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==Club career==
==Club career==
=== Early career ===
=== Early career ===
EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR has revealed for the first time the childhood "miracle" which convinces him that he was destined to become a star footballer.
The Arsenal and Togo striker is currently regarded as one of the finest athletes in the game.
Yet, as a young boy, his mother, Alice, feared he would never even WALK - and she carried her son all across Africa in search of a cure.
Adebayor, 24, reveals: "I did not walk for the first four years of my life.
My mum took me to Nigeria, Lagos, Ghana and all the villages in Africa but nothing happened.
It got to the stage where they took me to a church and told my mum they'd pray for me for a week.
They said that, if I did not walk by the end of that week, it meant I would never walk.
It was a strange thing to say and you can understand why Mum was crying.
They started praying at midnight on the Sunday. All the week, I'm not walking. By Saturday midnight my mum was all over the place, crying.
For her, it was all over. She had taken me everywhere in Africa and nothing had worked.
Anyway, I was in the church laying down and, around nine or ten o'clock on the Sunday morning, I could hear children playing outside.
Suddenly somebody kicked a ball into the church. And the first person to stand up and run was me, because I wanted to get that ball.
My mum was afraid because she had never even seen me walking and suddenly I was running after a ball.
And all the people in the church who had been praying for me told my mum, 'Your son is walking because of football. It must mean the boy has football in his blood.'
It's an amazing story. But it is true. My mum has told me about it all my life.
Adebayor's incredible tale is confirmed by Alice, who said: "As a baby he couldn't walk. Then one day in church someone dropped a ball and it bounced towards us.
Emmanuel tried to get up, tried to walk towards it. He was crying, wailing but he finally got the ball.
The next day, he was fine, he could walk. I knew then he was destined to be a footballer.
After such a seemingly miraculous experience, it is no surprise that Adebayor is deeply religious.
He says: "Everything I do in life I put in the hands of God, my creator.
He gave me the chance to be where I am today and He's the one that can take it all away from me.
So at the team hotel, I pray before sleeping and I pray again in the morning. There is nothing more important for me than God."
Adebayor, who cost Arsenal £7million when he signed from Monaco in January 2006, is now one of the highest-paid stars at the Emirates.
But he has never forgotten his humble background and says: "Eight years ago I was earning pennies.
I know what it is to have nothing. I know where I came from and will always remember that."
It is because of that early poverty that Adebayor was so offended when he was accused of trying to hold Arsenal to ransom over a new contract last summer.
He was even booed by some Arsenal fans during early games this season but quickly won them over again in September with a hat-trick in an away win at Blackburn Rovers.
We were three or four games into the season and, because I hadn't scored, people were writing me off.
Then I got my hat-trick and showed that no matter what some people might say about me, I am still enjoying myself at Arsenal.
Now we are all fighting to bring trophies to this club and, at the end of the season, people will see what we have in our hearts.
Adebayor began his career in his homeland playing for Sporting Club de [[Lomé]]. He made it to the U-15 level, and was spotted by [[France|French]] club [[FC Metz|Metz]]. After a trial, Adebayor joined the club in 1999 and played at the U-17 level for two years before joining the second team.
Adebayor began his career in his homeland playing for Sporting Club de [[Lomé]]. He made it to the U-15 level, and was spotted by [[France|French]] club [[FC Metz|Metz]]. After a trial, Adebayor joined the club in 1999 and played at the U-17 level for two years before joining the second team.


In his first season, he played nine games and scored twice. In the [[Ligue 1 season 2002-03|2002–03]] season, Adebayor scored 17 goals in 35 games. He signed a new contract with [[AS Monaco FC|Monaco]] in 2003, and he scored seven goals in 17 appearances, helping them reach the UEFA Champions League 2003-04 Champions League final with two goals in 10 games.
In his first season, he played nine games and scored twice. In the [[Ligue 1 season 2002-03|2002–03]] season, Adebayor scored 17 goals in 35 games. He signed a new contract with [[AS Monaco FC|Monaco]] in 2003, and he scored seven goals in 17 appearances, helping them reach the [[UEFA Champions League 2003-04|Champions League]] final with two goals in 10 games.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/sports/article01/indexn2_html?pdate=050409&ptitle=Adebayor:%20Wanting%20more
|title=Adebayor: Wanting more
|date=05 April 2009
|accessdate=2009-04-22
|publisher=Ngrguardiannews.com}}</ref>


