116-517: The Partizan Stadium ( Serbian : Стадион Партизан / Stadion Partizan ) is a football and track-and-field stadium in Autokomanda , Belgrade , Serbia . The home ground of FK Partizan , it was formerly known as JNA Stadium (Stadion JNA / Стадион ЈНА) after the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), which it is still colloquially known as by fans in the former SFR Yugoslavia . Its current capacity
232-538: A Slavic language ( Indo-European ), of the South Slavic subgroup. Other standardized forms of Serbo-Croatian are Bosnian , Croatian , and Montenegrin . "An examination of all the major 'levels' of language shows that BCS is clearly a single language with a single grammatical system." It has lower intelligibility with the Eastern South Slavic languages Bulgarian and Macedonian , than with Slovene (Slovene
348-461: A striker . He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team . He is known for his career at Chelsea , where he is the club’s top goalscorer as a foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goalscorer of all time . In 2012, Drogba was named Chelsea's greatest ever player in a poll of 20,000 fans conducted by Chelsea Magazine. In 2020, he was named in
464-529: A 1–1 draw with Porto, led by coach José Mourinho ; and Marseille, with its superstars Fabien Barthez and Didier Drogba , while playing some inspired football in the away matches at Madrid (0–1), Marseille (0–3) and Porto (1–2). In September 2010, Partizan stadium was reorganized in a few places for the UEFA Champions League . Due to UEFA stadium standards, the fences on the eastern and western stands were shortened from 2.25m to 0.70m. The football pitch
580-595: A 3–0 win over Bolton Wanderers. Drogba scored his 100th Premier League goal for Chelsea on 10 March 2012, in a 1–0 win over Stoke City. He is the first African player to reach that landmark. In the dressing room before a big game, it was a different Didier, he was like an animal. His preparation, the intensity in his eyes, and then he always produced. —Teammate Frank Lampard on Drogba (who scored nine goals in nine finals for Chelsea) delivering in big games. Drogba scored his seventh goal at Wembley Stadium against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on 15 April, blasting
696-518: A 40th-minute equaliser to tie the game 1–1. On 24 March, Drogba scored his 30th goal of the season in an away game against Portsmouth . On 9 May, Drogba helped Chelsea to win the Premier League by scoring a hat-trick in an 8–0 win over Wigan Athletic . In doing so, he not only collected his third League winner's medal but also won the Golden Boot for the season, his second time doing so, by topping
812-536: A 4–0 win in the League Cup , Drogba went on to score a goal in the same week with another 4–0 win against Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League . After missing the first three Champions League matches for Chelsea with a ban for being unsportsmanlike, Drogba started the fourth game against Spanish side Atlético Madrid . He scored two goals in the last ten minutes and the match ended 2–2. On 29 November, Drogba scored
928-714: A Chelsea match with Hiddink and owner Roman Abramovich . Montreal then reiterated their intent for Drogba to finish his contract with the club, but were left uncertain until Drogba publicly confirmed his intent to play with Montreal for the 2016 MLS season on 3 March 2016. After beginning his preseason training in Qatar away from the club, Drogba joined the Impact for the second half of their preseason training in St. Petersburg, Florida . On 3 March, club technical director Adam Braz announced that Drogba would not play matches on artificial turf to begin
1044-533: A baton with a birthday message to President Josip Broz Tito . The Relay of Youth was a symbolic relay race which started in Tito's birth town Kumrovec and went through all major towns and cities of the country and it ended in Belgrade at JNA Stadium. On 1 April 1957, the stadium received its first electronic scoreboard . First time it was used on a match between Partizan and Vardar Skopje on 30 November 1957. The stadium
1160-591: A car park in the city, but his return to the Ivory Coast was short-lived. Both of his parents lost their jobs and he again returned to live with his uncle. In 1991, his parents also travelled to France; first to Vannes and then, in 1993, settling in Antony in the Paris suburbs, at which point the 15-year-old Drogba returned to live with them and his siblings. It was here that he began playing team football more frequently, joining
1276-423: A chance of winning the golden boot. Lampard scored the penalty, but Drogba did not celebrate with his teammates. Later on in the game though Ashley Cole was tripped in the box when Chelsea were already 5–0 up, and this time Lampard allowed Drogba to take the penalty, which he scored to go two goals clear of Rooney. The following week, Drogba scored the only goal of the 2010 FA Cup Final against Portsmouth from
SECTION 10
#17328867474211392-419: A clash with Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidić . The Serbian centre-back had to have stitches under his lip after losing a tooth in the clash. There was discussion whether Drogba had the intention or not to injure his rival. The debate also called into question an earlier incident on 26 November 2006 where Drogba elbowed Vidić. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson expressed concerns over elbowing in
1508-477: A football academy and only began daily football training as an adult. By age 21, Drogba realised that he had to establish himself as a player soon or else he would have little chance of becoming a professional footballer. He made his first team debut for Le Mans soon thereafter and signed his first professional contract in 1999. The same year, he and his Malian wife Alla had their first child, Isaac. He grew into his new responsibilities, later stating: "Isaac's birth
1624-457: A free-kick, keeping up his record of having scored in all six English cup finals ( FA Cup and League Cup ) in which he has played. Drogba came on as a substitute for Anelka against Manchester United in the Community Shield , but could not help prevent Chelsea from succumbing to a 3–1 loss. However, he started the Premier League season in fine form, continuing from where he left off on
1740-465: A goal against London rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium , the second of which a free kick from outside the box. It brought his tally for the season to 14 goals in 16 games. On 12 December, Drogba continued his performance with two goals in 3–3 draw against Everton . Between 3 and 30 January Drogba was on Africa Cup of Nations duty and came back on 2 February against Hull City where he scored
