He is built like a heavyweight boxer but has the pain threshold of a child. Didier Drogba stands 190 cm but unfortunately his impressive frame spends too much time on the ground. There isn't an ounce of fat on his muscular body, yet the slightest touch can bring a reaction as if he has been hit by a Klitschko.
Against Barcelona, the Chelsea striker was at his theatrical best — or maybe worst is more apt — on European football's biggest stage. Drogba spent 152 seconds horizontally after seven first-half collisions, only one of which needed treatment. Referee Felix Brych played three minutes' stoppage time, and after 105 seconds of added time Drogba scored the goal that gives Chelsea the slenderest of advantages to take to the Nou Camp for Tuesday's Champions League semifinal second leg.
Even at 34, Drogba remains the complete center-forward, combining strength, skill, subtlety and sublime finishing. But as one headline put it, he remains a floored genius and will be remembered as much for the way he goes down as the way he puts the ball in the opposing net. One joke was that "my wife walked in front of the television and Drogba fell over."