=== Arsenal ===
=== Arsenal ===

Revision as of 14:23, 26 September 2009

Emmanuel Adebayor
Personal information
Full name Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Manchester City
Number 25
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:13, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays for English Premier League team Manchester City and the Togo national team as a striker. Adebayor previously played for FC Metz, AS Monaco and Arsenal, and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008.[2]

Club career

Early career

Adebayor began his career in his homeland playing for Sporting Club de Lomé. He made it to the U-15 level, and was spotted by French club Metz. After a trial, Adebayor joined the club in 1999 and played at the U-17 level for two years before joining the second team.

In his first season, he played nine games and scored twice. In the 2002–03 season, Adebayor scored 17 goals in 35 games. He signed a new contract with Monaco in 2003, and he scored seven goals in 17 appearances, helping them reach the Champions League final with two goals in 10 games.[3]

Arsenal

On 13 January, 2006, Adebayor signed for Arsenal for a reported £4m. [4] He was given the nickname "Baby Kanu" due to his resemblance to former Arsenal star Nwankwo Kanu, who Adebayor had idolised as a youth.[5] On 4 February 2006, Adebayor made his Arsenal debut in a Premiership match at Birmingham City and scored after 21 minutes, with Arsenal winning 2–0.[6] At the end of his first season for the Gunners he had scored four goals in ten matches. However, Adebayor was cup-tied for Arsenal's 2005–06 Champions League campaign as they reached the final against Barcelona, having appeared for Monaco in the qualifying rounds of the competition.

Adebayor scored Arsenal's winning goal against Manchester United to give Arsenal a 1–0 win at Old Trafford, their first league win of the 2006–07 season. Earlier in the game, Adebayor was brought down in the six-yard box to earn Arsenal a penalty, which was taken by Gilberto Silva and saved.[7] On 8 November 2006, Adebayor scored the only goal of the match to send Arsenal into the quarterfinals of the League Cup against Everton

Adebayor in 2008

He was sent off in Arsenal's 2–1 Carling Cup final loss to Chelsea. He was shown the red card after a fracas towards the end of the match involving both Chelsea and Arsenal players. It was alleged that he had thrown a punch at Frank Lampard. The FA subsequently gave him an additional one-match ban and a fine of £7,500 for failing to leave the field of play immediately, as well as a three-match ban for the red card.[8] Adebayor and Lampard both denied it.[9]

On 19 January, after scoring twice against Fulham, the fans sang, "Adebayor, Adebayor, give him the ball, and he will score".[10] After scoring a penalty during the 3–1 win over Portsmouth, his two goals against Tottenham helped Arsenal win 3–1 in the first North London derby of the season..[11] Adebayor then scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal in a 5–0 home win against Derby County on 22 September; this was the second-ever hat-trick scored at the Emirates.[12] He was involved in a controversial incident on 22 January in which he clashed with teammate Nicklas Bendtner seven minutes from the end of a 5–1 League Cup semifinal defeat to Tottenham. Bendtner appeared to cut his nose in the clash, for which Adebayor apologised the following day.[13] Three days later he scored the hundredth goal at the Emirates during the side's 3–0 FA Cup victory over Newcastle United.[14] Starting on 4 March against Milan, Adebayor went on a goalscoring streak in the Champions League. Despite having never scored before in the competition, he scored a goal in the 2nd leg against Milan at the San Siro.[15] On 13 April in a Premier League game against Manchester United, Adebayor scored Arsenal's only goal, a game which they lost 2–1 at Old Trafford. He scored his second hat-trick for Arsenal after coming off the bench at half time in the 6–2 win against Derby County on 28 April, making him the only player in the Premiership's history to score a hat-trick home and away against the same side in the same season.[16] Although Arsenal finished the season empty handed, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year.[17] Adebayor's second goal against Tottenham Hotspur won Match of the Day's Goal of the Season competition for the 2007–08 season.[18] Although Arsenal finished the season empty handed, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year.[19] He was also awarded the BBC African Footballer of the Year for his performance in 2008.

