Didier Drogba announced his retirement from playing at the international stage with Ivory Coast on August 4 of the current year which was a huge blow for the national team of the African country as Drogba hanged up his boots for his country after having scored 65 goals.
Drogba is 36 years old which is a very elevated age for a forward but despite this, he still continues on scoring goals and this can be evidenced by the fact that Drogba has managed to step it up during the recent injury struggles of Diego Costa and filled in the void of the Brazilian attacker by scoring goals for Chelsea in the Premier League.
There are certain types of players that seem to defy age and time as they just continue making impressive performances. Andrea Pirlo is another example of this. The Italian midfielder is 35 years old and is the main architect for Italy and Juventus.
Even when Andrea Pirlo decided to finish his international career and only focus on playing with his club Juventus, the manager of Italy Antonio Conte had a conversation with Pirlo and convinced the midfielder to continue playing on for a few more years. That’s just an example of the impact that certain veteran players have with their respective nations or clubs.
Drogba cannot be left behind as his absence for Ivory Coast is being felt by the African country as they are working hard just trying to survive and stay alive in the African Cup of Nations Qualifications.
Ivory Coast is currently located at the 3rd spot of Group D with 6 points, the same amount of points as Congo DR but this latter team has a better goal difference.
The coach of Ivory Coast, HerveRenard has announced that the doors are wide open for Drogba to return to the squad of Ivory Coast if he ever decides to come back and even at the age of 36, Drogba can make an impact and a real difference.
“Drogba took the decision to retire from the team all alone, and today, he is unfortunately absent. You can’t just let such a good player go as easy as that. I want to be very clear about it. The door of the team remains open for Drogba anytime, any day. We all know what he gave to the team and what he can still give if he decides to come back.” HerveRenard told reporters.