The player joined the Gunners in 2006, and on February 4 of that year he made his debut for the club against Birmingham City, scoring a goal in the 2-0 away triumph. That match was the beginning of a successful three and a half year period at the club, before he left to join rivals Manchester City in 2009.
The gifted attacker was named Africa’s top player for 2008 at an awards ceremony hosted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Adebayor beat out nominees Mohamed Aboutrika of Egypt and Ghana’s Michael Essien in a vote that saw the national team coaches of CAF’s 54 member-nations voting. He was accompanied by his mother at the awards ceremony, where he received a crystal trophy and a $20,000 prize. He was the first Togolese player to be recognised as Africa’s best player.
Striker Adebayor recently wrote a long and detailed post on his personal Facebook page to expose the personal pain and family turmoil that he has experienced in his past, revealing the extent to which his family has tried to take advantage of him. The former Real Madrid, Manchester City and Arsenal player explained the constant problems that he has had with his family over the years and the burden that his finances have caused him due to the expectation from his family members. You can read the full article about his message here.
The Togolese striker has a charitable foundation of his own, that contributes to building infrastructure projects in Africa. An example of the type of charitable work he is doing is the launching of two water projects in the twin cities of Hamile and Koro in Ghana, or other smaller infrastructure projects in his homeland.
The former Arsenal player has had to deal with racist abuse at various times in his career, with his goal scoring exploits often irritating opposition fans, who on occasion resort to the disgusting behaviour involving racist chanting and abuse. Racism is unfortunately still a problem in European football, with some players from Africa and of African descent experiencing instances of abuse targeted at them by unruly and idiotic supporters.
For four years in a row the striker was untouchable as the top player from his native Togo, performing at the highest level to be considered one of Africa’s best, and certainly the best player from his country during that period. In 2008 he was also recognised by CAF as the best player on the continent, which was a first for a footballer from Togo.
Adebayor and his Togo team-mates wrote their names into the history books in 2006 when they qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup for the very first time. Considering that only five national teams qualify from Africa to represent a continent of around 52 potential qualifiers, this was an incredible feat for the Togolese, who went on to lose all three group stage matches.
In one of the darkest moments in Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) history, the 2010 edition Angola began in a terrible way as a team bus carrying the Togolese national squad was fired upon by terrorists when entering at the border between Congo and Angola at Cabinda. The incident left the bus driver, assistant coach and media officer dead, while two national team players were injured. The act of terrorism saw the team ordered to return home by their government, and they were officially banned from the tournament as a result.
Expert at scoring goals for both club and country, it should not be surprising that Adebayor is the Togo national team’s most prolific striker, recording 29 goals in 63 matches for the Sparrow Hawks thus far. The 1.90m tall attacker is excellent in the air, and his finishing has allowed him to score goals against a variety of opposition, which is why he has been so successful up front for his national team.
The striker joined Spanish giants Real Madrid on loan from Manchester City in 2011, and quickly found his feet in La Liga. His time at the club only lasted half a season, before he was brought back to Man City, but he ended his time at the Bernabeu in style when he scored a hat-trick against Almeria on May 21, 2011, in the last round of the 2010–11 season, with the match ending 8–1 in favour of Adebayor’s team.
The club that started Adebayor’s European career was French side Metz, who scouted him and brought him to France in in 1999. The striker finally made his Ligue 1 debut for Metz against FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on November 17, 2001, at the age of 17. In 2003 he left his first French club and joined Monaco.
Adebayor was born in Togo to Nigerian parents from the Yoruba ethnic group, and could therefore have chosen to represent the Super Eagles of Nigeria at international level, but he decided instead to don the Sparrow Hawks jersey and play international football for the country of his birth, Togo.