On the summer transfer window he was linked with a £30 million move to Milan and Barcelona,[20] but later insisted to stay at the club after he signed a long contract.[21] On 13 September 2008, Adebayor scored a hat trick in Arsenal's 4–0 win away to Blackburn Rovers, getting his first league goals of the 2008–09 season.[22] Adebayor received his first red card of the season in a 1–1 draw with Liverpool after an altercation with opposing defender Álvaro Arbeloa; this was his second bookable offence of the game and therefore served a one-match ban.[23] On 8 February, Adebayor suffered a hamstring injury in Arsenal's 0–0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. The injury would keep him out for almost two months, despite initial estimations suggesting only a three week absence.[24] He made a goalscoring return to action, scoring a brace on his return against Manchester City.[25] On 7 April 2009, Adebayor equalized a goal for Arsenal in the Quarter finals of the Champions League against Villarreal, in which he chested the ball into his control and then performed a brilliant bicycle kick.[26] In the return leg at the Emirates Stadium a week later, he scored in a 3–0 Arsenal win, setting up a semi-final showdown with Manchester United. However, Adebayor was injured for the last two Premier League games and finished the season as Arsenal's second top goal scorer, scoring 16, behind Robin van Persie's 20 in all competitions.[27]

Manchester City

On 18 July 2009, Adebayor signed a five-year contract with Manchester City, for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £25 million.[28] He scored a goal on his debut for City against Blackburn Rovers, smashing a shot from 18 yards past Paul Robinson in the third minute.[29] On his home debut, Adebayor scored the only goal in the 17th minute in a 1–0 in over Wolverhampton Wanderers, assisted by fellow summer signing Carlos Tévez.[30] He scored in his third consecutive league match, heading the winner in a 1–0 away victory against Portsmouth.[31] He then scored in his fourth consecutive match, this time against his former team, Arsenal in a 4–2 victory at the City of Manchester Stadium.[32] In the match against Arsenal, Adebayor's former team mate Van Persie accused him of deliberately kicking him in the face,[33] and he was later handed a three-match ban after being found guilty of violent conduct.[34] Adebayor was also criticized for running almost the full length of the pitch to the Arsenal supporters and celebrating in front of them after scoring his goal causing an attempted pitch invasion and objects to be thrown towards him on the pitch. He was booked for this, but did later apologize.[35] Mark Hughes suggested Adebayor did it because he wanted to be loved by Manchester City fans.[36]

International career

Adebayor playing for Togo.

Born in Togo, Adebayor was also eligible to play for Nigeria but chose to represent the country of his birth.[37] Adebayor helped Togo qualify for the 2006 African Cup of Nations by scoring 11 goals in the qualifiers, more than any other player in the African qualifiers. On 10 February 2009, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) picked Adebayor as the African Footballer of the Year for 2008 at an awards ceremony held in Lagos, Nigeria. Adebayor beat final nominees Mohamed Aboutrika of Egypt and Ghana's Michael Essien in a vote that involved the national team coaches of CAF's 54 member-nations. It was the first time a Togolese won the award as Africa's best player. (reference 11)

Adebayor helped Togo to qualify for World Cup 2006 and started all of Togo's group matches in Germany. He did not score any goals and Togo was eliminated in the group stage. He was made captain after the qualification.

He was called up for the 2006 African Cup of Nations, where he was a substitute for the country's first match, following a row with the coach. Adebayor first vowed to leave the tournament and return home, although he later resumed training with the side.[38] Togo were eliminated after losing all three matches. He was dropped by Togo following the row over bonus payments.[39] However, Adebayor was brought back into the Togo team in September 2007. On 11 October 2008, he scored four goals in Togo's 6–0 hammering of Swaziland during the World Cup qualification rounds.

