The striker joins the Turkish heavyweights from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua on an 18-month deal. This signing follows Galatasaray’s surprise capture of Dutch talisman Wesley Sneijder.
Having been at Shanghai for only 8 months, Drogba reportedly demanded a way out given the poor financial state of the club. After former teammate Nicolas Anelka moved to Juventus last week, it was widely expected that the Ivory Coast skipper would quit as well.
Didier Drogba might be past his prime but the ‘Top Drog’ has enough firepower to improve any side in the world. With his immense physical strength, he can terrorize well-built defences. The striker poses a strong aerial threat and has the ability to use both feet.
Together with Sneijder, Eboue, Galatasaray captain Hamit Altintop and star striker Burak Yilmaz, Drogba can complete a formidable force and inspire the Turkish team to achieve greater things. Drogba’s record speaks for itself: his reputation in Europe is sky high having scored the equalizer as well as the winner when Chelsea squared off against Bayern Munich in last year’s Champions League final.
He has netted 34 goals for the Blues in European competitions, making him the leading goal scorer for the club in the UCL. He has the ability to produce stellar performances in big games having scored nine goals in major finals. This statistic includes a record four goals in four FA cup finals.
One questionable aspect of Galatasaray’s signing of Didier Drogba was the fact that a quality striker had not been on the club’s radar given Burak Yilmaz’s remarkable form. The goal machine has produced sparkling performances, helping the Turkish giants to reach the Last 16 in the Champions league.
Yilmaz produced a master class against CFR Cluj on Matchday 4 of the competition with a brilliant hat-trick which exhibited his right foot, left foot and areal strength. The Turkish international also scored the equalizer against Braga and the winner against Manchester United which secured Gala’s qualification from the group stages.
Incredibly, Burak Yilmaz is now joint top scorer with six goals in the Champion League alongside the world’s most expensive transfer signing, Cristiano Ronaldo. How different are Yilmaz and Drogba? Coach Fatih Terim will have to work hard to find the right balance in his side to adjust both the strikers.
If he does find the perfect chemistry between these two forwards, Galatasaray may take the rest of Europe by surprise this season.
Enjoy this video of some of Didier Drogba's best Chelsea goals:
