The Ivory Coast international has been welcomed by his nation with open arms.
Aston Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia warms up before the match
Aston Villa striker Jonathan Kodjia has been speaking to The Guardian this week about his emergence on the international scene with the Ivory Coast.
The striker joined Aston Villa from Bristol City this summer – but that was not the only big footballing move he made.
The 26-year-old, born and raised in France, received his first call-up to the Ivory Coast national team in May and has taken to international football with aplomb. He scored twice in recent international fixtures, with the striker netting against both Gabon and Sierra Leone. One of the goals was a spectacular overhead kick that had Aston Villa fans purring.
Didier Drogba after Chelsea won the Champions League
His good start to live with The Elephants has even seen him earn comparisons with national legend Didier Drogba. Kodjia made it clear to The Guardian he finds such an assessment amusing:
“The Benin Football Association got in touch with me first because the name Kodjia comes originally from Benin but both my parents are Ivorian and that’s who I always wanted to play for.
“Nobody in Ivory Coast knew me before that and afterwards they were hailing me as the new Drogba.
“Obviously, I know I’m way off doing what he did but we all have to try and it was great to feel such warmth.”
He may laugh it off but there are certainly similarities between the pair.
Kodjia will no doubt be hoping that he can go on to emulate the career of the Chelsea legend in England.
Aston Villa fans would not mind such success either.
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