Drogba autobiography pdf
Commitment: My Autobiography
The Ivorian is one of my favourite athletes ever, and my appreciation for the big man has only grown since he left Chelsea FC in The team, nay the whole league, has missed his power, presence, and passion. He left a big hole in all our hearts.
Drogba's memoirs are a pleasant trip down glory lane for fans, but I don't think it's a must-read.
It suffers from all the flaws of the genre, being largely a blow-by-blow account of the author's life without much of a thesis or narrative arc. It's also missing the salacious gossip and contentious perspectives on events and personalities that usually drive these kinds of books.
Autobiography examples It was only until late in his career that he blossomed, and he was mostly changing clubs often before finding his feet at Marseille and then signing for Chelsea. Drogba's memoirs are a pleasant trip down glory lane for fans, but I don't think it's a must-read. As a Chelsea fan I genuinely enjoyed reading this. The players seem to have the idea that they should just fall down holding any body part that has made contact with another player and wait for the referees to either grant the penalties or not.That's not what I was looking for anyway, but it does mean the book is a little dry.
What I am interested in are the resonant ideas and lessons that Drogba's life and story could signify, and there are a few contenders within Commitment. The book begins with Drogba the five-year-old boy immigrating to France, where he struggled to fit in and excel.
That experience profoundly shaped his life, and I can see now how that affected his career trajectory, his on-the-pitch antics, his dealings with managers and the press, and his enduring determination to not only win but share that moment with those around him. His constant desire for camaraderie and need for others' belief in him as a footballer and person, all stemmed from that initial sense of isolation he experienced as a child in a foreign culture.
He consequently was forever trying to break through, find family, and be settled in time and place (a process that only really was completed following Chelsea's dramatic Champions League triumph). In an age of immigrant-phobia, I appreciated this lesson on how migrants are emotionally disadvantaged as much as physically and economically, and how that can affect their progress in life.
Drogba autobiography pdf download Can't find what you're looking for? Drogba himself, however, discounts the first factor almost entirely, suggesting that luck was a primary influence in his life's achievements. Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book. Hachette UK , 19 nov.Empathy and respect ought to be society's response to such a story.
One other idea Commitment made me reflect on is the role of luck in an individual's accomplishments. Someone once taught me the axiom that there are three factors in a person's success: talent (usually of the natural variety), hard work (discipline, determination, sacrifice and persistence), and luck (fair opportunity especially).
Fulfil any two of these three factors and success is guaranteed.* From a footballing layman's perspective it would seem like Drogba easily satisfied the first two of these requirements, being a supremely naturally gifted athlete with a unique set of attributes that were diligently honed for years before reaching the apex of the sport.
Drogba himself, however, discounts the first factor almost entirely, suggesting that luck was a primary influence in his life's achievements.
From meeting the right people at the right moments, to not receiving an education in a football academy (which later stood him in good stead), to avoiding career-condemning injuries, Drogba quite humbly confesses his good fortune in all things. He even credits his signature feats, the crucial goals in Cup finals and big games he so reliably scored, to chance and fate, and the hand of God Himself.
In his own assessment, Drogba was just a divine agent performing the will of the Almighty on the pitch, who at the player's beseeching prayers gifted Drogba decisive opening after decisive opening. Thus the adulation Drogba receives from myself and others is actually owed to God (the Christian God, to be specific).
Drogba autobiography pdf printable: PSG soon made an offer, but Drogba turned it down, instinctively realising that something was off about it. The beauty and willpower of his scoring contributions in four FA Cup Finals and of course in Munich would be towering achievements to rival any sporting prowess. Well, I can't for sure. I always find these kind of books interesting and love to learn about how such a wonderful talent became.
I sense great wisdom in this attitude not only in protecting Drogba from pride and hubris, but also in correctly perceiving the truth of our reality. How much do any of our successes actually belong to us? Because according to Drogba, without God's interventions along the way, he could easily have remained on the bench at Le Mans in Ligue 2 and never stepped foot in Stamford Bridge, let alone Wembley, Stade Vélodrome, or Allianz Arena.
No amount of natural talent or effort could have accomplished what he did through God's providence.
That, at least, is the man's own testimony.
But even if you dispute Drogba's theological claims, his assertion that luck was on his side still ought to make you reflect. Are we in control of our lives, or are there other forces at play? If so, what are the nature of those forces? Are they ordinary or are they superordinary?
And if even the great ones who perform great deeds conclude the latter, then who are we, who merely perform the petite and thus lack insight into the great, to question that?
As I say, this book is not a must-read, but nevertheless I thank Drogba for these thought provocations. They are the sweet cherries on top of the joyous cake already delivered across the years.
May God continue blessing you, great champion, in return.
* I don't actually subscribe to this theory, as my analysis here argues. I am a determinist.