice.

    The fans can either vote via this page or by sending an SMS from their phones to +44 7786 20 50 75:

    Text 1 for Demba Ba

    Text 2 for Younes Belhanda

    Text 3 for Didier Drogba

    Text 4 for Christopher Katongo

    Or Text 5 for Yaya Toure

    The winner will be announced on December 17.

  • Wright: I’d love to see Drogba at Arsenal

    Wright: I’d love to see Drogba at Arsenal

    Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright has stated that he would relish the opportunity for Shanghai Shenhua striker Didier Drogba to sign for the north London club.

    The Ivory Coast international has been linked with a move away from his current side amid issues revolving around the club’s boardroom.

    Wright, who scored 128 league goals for the Gunners, has spoken highly of the striker who scored the winning penalty in last season’s Champions League final.

    “I’d love to see Didier Drogba at Arsenal, I’d like to see him come back to England,” he told Absolute Radio. “And not play against Arsenal because he’s always demolishing them and the back four!”

    “Of course you’ve got to play that kind of thing down. I think if Drogba’s coming back to the Premier League I’m sure there’ll be a queue and I think if Arsenal are in and around it, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. That’s not a bad signing.

    “Hopefully Arsene can make that happen, if it can happen, because I think he will be a definite positive move in respect of Arsenal and I think he’s still got something to offer in the Premier League. So fingers crossed that something can come of that.”

     

  • Drogba vows to remain in China

    FORMER Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has expressed his desire to help the Ivory Coast win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations by staying in China and playing competitive football.

    The Shanghai Shenhua striker scored a penalty in a 4-2 qualification victory over Senegal in Abidjan on Saturday, and put the minds of all his fans at ease by stressing that he not only intends to stay in Asia, but also to help his country to glory, should they come through the second leg unscathed.

    “For the Africa Cup of Nations 2013, I will do everything in order to remain competitive while in China. Don’t worry,” he told L’Equipe before the game.
    “My start has generated good and bad reviews but I’ve always taken on my choices.”

    The 34-year-old made good on his word, helping his side twice fight back from a losing position to put themselves in the driving seat ahead of October’s decider.
    With the scores tied at 2-2, Drogba stepped up to convert a late penalty, before Max Gradel added a fourth goal with five minutes left on the clock.