Vatican pays tribute to soccer star Didier Drogba

(May 24, 2912) The Vatican’s sports office has paid tribute to Chelsea striker Didier Drogba after the Catholic soccer star gave credit to God for his team’s UEFA (YOU-AY-FER) Champions League victory. “The Vatican and the Holy Father is always very interested in such athletes as they are role models for others,” Father Kevin Lixey, the director of the Vatican’s Office of Church and Sport, told Catholic News Agency (CNA) on Monday. Drogba and his teammates of the London-based Chelsea football Club clinched European soccer’s ultimate prize against Germany’s Bayern Munich last Saturday, with the Ivory Coast striker proving to be the hero of the night. Drogba explained that “if they give thanks to God for their talents, it is good for the young people who admire these star athletes.” The soccer star, a native of Ivory Coast, celebrated two crucial goals for his side with the Sign of the Cross. “It was fate, I believe a lot in destiny. I pray a lot. It was written a long time ago. God is wonderful. This team is amazing,”34-year-old Drogba told the media after the game. Away from the soccer pitch, Drogba has attempted to use his fame to bring peace to his native Ivory Coast. The small West African state has been plagued by civil wars during the past decade. Drogba is one of 11 members of the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and last year was named in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in recognition for his work. The Vatican office dedicated to the promotion of the culture of sport was a created on August 3, 2004, shortly before the start of the Aug. 13-29 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. It operates under the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Laity.