The Ivorian gives everything to his every act in life - from goalscoring to peacemaking in his homeland to persisting with his unforgivable hairdo. He even dives with such voomah that he sometimes injures himself.

The Drog's exploits in Munich have finally binned the musty notion that African players are more liable than others to lose their nerve in the crushing pressure of the game's highest stage. Granted, Drogba owes Petr Cech a case of "Drogbas" (litre bottles of Ivorian Bock beer) for stopping the late Arjen Robben penalty that he conceded.

And he has choked on occasion in the past - not least when missing a penalty in this year's Nations Cup final against Zambia.

But Drogba's club CV is now sumptuously complete, though it's far from over. It seems that his longevity has something to do with the late start to his top-flight career - he did not "arrive" at Marseille until he was 24, after four quiet seasons in the French second division with Le Mans.

Given Drogba's fearsome physical condition and ever-increasing confidence, Blues owner Roman Abramovich will now be very tempted to flog the flaky Fernando Torres and keep the man who did the most to deliver the Unholy Grail to Stamford Bridge.

The Ivorian's unbelievable record of serving up game-breaking performances for Chelsea in cup semifinals and finals proves that the mysterious commodity "mental strength" doesn't have to be the product of cold-heartedness.

You'd struggle to find a more sentimental, emotionally volatile player than Drogba, but his big heart seems to function as a bodyguard for his mind. It beats up the paparazzi of doubt, leaving Drogba free to work the right hemisphere of his brain, where creative spatial acts originate.

In the instant that he darted towards the near post to meet Juan Mata's corner for the equaliser on Saturday night, he had already scored the goal in his mind. All he had to do was the paperwork.

Conversely, Robben's missed penalty was mentally missed long before he struck it.

Poor Robben apparently underwent four months of regular psychological treatment after missing chances in the 2010 World Cup final and he's clearly due for some quality time on the couch after the unalloyed agony of his experience of Saturday night.

Robben was the best player on the pitch by a mile but he shouldn't have taken on the responsibility of the spot kick, having already missed one against Borussia Dortmund that swung the Bundesliga title away from Bayern. Sometimes a touch of cowardice is the better part of valour.

Here's hoping Robben's shrink is in good form - the Dutch need him at his best at Euro 2012.