Drogba hoping to match Beckham's US feats in China
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E-mail China Daily, June 25, 2012
Didier Drogba is hoping to create a similar impact in the Chinese Super League as David Beckham has made in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, the Cote d'Ivoire striker said on Saturday.
Earlier this week Drogba completed his transfer from European champions Chelsea to Shanghai Shenhua where he will join former Stamford Bridge teammate Nicolas Anelka.
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An undated handout photo shows Zhou Jun (L), director of Shanghai Shenhua Football Club, and soccer player Didier Drogba holding up a souvenir jersey of Shanghai Shenhua FC during a meeting in France. |
The Cote d'Ivoire said he was determined to help the game in China develop.
"I love to learn and to see different cultures," Drogba told reporters. "So, for me, it's a very good experience.
"It's a challenge. People say 'yeah Chinese football is not so good'. Maybe it's a bit ambitious as a reference point to take David Beckham but people were saying when he went to America that it's not a good move.
"What he has done for the MLS, the publicity, it has no price so that's why I am going ... I want to do something good for Chinese football. I want to help them to grow and develop."
Drogba ended weeks of speculation about his future by joining big-spending Chinese Super League strugglers Shanghai Shenhua on June 20, 2012. No financial details of the two-and-a-half-year contract were revealed by former Chelsea player Drogba or the club but widespread media reports said the Cote d'Ivoire striker would receive in the region of $300,000 a week.
