China bow down to ‘Devil Beast’ Drogba

Didier Drogba’s first month in China is being heralded as an unequivocal success, the powerful Ivory Coast striker earning rave reviews, the moniker “Devil Beast” and being compared to “a nuclear bomb”. Vocal in English football, Drogba has kept a low profile off the pitch since arriving in China to a hero’s welcome in mid-July, insisting that his reported £200,000 a week was not the main motivation. Drogba got off to a flying start at struggling Shenhua — then 12th in the 16-team Super League — scoring twice on his home debut in the 5-1 thrashing of longtime rivals Hangzhou Greentown and quickly earning the tag “Devil Beast”. The fanatical home crowd, swelled from the usual 15,000 to 25,000, chanted the veteran’s name repeatedly and gave him a rousing cheer as he performed the traditional post-match bow. “Shenhua’s nuclear bomb has arrived,” Shanghai goalkeeper Wang Dalei said of his new team-mate, who joins another former Chelsea striker, Nicolas Anelka, at the club. from:gulftoday