1856-467: A goal in the 2008 League Cup Final , making him the all-time leading scorer in League Cup Finals with four goals, but could not help prevent Chelsea fall to a 2–1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur . He scored both goals in a key 2–1 victory against Arsenal on 23 March 2008, bringing Chelsea equal on points with leaders Manchester United . On 26 April 2008, Drogba faced controversy after
1972-481: A lingering back injury, and his role in the team in question, Drogba did not travel with the team to, although he was in attendance at, their first postseason match at D.C. United , a 4–2 victory on 27 October. Drogba did not experience the same level of success in his second regular season compared to the first, but still scored 10 goals while appearing in only 22 games, as Montreal reached the Conference Final of
2088-422: A local youth side. Drogba then joined the semi-professional club Levallois , gaining a reputation as a prolific scorer in the youth team and impressing the coach with his professional attitude. His performances earned him a place in the senior squad but despite scoring in his debut, the 18-year-old Ivorian failed to make an impression on Jacques Loncar, the first team coach. When Drogba finished school he moved to
2204-479: A lone striker rather than pairing the two. However, he resolved to regain his position in the squad. Upon the temporary appointment of Guus Hiddink in early February following the sacking of Scolari, Drogba enjoyed a rejuvenation of sorts, returning to his goal-scoring form with four goals in five games after the new manager took over. His revival in form saw him net twice against Bolton Wanderers , and four times in four Champions League matches, one in each leg of
2320-420: A new contract. Drogba began the 2009–10 season in fine form for Chelsea, netting a penalty during a shoot-out win in the Community Shield over Manchester United , before scoring twice in a 2–1 victory over Hull City . Drogba earned himself an assist when he was fouled in the penalty box to give Chelsea a penalty, which Frank Lampard converted, in a 3–1 victory over Sunderland . In Chelsea's third game of
2436-447: A new deal with Chelsea and was set to sign for the highest bidder. On 31 December 2011, Drogba scored his 150th goal for Chelsea against Aston Villa , putting him level with Peter Osgood and Roy Bentley in terms of the club's top scorers of all time. Even though, Chelsea was leading with the penalty scored by Drobga, the game ended in a 3–1 loss for Chelsea. Drogba scored his 99th Premier League goal for Chelsea on 25 February 2012, in
SECTION 20
#17328867474212552-477: A one-and-a-half-year deal with Süper Lig team Galatasaray . He would earn a sign-on fee of €4 million plus basic wage of €4 million per season, €2 million for the remaining 2012–13 Süper Lig and €15,000 per match. However, on 30 January 2013, Shenhua released a press release that Drogba would unilaterally breach his contract if he were to join Galatasaray. Drogba argued that he had not been paid his wages by
2668-419: A record league finish. He credited his teammates for his impressive season, highlighting the contributions of winger Florent Malouda , a long time friend of Drogba, as a key factor in his goalscoring prolificity that season. His strong goal scoring record attracted interest from larger clubs and at the end of the season, he moved to Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille for a fee of £3.3 million. After
2784-538: A six-game European ban with the final two games suspended. The ban then was reduced by one match after an appeal by Chelsea. In the 2009 FA Cup Final , Drogba scored Chelsea's first and equalising goal as they went on to win 2–1. This was his sixth goal in a major cup final in England. Although Drogba had previously expressed his desire to switch clubs, he decided to remain with the Blues under new coach Carlo Ancelotti and signed
2900-552: A somewhat disappointing 16 goals in a total of 40 games for Chelsea in his first season: ten in the Premier League, five in the Champions League and one in the League Cup final. Drogba started the 2005–06 season by scoring two goals in a Community Shield win over Arsenal . His reputation was marred amidst accusations of cheating during Chelsea's 2–0 win over Manchester City . Replays showed that he had used his hand to control
3016-427: A span of 236 metres (774 ft) in length (north-south) and 150 metres (490 ft) in width (east-west). There are 30 rows of seats and 30 entry and exit gates for spectators. The playing field measures 105 by 68 metres (344 ft × 223 ft), and is illuminated at 1,400 lux ( Philips ). The stadium has athletic trace, two grass fields, a training court with locker rooms, press center and restaurant. Within
3132-475: A stamp on it." In November 2012, Drogba was named Chelsea's greatest ever player in a poll of 20,000 fans conducted by Chelsea FC Magazine . On 22 May 2012, Chelsea released a note on their official website announcing that Drogba would leave the club when his contract expired at the end of June 2012. On 19 June 2012, Drogba declared he would be joining Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua , linking up with his former Chelsea teammate Nicolas Anelka . It
3248-523: A stomach muscle against Liverpool which kept him out of action for over two months. Chelsea won the Premier League , only their second English top-flight championship and their first in 50 years, and the League Cup . Later, Drogba scored in extra time in a 3–2 final win against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium , as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League . Drogba scored
3364-574: A switch of coaches, Drogba retained his position in the team, scoring 19 goals and winning the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Player of the Year award. He also scored five goals in that season's UEFA Champions League and six in the UEFA Cup . At the end of the season, he was bought by Chelsea as the club's then record signing for £24 million. His shirt from his only season at Marseille
3480-510: A three-match ban for throwing a coin back into the stands and Chelsea suffered a League Cup defeat against Burnley . Drogba scored his second goal of the season in a 2–1 victory against CFR Cluj in the UEFA Champions League , while his first Premier League goal of the season came in a 2–0 win against West Bromwich Albion in late December 2008. Having missed many games through injury and suspension, Drogba had lost his first team place and manager Scolari favoured playing Nicolas Anelka as
