Didier Drogba vs Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Who was better?
Didier Drogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Two of the greatest strikers of the 21st century.
Both with 350 career goals to their names, both with more player of the year awards and team trophies than we can even count, and both with big strikes in the biggest games to their names.
But who was better?
That's what we're here to find out as part of 90min's Rivals episode centring around Paris Saint-Germain vs Marseille.
1. Goalscoring
What's the best way to separate two of the greatest goal-getters of the 21st century in this category?
Cold, hard, stats of course.
Well, one cold, hard, stat in particular: goals per game throughout their respective careers.
- Drogba: 0.46 goals per game.
- Ibrahimovic: 0.58 goals per game.
Winner: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
2. Leadership
Just as both were premier goalscorers, both Ibra and Drogba were/are leaders both on and off the pitch too.
The former proved it as the leader of a PSG side that won *checks notes* a trillion Ligue 1 titles, and as a veteran voice in the current AC Milan dressing room.
Drogba, however, probably just edges it in this category for his contributions at Chelsea.
The forward was inspirational for a Blues side who always relied on him to score the big goal, get them out of a big jam, or win them the trophy with the big ears.
More often than not, Drogba delivered.
Winner: Didier Drogba
3. Technique
Sure, Drogba showed some insane technical skill when scoring goals like the one against Liverpool in 2006, and the one against Everton in 2006 (he really beat on Merseyside teams that year), but there's only one winner in this category.
And it's quite obviously Ibrahimovic.
A black belt in taekwondo (yeah, seriously), Ibra was able to incorporate some of those outrageous techniques into his game and score some absolutely outrageous goals as a result.
The man has a top 10 backheel goals compilation on YouTube, which really tells you all you need to know.
Winner: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
4. Big-game player
Like every other category, we're going preface this with: being the loser of this category doesn't mean that the player wasn't a man for the big moments, just that the winner of the category was slightly better in the big games.
So, Ibra, you were great in big games, you won a boatload of trophies, but there may not be another forward anywhere ever that comes close to being as clutch as Drogba.
The guy scored 12 goals in 15 cup finals. He was made for the big games.
Winner: Didier Drogba
Results
The 90min readers have spoken, and the winner of Drogba vs Ibrahimovic is...
Didier Drogba, who picked up 53% of the votes compared to Ibrahimovic's 47%.