Despite being injured, Adebayor played for Togo against Cameroon. Within this match he scored the only goal for Togo to seal the win.[40]

Club career statistics

(Correct as of 12 September 2009)[41]
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
AS Monaco 2003–04 31 8 - - - - 9 0 - 40 8 -
2004–05 35 9 - - - - 10 2 - 45 11 -
2005–06 13 1 - - - - 2 0 - 15 1 -
Total 79 18 21 2 100 20 -
Arsenal 2005–06 13 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 4 4
2006–07 29 8 4 7 4 0 8 0 0 44 12 4
2007–08 36 24 4 3 3 0 9 3 1 48 30 5
2008–09 27 10 7 2 0 0 9 6 1 38 16 8
Total 105 46 19 12 7 0 26 9 2 143 62 21
Manchester City 2009–10 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 0
Total 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 0

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "PFA Profile". PFA. 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  2. ^ "Adebayor named Africa's best player for 2008". Arsenal.com. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  3. ^ "Adebayor: Wanting more". Ngrguardiannews.com. 05 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/6679813.stm
  5. ^ Arsenal-Mania.com - The Arsenal website for Arsenal fans - Emmanuel Adebayor Profile
  6. ^ "Birmingham City 0 Arsenal 2: Diaby and Adebayor hint at brighter Arsenal future". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  7. ^ "Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 17 September 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  8. ^ "Adebayor gets extra one match ban". Reuters UK. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  9. ^ "Lampard supports Adebayor denial". Soccernet. 1 March 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  10. ^ Adebayor, give him a ball, and he will score video
  11. ^ "Tottenham 1-3 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 15 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  12. ^ "Arsenal 5-0 Derby". arsenal.com. 22 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  13. ^ "Arsenal pair escape FA punishment". BBC Sport. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  14. ^ Collins, Roy (27 January 2008). "Arsenal end Newcastle's FA Cup dream". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  15. ^ "AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  16. ^ "Derby 2-6 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  17. ^ "Ronaldo named player of the year". BBC Sport. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  18. ^ "Goal of the season". BBC Sport. 5 June 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  19. ^ "Ronaldo named player of the year". BBC Sport. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  20. ^ "Agent makes Adebayor claim". skysports.com. 21st June 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Emmanuel Adebayor signs new 'long-term' Arsenal contract". telegraph.co.uk. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  22. ^ "Blackburn 0-4 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  23. ^ "Honours even at Emirates". skysports.com. 21st December 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Adebayor injury blow hits Arsenal". BBC Sport. 8 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  25. ^ "Arsenal 2-0 Man City". BBC Sport. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  26. ^ "Villareal 1-1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  27. ^ "Arsenal 3-0 Villareal". BBC Sport. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  28. ^ "City Seal Adebayor Swoop". Sky Sports. 18 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  29. ^ "Blackburn 0–2 Man City". BBC Sport. 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  30. ^ "Man City 1–0 Wolverhampton". BBC Sport. 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  31. ^ Ian Hughes (2009-08-30). "Portsmouth 0 - 1 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  32. ^ Adebayor scores against former club Retrieved on September 12 2009
  33. ^ http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/van-persie-reaction-to-adebayor-incident
  34. ^ Adebayor handed three-match ban
  35. ^ "Adebayor says sorry for goal celebration". BBC Sport. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  36. ^ [1]
  37. ^ The list of Nigeria qualified players who, for various reasons, preferred to play for foreign countries is endless. Among them are Emmanuel Olisadebe, Ugo Ehiogu, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Patrick Owomoyela, Ugochukwu Onyewu, Chuka Okaka and Emmanuel Adebayor. ngrguardiannews, April 12, 2009
  38. ^ Adebayor future with Togo unclear
  39. ^ "Togo axe Adebayor and two others". BBC Sport. 2007-03-25. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  40. ^ Togo 1 Cameroon 0: Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor back on target
  41. ^ History, soccernet.espn.go.com, accessed 14 September 2008.
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