As goodbyes go, they simply don't get any more dramatic. With his last ever kick in a Chelsea shirt, Didier Drogba won the Champions League for the first time in our history, and the man who departs the club this summer after eight years service will be forever regarded as a Stamford Bridge legend.

While the Ivorian has certainly enjoyed more productive seasons in terms of the amount of goals scored, few will be able to match the 2011/12 campaign for the significance and importance of his strikes.

He began the season on the bench, with Andre Villas-Boas giving Fernando Torres the nod in attack, and didn't score a goal until he netted in the 4-1 win against Swansea at the end of September.

Following the Spaniard's dismissal in the same game and subsequent three-game ban, the Ivorian was handed his chance, but a first-half red card during a fiery London derby at Queens Park Rangers ensured he would need to wait a little longer for the game time he so desperately craved.

A must-win game in the Champions League group stages against Valencia, however, saw Drogba rediscover the type of form which has seen him leave a host of defenders in his wake over the years. After breaking the deadlock early in the game, he terrorised the Spaniards' back-four all night, before capping a marvellous performance with a second goal in the closing stages.

He scored his 150th goal for the club from the spot in the 3-1 home defeat on New Year's Eve before heading off to the African Cup of Nations, and shortly after he returned, Roberto Di Matteo replaced Villas-Boas following a defeat at West Bromwich Albion.

It was the European stage which continued to get the best out of the striker, and after opening the scoring with a trademark header against Napoli, he enjoyed the sort of evening which had the Italian defenders wishing they hadn't boarded the plane.

An absolutely stunning strike set us on our way to a memorable 5-1 win against Tottenham at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final, while three days later he netted the only goal of the game against Barcelona at the Bridge.

His love-affair with Wembley continued in the FA Cup Final when he scored what proved to be the winning goal in our 2-1 victory against Liverpool, taking a Frank Lampard pass in his stride before drilling his effort past Pepe Reina, his eighth goal in as many appearances at the iconic stadium.

The Champions League Final against Bayern Munich proved to be Drogba's swansong and, unsurprisingly, he went out in a blaze of glory.

With the Blues trailing 1-0 and the clock ticking down, he rose highest to head home a Juan Mata corner and send the game into extra-time, but he still wasn't finished.

Successive Petr Cech saves from Olic and Schweinsteiger in the shoot-out gave us the edge, and when Drogba stepped up with the destination of the trophy riding on his kick, there was only going to be one outcome.

He calmly rolled the ball into the bottom corner, beyond the despairing dive of Manuel Neuer, to win Chelsea the Champions League and bow out on the most extreme high.

Appearances: 25+10
Goals: 13
Assists: 6
Minutes on pitch: 2515