3596-523: A tough group with Real Madrid (the previous year's Champions League semi-finalist), Porto (the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Cup and the eventual winner of the competition ) and Marseille (the eventual runners-up of the 2003–04 UEFA Cup )., the stadium proved a tough ground for the opposition and the team did not lost a home game, playing out a 0–0 draw with Real Madrid's famous Galácticos , which included players such as Zinedine Zidane , Ronaldo , Luís Figo , Roberto Carlos , Raúl and David Beckham ;
Partizan Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-511: Is 29,775, having previously seated 50,000 people before conversion to an all-seater stadium . Construction of the stadium was started after World War II, on the site of BSK Stadion , which was a 25,000-seat stadium that hosted the Yugoslavia national team as well as BSK Beograd . The stadium was built with the help of the Yugoslav People's Army, in the period between 1948 and 1951. Although
3828-449: Is a rare example of synchronic digraphia , a situation where all literate members of a society have two interchangeable writing systems available to them. Media and publishers typically select one alphabet or the other. In general, the alphabets are used interchangeably; except in the legal sphere, where Cyrillic is required, there is no context where one alphabet or another predominates. Although Serbian language authorities have recognized
3944-521: Is also framed in the basilica of Marseille, Notre-Dame de la Garde , which he presented to the church before the 2004 UEFA Cup Final . Signing for Chelsea in July 2004 for £24 million, he became the club's record signing and the most expensive striker in English domestic football. Drogba scored in his third game for the club with a header against Crystal Palace . His season was interrupted when he pulled
4060-630: Is also the basis of standard Croatian , Bosnian , and Montenegrin varieties and therefore the Declaration on the Common Language of Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs, and Montenegrins was issued in 2017. The other dialect spoken by Serbs is Torlakian in southeastern Serbia, which is transitional to Macedonian and Bulgarian . Serbian is practically the only European standard language whose speakers are fully functionally digraphic , using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
4176-399: Is broken with Chelsea, The damage is big in the dressing room". Despite having signed a four-year contract with the club in 2006, Drogba reportedly pointed out several favoured clubs in the interview, identifying Barcelona , Real Madrid , A.C. Milan or Inter Milan as possible future destinations, he later admitted he regretted this and was 100% committed to Chelsea. Drogba made it up to
4292-522: Is part of the Western South Slavic subgroup, but there are still significant differences in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation to the standardized forms of Serbo-Croatian, although it is closer to the Kajkavian and Chakavian dialects of Serbo-Croatian ). Speakers by country: Serbian was the official language of Montenegro until October 2007, when the new Constitution of Montenegro replaced
4408-517: Is shows that it was in accord with its time; for example, the Serbian Alexandride , a book about Alexander the Great , and a translation of Tristan and Iseult into Serbian. Although not belonging to the literature proper, the corpus of Serbian literacy in the 14th and 15th centuries contains numerous legal, commercial and administrative texts with marked presence of Serbian vernacular juxtaposed on
4524-708: Is the "identity script" of the Serbian nation. However, the law does not regulate scripts in standard language , or standard language itself by any means, leaving the choice of script as a matter of personal preference and to the free will in all aspects of life (publishing, media, trade and commerce, etc.), except in government paperwork production and in official written communication with state officials, which have to be in Cyrillic. Traffic signs and directional signs, and place names, on main or international roads are to be written with both Cyrillic and Latin script To most Serbians,
4640-435: Is the only general historical dictionary of Serbo-Croatian. Its first editor was Đuro Daničić , followed by Pero Budmani and the famous Vukovian Tomislav Maretić . The sources of this dictionary are, especially in the first volumes, mainly Štokavian . There are older, pre-standard dictionaries, such as the 1791 German–Serbian dictionary or 15th century Arabic-Persian-Greek-Serbian Conversation Textbook . The standard and
4756-767: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Serbian, written in the Cyrillic script : Сва људска бића рађају се слободна и једнака у достојанству и правима. Она су обдарена разумом и свешћу и треба једни према другима да поступају у духу братства. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Serbian, written in the Latin alphabet : Sva ljudska bića rađaju se slobodna i jednaka u dostojanstvu i pravima. Ona su obdarena razumom i svešću i treba jedni prema drugima da postupaju u duhu bratstva. Article 1 of
Partizan Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-603: The 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups . He led Ivory Coast to two Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2006 and 2012 , though they lost on penalties on both occasions. On 8 August 2014, he announced his retirement from international football. Drogba played a vital role in solving the issues in his home country and in Africa. In 2007, he was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme . In December 2018, he became Vice President of
4988-498: The Camp Nou and both Chelsea's goals in their 2–1 League Cup final win over Arsenal . His goal against Liverpool saw him control the ball on his chest with his back to goal, before hitting a 20-yard half-volley on the turn. Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher who was closely marking Drogba said, "There's not a lot you can do in certain situations because they were that good." He also completed two hat-tricks; one against Watford and
