African Footballer of the Year
Chelsea Sharp Shooter Drogba Wins the Title for the Ivory Coast
Four days after Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast scored twice for Chelsea against Arsenal he heard that he was the CAF African Footballer of the Year 2006.
Cote d'Ivoire striker Didier Drogba, who plays for Chelsea, was named African Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on 1 March 2007.
He beat Barcelona and Cameroon marksman Samuel Eto'o, the winner in 2003, 2004 and 2005 into second place with his Chelsea team-mate, Michael Essien of Ghana, in third place.
Last year, Eto'o pipped Drogba to the post by two votes in the closest race in the award's 36-year history.
Drogba's success came four days after he scored twice to help Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-1 in the League Cup final, taking his tally for the English season to 28 goals.
28 year old Didier Drogba, took the honor for the first time this year after captaining his country to the African Nations Cup final where they were beaten on penalties by the hosts, Egypt.
The Abidjan-born striker spent much of his youth growing up in France where he played for Le Mans, Guingamp and Olympique Marseille before moving to Chelsea in 2004.
CAF footballer of the Year finalists - the shortlist
The three finalists for the CAF Footballer of the Year, were cut down from a shortlist of 10 and then five. The last two to fall out of the reckoning were Portsmouth striker, Nwankwo Kanu and Egypt's, Mohamed Aboutrika, whose team won the Nations Cup and African Champions League in 2006.
The initial shortlist is determined by a vote of selected CAF standing committee members, but the last five candidates are voted for by the 53 national team coaches.
The African Union has declared 2007 the Year of African Football, marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
In other awards, Olympique Marseille defender Taye Taiwo (Nigeria) was named Best Young African Footballer while Ghana was chosen as International Team of the Year.
To nobody’s surprise, Egypt's Al Ahli took the Club prize and their Portuguese boss Manuel Jose was elected, Coach of the Year.
Confederation of African Football award winners:
African Footballer of the Year: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
Team of the Year: Ghana
Club of the Year: Al Ahli (Egypt)
Coach of the Year: Manuel Jose (Al Ahli, Egypt)
Young African Player of the Year: Taye Taiwo (Olympique Marseille and Nigeria)
African club competition player of the Year: Mohamed Aboutrika (Al Ahli, Egypt)
Women's Footballer of the Year: Cynthia Uwak (Nigeria).
Didier Drogba fansites:
Armchairfans.co.uk has pics and news stories about Drogba
Celebritylink.com has pica and links to Drogba memorabilia on eBay
