Didier Drogba plays soccer.
Association football , more commonly known as football or soccer , is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball . Didier Yves Drogba Tébily ( [ didje dʁɔɡba ] ; born 11 March 1978 ) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for American club Phoenix Rising FC . He has been named African Footballer of the Year twice , winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009 . After finishing the 2002 -- 03 season with 17 goals in 34 appearances for Ligue 1 side Guingamp , he moved to Olympique de Marseille , where he finished as the third highest scorer in the 2003 -- 04 season with 19 goals and helped the club reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final .