5104-409: The Champions League quarter-final game, against Real Madrid. On 20 April, Drogba scored twice in a match against Elazigspor that ended 3–1. He won his first title with Galatasaray on 5 May, with a 4–2 win over Sivasspor . In Galatasary's derby match against Istanbul rivals Fenerbahçe on 12 May, Drogba and his Ivorian teammate Emmanuel Eboue were subjects of racist chants from opposing fans in
5220-539: The Golden Boot . In doing so, he became the first Chelsea player since Kerry Dixon in 1984–85 to reach 30 goals in a season, scoring 20 in the Premier League, six in the Champions League , three in the FA Cup and four in the League Cup . Among the highlights were scoring game-winners from outside the penalty area against Liverpool, Everton (from 35 yards out) and Barcelona , a 93rd-minute equaliser against Barcelona at
5336-500: The PFA Player of the Year awards. Drogba faced problems off the pitch during the end of the season as his transfer from Marseille to Chelsea in July 2004 came under scrutiny. The Stevens inquiry in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the lack of co-operation from agents Pinhas Zahavi and Barry Silkman . The 2007–08 season began badly for Drogba as he expressed his doubts about
5452-619: The Proto-Slavic language . There are many loanwords from different languages, reflecting cultural interaction throughout history. Notable loanwords were borrowed from Greek, Latin, Italian, Turkish, Hungarian, English, Russian, German, Czech and French. Serbian literature emerged in the Middle Ages , and included such works as Miroslavljevo jevanđelje ( Miroslav's Gospel ) in 1186 and Dušanov zakonik ( Dušan's Code ) in 1349. Little secular medieval literature has been preserved, but what there
5568-587: The United Soccer League in 2017 and retired a year later at the age of 40. On 21 April 2022, he was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame . Drogba made his debut for Ivory Coast in 2002 and became the captain in 2006. He is the nation's all-time top goalscorer with 65 goals in 105 appearances. He led the Ivory Coast to the 2006 FIFA World Cup , their first appearance in the tournament, and scored their first goal. He captained Ivory Coast at
5684-482: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily ( French pronunciation: [didje iv dʁɔɡba tebili] ; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as
5800-509: The 2001–02 season Ligue 1 club Guingamp consolidated months of interest with a transfer offer and Drogba left Le Mans for a fee of £80,000. The second half of the 2001–02 season saw Drogba make 11 appearances and score three goals for Guingamp. While his contributions helped the club avoid relegation, the coaching staff remained unconvinced of their new young striker. However, the next season he rewarded his coaches' patience, scoring 17 goals in 34 appearances and helping Guingamp finish seventh,
5916-414: The 2013–14 season, took over the number 17 shirt vacated by Eden Hazard . On 15 August, however, it was announced that Drogba had been given back the number 11 shirt he previously wore at the club, with its previous occupant Oscar taking over the number 8 jersey vacated by Frank Lampard . Drogba made his Premier League return for Chelsea in a 3–1 win away to Burnley , replacing winger Eden Hazard in
SECTION 50
#17328867474216032-607: The 84th minute at Turf Moor on 18 August 2014. On 17 September he made the first start of his second spell, in a 1–1 home draw against Schalke 04 in Chelsea's first game of the Champions League group stage. He scored his first goal in his second spell at Stamford Bridge on 21 October, converting a penalty kick in a 6–0 win over Maribor in the Champions League . Five days later, with Chelsea's attack limited by injuries to Diego Costa and Loïc Rémy , Drogba started against Manchester United at Old Trafford, making his 350th appearance for
6148-538: The Chelsea team of the 2010–2020 decade. Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, he was known for his pace, aerial abilities, and powerful and accurate strikes. Drogba was named African Footballer of the Year twice (2006 and 2009). After playing in youth teams, Drogba made his debut into football at the age of 21 for Ligue 2 club Le Mans . 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
6264-480: The Community Shield, one in the Champions League and one in the FA Cup . After the departure of Damien Duff to Newcastle United , Drogba switched from the number 15 shirt he had worn for Chelsea since 2004 to the number 11 shirt vacated by Duff. Drogba scored 33 goals in all competitions during the season (more than his tally in the previous two seasons combined), including 20 in the Premier League to win
6380-586: The Constitution of 1992. Amid opposition from pro-Serbian parties, Montenegrin was made the sole official language of the country, and Serbian was given the status of a language in official use along with Bosnian , Albanian , and Croatian . In the 2023 Montenegrin census, 43.18% declared Serbian to be their native language, while Montenegrin was declared by 34.52% of the population. Standard Serbian language uses both Cyrillic ( ћирилица , ćirilica ) and Latin script ( latinica , латиница ). Serbian
6496-590: The Eastern Conference Semi-finals for the first time in the club's history; they were eliminated by Columbus Crew SC . He was named one of the three finalists for the 2015 MLS Newcomer of the Year Award . During the MLS offseason, recently appointed Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink revealed interest in bringing on Drogba in a short-term coaching capacity after Drogba made a visit to Stamford Bridge to watch
6612-817: The Latin alphabet whereas 36% favors the Cyrillic one. Latin script has become more and more popular in Serbia, as it is easier to input on phones and computers. The sort order of the ćirilica ( ћирилица ) alphabet: The sort order of the latinica ( латиница ) alphabet: Serbian is a highly inflected language , with grammatical morphology for nouns, pronouns and adjectives as well as verbs. Serbian nouns are classified into three declensional types, denoted largely by their nominative case endings as "-a" type, "-i" and "-e" type. Into each of these declensional types may fall nouns of any of three genders : masculine, feminine or neuter. Each noun may be inflected to represent
6728-410: The Latin script predominates, although both scripts are commonly seen. The Serbian government has encouraged increasing the use of Cyrillic in these contexts. Larger signs, especially those put up by the government, will often feature both alphabets; if the sign has English on it, then usually only Cyrillic is used for the Serbian text. A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of the Serbian population favors
