Born in Abidjan on 11 March 1978, Didier Drogba spent his childhood in his native Ivory Coast and his adopted country, France. ‘Tito’, as he was known to friends and family, first left the country of his birth at the age of five. He headed for Brest in Brittany, where his uncle, Michel Goba, was a professional footballer. Didier spent three years there with his uncle, living in Brest, Angoulême and Dunkerque, before returning home.
Drogba helped the team qualify for its first ever World Cup Finals, to be held in Germany in 2006. He scored nine goals in eight qualifying games - statistically one of the best records in international football. In February 2005 he was voted runner-up to Samuel Eto'o in the African Footballer of the Year awards.
In February 2006, Drogba captained Côte d'Ivoire to their second African Cup of Nations final, scoring the only goal in their semi-final match with Nigeria and putting away the deciding spot-kick in their record-equalling 12-11 penalty shootout quarter-final win over Cameroon. However, they lost in the final to Egypt 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw, with Drogba missing a penalty in the shoot-out.
Drogba will be lining up for the Ivory Coast this summer. They have been drawn in the 'Group of Death' with Serbia-Montenegro, Holland and Argentina.