Photo by Jean-Yves Ahern/USA TODAY Sports
By SBI SOCCER
Didier Drogba has made a name for himself scoring goals wherever he goes, no matter the occasion or pressure surrounding the situation.
He came through again Saturday when the Montreal Impact needed him most.
In his debut start for the Impact, Drogba netted a hat trick to lead Montreal to a 4-3 win against their Eastern Conference foes in the Chicago Fire. The perfect hat trick, using his right foot, left foot and head to score, respectively, earns the Ivorian striker recognition as SBI MLS Player of the Week.
Drogba used his strength to score the first Impact goal of the night, and he celebrated his first MLS goal in classic fashion, but he would not stop there. Down 3-2 in the second half, Drogba was played in on goal from a quick free quick. He made no mistake to secure his brace and urged his side and the crowd on after the goal.
Finally, Drogba scored the game-winner four minutes later, claiming his hat trick, leapfrogging the Impact into a playoff position and sending Stade Saputo into a frenzy.
The 37-year-old striker beat out New England midfielder Lee Nguyen, Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey and Philadelphia Union forward Connor Casey for this week’s SBI MLS Player of the Week honors.
What do you think about Drogba’s performance? Who stood out to you this weekend?
Share your thoughts below.
A well deserved accolade. However, the best MLS player for the week was Gyasi Zardes , who lead thw US to a win over 48th ranked Peru at an important time. Not an MLS game, I know. But Zardes is an MLS player as is Robbie Keane who scored two for Ireland and is an MLS player too.
Drogba just bullied Fire’s defense….haha ….what a joy to see Drogba be a Juggernaut.
That was outstanding display of skill and power. He made the defenders look like toothpicks.
Guys like Drogba coming to MLS will be teaching our up-and-coming USMNT defenders in MLS how they need to take it up a notch.
I would agree, but outside of Ibrahimovic, name another “guy like Drogba”!
I hope he can stay healthy, at his age recovery from even minor injuries takes longer.
He will be exciting to watch!
The will to score! What a performance! What a player !
When are MLS going to stop bringing in over-the-hill Europeans as DPs? It is a disgrace! Retirement League!!
Yawn. Sorry but… I’ll trust the man’s word that he is here to compete, the eye-ball test of watching Drogba WORK, the quality on display, the proven character of the man, the body of work he has compiled, the consistent reference to his selflessness/value as a team mate…. long before the knee-jerk lazy-cliched statement such as yours. There are certainly some cases of washed up players cashing in- doesn’t make it so with all cases or negate the other many cases of players producing late into their careers. Would you admit there is wiggle room between being one of the best striker of all time playing for top clubs and still being an outstanding player that could still bring great value to most clubs in the world?
News Flash- Didier Drogba is exceptional.
Yes, the Gordie Howe hat trick: a goal, an assist, and a fight in one game.
I hope Drogba can fit in with a team like Montreal. There are plenty of players there who rate themselves as goal scorers too, and I don’t see Didier scoring three a game.
Still, that third one? The force of which carried Johnson into the net after he stopped the first volley? I have never seen a goal scored with that much sheer will in MLS.
“The perfect hat trick, using his right foot, left foot and head to score…”
now we can classify hat tricks! i had not heard of this before…
Not a hockey fan, I’d assume. There’s quite a few different hat tricks in hockey (some Strictly related to hockey) but the perfect hat trick is a thing.
ah, i did not watch enough hockey i guess, thanks paul!
Welcome to MLS!!
can’t wait to see him play in person