6844-450: The Latin script tends to imply a cosmopolitan or neutral attitude, while Cyrillic appeals to a more traditional or vintage sensibility. In media, the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia , predominantly uses the Cyrillic script whereas the privately run broadcasters, like RTV Pink , predominantly use the Latin script. Newspapers can be found in both scripts. In the public sphere, with logos, outdoor signage and retail packaging,
6960-638: The Premier League. Despite media speculation, Drogba's yellow card for the clash was deemed adequate punishment by the Football Association . Controversy still dogged the player as before the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg clash with Liverpool , Drogba was accused of diving by Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez . Benítez claimed to have compiled a four-year dossier of Drogba's "diving" antics but Drogba hit back at Benítez in an interview. On 30 April 2008, Drogba scored two goals in
7076-449: The ball before scoring the second of his two goals. This occurred just a week after a similar incident against Fulham where the goal was disallowed. Chelsea went on to retain the league title with two games to play, becoming only the second club to win back-to-back English titles in the Premier League era. Again Drogba finished with 16 goals for the season, 12 in the Premier League , two in
SECTION 60
#17328867474217192-458: The ball into Arsenal's empty net. Drogba also caused controversy after Chelsea's Champions League semi-final defeat at the hands of Barcelona . Feeling that many decisions had gone against Chelsea, substituted Drogba confronted referee Tom Henning Øvrebø after the final whistle. He received a yellow card in the process and was recorded shouting "It's a fucking disgrace" into a live television camera. On 17 June 2009, UEFA subsequently handed him
7308-521: The ball past former teammate Carlo Cudicini as Chelsea became 5–1 winners and secured a place in the FA Cup Final against Liverpool. Three days later, he scored a vital goal as Chelsea beat Barcelona 1–0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Semi-final clash. Drogba became the first player to score in four different FA Cup Finals, as he netted the winner in Chelsea's 2–1 triumph over Liverpool on 5 May. Drogba also holds
7424-476: The beginning of the 13th century, the entire official correspondence of Dubrovnik with states in the hinterland was conducted in Serbian. In the mid-15th century, Serbia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and for the next 400 years there was no opportunity for the creation of secular written literature. However, some of the greatest literary works in Serbian come from this time, in the form of oral literature,
7540-448: The best strikers in Europe. I know his personality very well and I know if he comes back he's not protected by history or what he's done for this club previously. He is coming with the mentality to make more history." On 28 July 2014, Chelsea announced that Drogba would wear the number 15 shirt which he wore when he first signed for the club in 2004. Mohamed Salah , who wore the number during
7656-405: The chart with 29 league goals, beating Wayne Rooney to the title who remained on 26 goals. Both players had the same number of goals (26) before the start of their respective matches. However, during the game, Drogba appeared to be clearly angry with teammate and regular penalty taker Frank Lampard, after Lampard refused to let Drogba take a penalty which would lead Chelsea to go 2–0 up and give him
7772-448: The city Le Mans to study accountancy at university and changed clubs, becoming an apprentice at Ligue 2 club Le Mans . However, his first two years there were marred by injuries and he was physically struggling to cope with the training and match schedule. Former Le Mans coach Marc Westerloppe later remarked that "it took Didier four years to be capable of training every day and playing every week". Furthermore, Drogba had never attended
7888-438: The club and asked FIFA, the sport's governing body, to invalidate his contract. In February 2013, FIFA granted a temporary license for him to play for Galatasaray pending the outcome of the contract dispute. On 15 February, Drogba scored his debut goal for Galatasaray just five minutes after coming off the bench against Akhisar Belediyespor in a match that ended 2–1. On 9 April, Drogba scored his first goal for Galatasaray in
8004-399: The club on a free transfer, and signed a one-year contract. Speaking on his move back to the club, Drogba said: It was an easy decision. I couldn't turn down the opportunity to work with José Mourinho again. Everyone knows the special relationship I have with this club and it has always felt like home to me. Mourinho also commented on the transfer, saying: "He's coming because he's one of
8120-586: The club. Early in the second-half, he headed in the first Premier League goal of his second spell although Robin van Persie equalised in added time. He scored his 50th goal in European football against Schalke 04 . On 24 May 2015, Drogba announced that Chelsea's final game of the season against Sunderland would be his last as a Chelsea player. He started the game as captain and was substituted with injury after half an hour, being carried off by his teammates in an eventual 3–1 win. Drogba's final total of 104 goals
8236-437: The departure of manager José Mourinho . He was reportedly in tears when Mourinho told him he was leaving the club, and said "Mourinho's departure destroys a certain familiarity we had at the club. Many of us used to play first and foremost for the manager. Now we need to forget those feelings and find another source of motivation". Following these claims, Drogba told France Football magazine "I want to leave Chelsea. Something
8352-568: The early 19th century, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić promoted the spoken language of the people as a literary norm. The dialects of Serbo-Croatian , regarded Serbian (traditionally spoken in Serbia), include: Vuk Karadžić 's Srpski rječnik , first published in 1818, is the earliest dictionary of modern literary Serbian. The Rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika (I–XXIII), published by the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1880 to 1976,
