One of the greatest centre-forwards to pull on the Blues shirt, Drogba was a central figure in the most successful period in Chelsea’s history. He found the net an impressive 164 times in 381 appearances over two spells at Stamford Bridge, putting him fourth on our all-time list.

Those goals fired us to an unprecedented 12 trophies, most notably four Premier League titles and, of course, our first Champions League triumph, as well as earning the man himself two Premier League Golden Boots.

However, it was not just the quantity or the quality of those goals which made Drogba stand out, but their magnitude. He was the man for the big occasion, who so often stepped up with a decisive contribution when it mattered most.

That is shown by his nine goals in cup finals, and the fact 36 of his goals came in European competition, those two statistics overlapping for arguably his greatest moment at Chelsea, scoring the equaliser and winning shootout penalty in the 2012 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, in the last game of his first spell with the Blues.

But he wasn’t always seen as that big-game hero. When he first joined Chelsea from Marseille he was something of an unknown, with just two full seasons of top-flight football under his belt, even if they had brought 36 goals in France.

As a result, Drogba had to prove himself in the Premier League and force his way into Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea plans. There was only room for one striker in those plans and we had signed Mateja Kezman that summer too, the Serbian having scored a prolific 105 goals in 122 league games for PSV, many of them in an excellent partnership with Arjen Robben.

There was further competition from Eidur Gudjohnsen, who often got the nod as the striker in the first half of 2004/05, before dropping into a deeper role later on.

Still, by February Drogba had 11 goals to his name, eight of them in the Premier League. Admittedly, not in the same league as some of the numbers he would go on to post at Chelsea, but not a tally to be sniffed at for a newcomer to the English game, either. However, some remained unconvinced the Ivorian was the man to lead the line long-term.

The first of many answers Didier would provide to those critics was given on his first appearance in a cup final, the high-pressure environment in which he would continue to thrive throughout his time with the Blues.

It was the 2005 League Cup final against Liverpool, when Chelsea were bidding for our first major trophy in five years, with only nine to our name in our entire history at that point.

Our new striker would go a long way towards changing that. Handed a starting berth by Mourinho, with Kezman and Gudjohnsen both on the bench, he was unlucky not to score after being denied twice by goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek before the game went to extra time.

That is when the big man really came alive. Fair warning was given when he hit the post with a header, but it was only a matter of time before the first of many Drogba cup final goals was scored. It may not have been the prettiest, nudged in from close range after Liverpool failed to deal with a Glen Johnson long throw, but it did show our striker as the man for the big occasion, and show Chelsea as a side capable of winning trophies again.

Admittedly it was substitute Kezman’s later goal which ultimately proved to be the winner, due to a late consolation strike for Liverpool, but it was Drogba who was on the path to becoming Chelsea’s all-conquering hero.

A few months later he and the Blues were Premier League champions too. Seven years later Drogba would end his first spell with the club as a European champion and with no less than 12 winner’s medals to show for his efforts - often earned by his own decisive contribution - before returning to get two more in 2014/15.

But it all started with a striker trying to prove he belonged during his debut Premier League campaign, while winning the very first trophy of his career, scrapping one in over the line in Cardiff.