8468-465: The fans by scoring in Chelsea's 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough on 20 October 2007, against Schalke 04 in the Champions League four days later, and two goals against Manchester City . In December 2007, Drogba was voted fourth (after Kaká , Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ) for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year . Drogba continued scoring goals but suffered an injury at the training ground and decided to have an operation on his knee. He
8584-574: The international organization Peace and Sport . Drogba is a member of the Bété people . He was born in Abidjan , Ivory Coast, and at the age of five was sent to France by his parents to live with his uncle, Michel Goba , a professional footballer. However, Drogba soon became homesick and returned to Abidjan after three years. His mother nicknamed him "Tito", after president Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, whom she admired greatly. He played football every day in
8700-482: The last day of the previous campaign as he scored a hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion in a 6–0 victory. In Chelsea's next game against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium , Drogba made three assists in another 6–0 win. Drogba played the next game at home against Stoke City where he lasted the whole 90 minutes and scored his fourth Premier League goal of the season when he kicked home a penalty after Nicolas Anelka
8816-412: The last sixteen and quarter-final of the competition against Juventus and Liverpool respectively, with these goals ensuring Chelsea's passage into the semi-finals. Just four days after his Champions League games, Drogba scored a late goal in the FA Cup semi-final match against Arsenal after Frank Lampard 's pass found Drogba and he carefully rounded Arsenal goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański before passing
8932-588: The matrix of Serbian Church Slavonic . By the beginning of the 14th century the Serbo-Croatian language, which was so rigorously proscribed by earlier local laws, becomes the dominant language of the Republic of Ragusa . However, despite her wealthy citizens speaking the Serbo-Croatian dialect of Dubrovnik in their family circles, they sent their children to Florentine schools to become perfectly fluent in Italian. Since
9048-407: The most notable form being epic poetry . The epic poems were mainly written down in the 19th century, and preserved in oral tradition up to the 1950s, a few centuries or even a millennium longer than by most other "epic folks". Goethe and Jacob Grimm learned Serbian in order to read Serbian epic poetry in the original. By the end of the 18th century, the written literature had become estranged from
9164-415: The noun they modify, but must agree in number, gender and case with the modified noun. Serbian verbs are conjugated in four past forms— perfect , aorist , imperfect , and pluperfect —of which the last two have a very limited use (imperfect is still used in some dialects, but the majority of native Serbian speakers consider it archaic), one future tense (also known as the first future tense, as opposed to
9280-517: The noun's grammatical case , of which Serbian has seven: Nouns are further inflected to represent the noun's number , singular or plural. Pronouns, when used, are inflected along the same case and number morphology as nouns. Serbian is a pro-drop language , meaning that pronouns may be omitted from a sentence when their meaning is easily inferred from the text. In cases where pronouns may be dropped, they may also be used to add emphasis. For example: Adjectives in Serbian may be placed before or after
9396-451: The official status of both scripts in contemporary Standard Serbian for more than half of a century now, due to historical reasons, the Cyrillic script was made the official script of Serbia's administration by the 2006 Constitution . The Latin script continues to be used in official contexts, although the government has indicated its desire to phase out this practice due to national sentiment. The Ministry of Culture believes that Cyrillic
9512-494: The old scoreboard was replaced with a new LED display after 55 years of service. On 7 September 2012, Partizan Belgrade announced a sponsorship agreement between the Carlsberg Group and the club, which includes also the placement of black and white chairs on the whole stadium. The Partizan Stadium has 29,775 seats split between four stands: the south, north, west and east. The stands have a height of 21 metres (69 ft) and
9628-677: The only completed etymological dictionary of Serbian is the " Skok ", written by the Croatian linguist Petar Skok : Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika ("Etymological Dictionary of Croatian or Serbian"). I-IV. Zagreb 1971–1974. There is also a new monumental Etimološki rečnik srpskog jezika (Etymological Dictionary of Serbian). So far, two volumes have been published: I (with words on A-), and II (Ba-Bd). There are specialized etymological dictionaries for German, Italian, Croatian, Turkish, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, English and other loanwords (cf. chapter word origin ). Article 1 of
9744-518: The other against Levski Sofia in the Champions League, Chelsea's first hat-trick in European competition since Gianluca Vialli in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1997 . In his last competitive game that season, he scored the winning goal against Manchester United in the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium . This also meant he became the only player to score in both English domestic finals in
9860-428: The problem, Chelsea insisted that he would make a full recovery within days. While playing against Norwich City on 27 August 2011, Drogba suffered a concussion in a collision with Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy . After missing two games, Drogba made his return to the Chelsea squad on 24 September against Swansea City . Drogba went on scoring his first goal of the season in a 4–1 win. On 29 November, Drogba rejected
9976-420: The record for most goals scored at the new Wembley Stadium with eight. In the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on 19 May 2012, with Chelsea finding themselves 1–0 down, Drogba scored the equaliser from Juan Mata 's corner in the 88th minute, taking the game into extra time, where he then gave away a penalty for Bayern after fouling Franck Ribéry in the box; former teammate Arjen Robben 's shot
10092-553: The same season and win both. In January 2007, Drogba was named the Ivorian Player of the Year, ahead of Kader Keïta , Aruna Dindane , and Kolo Touré . In March, he was named African Footballer of the Year for the first time, ahead of Samuel Eto'o and Chelsea teammate Michael Essien . His performances during the season saw him named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year and runner-up to Cristiano Ronaldo in
10208-404: The season against West-London rivals Fulham , Drogba scored his third goal of the season. Drogba scored his fourth goal of the season, against Stoke City ; Chelsea ended winning the game 2–1 with a late strike from Malouda . He added a fifth at home against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on 20 September. He scored his 100th goal for Chelsea in a 3–1 defeat against Wigan Athletic. Drogba
10324-422: The season due to possible implications on his knee. In July 2016, Drogba was included in the roster for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game , scoring in a 2–1 defeat to Arsenal on 28 July. On 14 October, following his exclusion from the starting lineup of a match against Toronto FC by manager Mauro Biello , Drogba refused to play for the team that night, removing his name from the squad. With both his fitness, due to
10440-413: The second conditional (without use in the spoken language—it should be used for impossible conditional clauses). Serbian has active and passive voice . As for the non-finite verb forms, Serbian has one infinitive , two adjectival participles (the active and the passive), and two adverbial participles (the present and the past). Most Serbian words are of native Slavic lexical stock, tracing back to
10556-433: The second future tense or the future exact, which is considered a tense of the conditional mood by some contemporary linguists), and one present tense . These are the tenses of the indicative mood. Apart from the indicative mood, there is also the imperative mood . The conditional mood has two more tenses: the first conditional (commonly used in conditional clauses, both for possible and impossible conditional clauses) and
10672-475: The second half. On 5 September, Drogba scored a hat-trick on his first MLS start, the first player to do so in the league's history. Additionally, it was considered a "perfect hat-trick", with one goal scored with either foot and one with the head. He was September's MLS Player of the Month after scoring 7 goals in his first 5 games in the league. On 25 October, he scored both of the Impact's goals from back heels as
10788-470: The second leg of the semi-final against Liverpool, which Chelsea won 3–2 at Stamford Bridge . This was the first time Chelsea had beaten Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Champions League, having lost their previous two meetings to Liverpool. This also led to Chelsea reaching their first Champions League Final. Drogba became Chelsea's top scorer in European competition, the two goals he scored put his total at 17, surpassing Peter Osgood's record of 16. Drogba
10904-466: The spoken language. In the second half of the 18th century, the new language appeared, called Slavonic-Serbian . This artificial idiom superseded the works of poets and historians like Gavrilo Stefanović Venclović , who wrote in essentially modern Serbian in the 1720s. These vernacular compositions have remained cloistered from the general public and received due attention only with the advent of modern literary historians and writers like Milorad Pavić . In
11020-407: The stadium complex is also 18 tennis courts , boxing hall, shooting range , gym, medical center and commercial area. In 2006, the current stadium was to be redesigned by Swiss firm Mob Lab. The capacity of the new Partizan stadium would have been approximately 38,000 seats with a modern business park filled with hotels, office buildings, tennis courts and multiplex cinema. Beside sport events,
11136-474: The stadium is also a place for various concerts and shows. The stadium facilities and acoustics meet demands of local artists and international superstars. Serbian language Serbian ( српски / srpski , pronounced [sr̩̂pskiː] ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs . It is the official and national language of Serbia , one of
11252-514: The stadium was not completely finished, the first match was Yugoslavia against France on 9 October 1949, which ended 1–1. The ground was officially opened on Yugoslav People's Army Day , on 22 December 1951. From 1957 to 1987 the stadium was the site of Youth Day parade. Every year on 25 May the Relay of Youth were held in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . Participants carried
11368-527: The team came from behind to defeat Toronto FC 2–1 at home in the Canadian Classique ; the win gave Montreal the home advantage for their knock-out fixture against Toronto in the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs . Drogba finished the 2015 MLS regular season with 11 goals in 11 games. On 29 October, Drogba scored Montreal's third goal in a 3–0 home win over Toronto in the knock-out round of the Playoffs, to advance to
11484-478: The team's 2–1 loss, but no fine or bans were handed down to the supporters or the club. On 11 August, he scored the only goal in the 2013 Turkish Super Cup against the same opponents, and he scored two second-half goals in a 2–1 away win against fellow city rivals Beşiktaş on 22 September, although the match was abandoned due to hooliganism from fans of the opponents. On 25 July 2014, Chelsea announced on their official website that Drogba completed his return to
11600-402: The third highest goalscorer in the 2003–04 season with 19 goals and helped the club reach the 2004 UEFA Cup Final . In July 2004, Drogba moved to Premier League club Chelsea for £24 million, making him the most expensive Ivorian player of all time. In his debut season, he helped Chelsea win their first league title in 50 years along with another Premier League title a year later. He
11716-574: The three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kosovo . It is a recognized minority language in Croatia , North Macedonia , Romania , Hungary , Slovakia , and the Czech Republic . Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian (more specifically on the dialects of Šumadija-Vojvodina and Eastern Herzegovina ), which
11832-401: The winning goal in the final of the 2013 Turkish Super Cup . Drogba returned to Chelsea in July 2014. With a record of scoring 10 goals in 10 finals, Drogba is referred to as the "ultimate big game player". He joined Canadian club Montreal Impact in 2015 as a designated player and played 41 matches over two seasons, scoring 23 goals. Drogba became a player and owner of Phoenix Rising in
11948-516: Was a site of the 7th European Athletics Championship which was held from 12 to 16 September 1962. In April 1989, Partizan Belgrade purchased the stadium from the Yugoslav People's Army , and thus became the owner. The name of the stadium were officially changed in Partizan Stadium . Partizan stadium had a 50,000 capacity before the new UEFA security regulations came in effect. There were 15,924 seats, 33 000 standing places and 585 box seats. It
12064-463: Was a turning point in my life, it straightened me out". His first season, in which he scored seven goals in thirty games, boded well for the future, but during the following season he did not live up to expectations. Drogba lost his place to Daniel Cousin due to injury, then upon his return, he failed to score throughout the remainder of the season. However, he returned to form the following season, scoring five goals in 21 appearances. Halfway through
12180-399: Was again important in the 2–0 win over title rivals Liverpool on 4 October. He assisted both goals, setting up Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda . He then scored a glancing header against Blackburn on 24 October 2009, bringing his tally to eight goals in eleven appearances, scoring his third goal in as many games. Drogba continued his fine form scoring a header against Bolton Wanderers in
12296-449: Was brought down by Thomas Sørensen inside the box. On 7 November 2010, Drogba missed the first half of Chelsea's 2–0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield . It was later revealed that he had been suffering from malaria for at least a month. He had first complained of feeling unwell before the October 2010 international break but the illness was only diagnosed on 8 November 2010. Having diagnosed
12412-477: Was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić , who created it based on phonemic principles. The Latin alphabet used for Serbian ( latinica ) was designed by the Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj in the 1830s based on the Czech system with a one-to-one grapheme-phoneme correlation between the Cyrillic and Latin orthographies, resulting in a parallel system. Serbian is a standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian ,
12528-508: Was due to take the decisive fifth spot-kick in the shootout. Team captain John Terry took his place but missed after slipping whilst taking the penalty. Drogba suffered a string of injuries early on in the 2008–09 season and struggled to regain fitness, missing games from August to November due to knee problems. He scored his first goal of the season in mid-November but there was little reason to celebrate: he incurred disciplinary action and
12644-427: Was extended by 1 square meter. New, modern goal-posts were mounted, and brand new media boxes were constructed on top of the western stand. Partizan's Champions League game against Arsenal on 20 September, was almost postponed due to two of the stadium's floodlights failing. However, one of them was fixed and the referee, Wolfgang Stark gave consent for the match to be played with only 3 floodlights. In March 2012,
12760-561: Was named in the 2007 FIFA World XI . In March 2012, he became the first African player to score 100 Premier League goals . Two months later, he scored in Chelsea's 2012 FA Cup Final win over Liverpool to become the first player to score in four FA Cup finals . He also played in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final , where he scored an 88th-minute equaliser and the winning penalty in the penalty shootout against Bayern Munich . After spending six months with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua , he moved to Turkish club Galatasaray , where he scored
12876-418: Was renovated in 1998, and has had a capacity of 29,775 since. The stadium hosted Partizan in their first-ever UEFA Champions League , the 2003-04 edition . In the qualifiers they eliminated Bobby Robson 's Newcastle United ; losing 0–1 in Belgrade, but in rematch at St James' Park they won by Ivica Iliev 's goal in regular time and reached the group stages after a penalty shoot-out. Despite being drawn in
12992-566: Was reported that he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal where he would earn £200,000 a week. On 22 July, Drogba made his debut for Shanghai Shenhua in a 1–1 away draw against Guangzhou R&F , coming on as a substitute for Brazilian defender Moisés in the second half. He assisted Cao Yunding 's equaliser in the 67th minute. On 4 August, he scored his first two goals in a 5–1 win against Hangzhou Greentown . He scored two more goals on 25 August, both set up by Anelka, as Shenhua drew 3–3 with Shandong Luneng . On 28 January 2013, Drogba agreed to
13108-490: Was saved by Petr Čech . The game went to a penalty shootout, where he scored the winning penalty to give Chelsea their first Champions League trophy. Sir Alex Ferguson remarked: "As far as I was concerned, he [Drogba] won the Champions League for Chelsea." Drogba's headed effort marked his ninth goal in nine cup final appearances for Chelsea, Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola spoke after the match about Drogba's ability in big games: "In all their very important matches he has put
13224-400: Was sent off in the 117th minute of the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United for slapping defender Vidić, becoming only the second player to be sent off in a European Cup final – after Jens Lehmann in 2006 – and the first for violent conduct. Chelsea went on to lose 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in extra time. Chelsea assistant boss Henk ten Cate revealed Drogba
13340-476: Was the most by an African in Premier League history until it was surpassed by Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah in 2021. On 27 July 2015, Drogba signed a Designated Player contract with Major League Soccer side Montreal Impact , believed to be 18 months in length. On 23 August, he made his debut in a 0–1 home loss against the Philadelphia Union , coming on as a substitute for Dilly Duka in
13456-467: Was unable to play for four weeks and missed key games against Valencia , Arsenal and Liverpool . Drogba returned from injury to play in an FA Cup third round match against Queens Park Rangers and wore the captain 's armband for the last 30 minutes he was on the pitch, but that was his last performance for Chelsea before international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations . Upon his return, Drogba scored
#420579