EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR

Emmanuel Adebayor

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor was born on the 26th of February 1984. He is a professional footballer born in Togo to Nigerian parents of the Yoruba ethnic group. He 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.

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.

Personal information

Full name Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor
Date of birth 26 February 1984 (1984-02-26) (age 25)
Place of birth Lomé, Togo
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position Striker

Club information

Current club Manchester City
Number 25

Senior career

Years Club App (Gls)*
1997–1998 Sporting Club de Lomé 004 0(4)
1999–2001 Metz B 007 0(6)
2001–2003 Metz 018 0(4)
2003–2006 Monaco 044 (15)
2006–2009 Arsenal 079 (18)
2009– Manchester City 104 (46)

National team2

2000– Togo 038 (16)


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.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. 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. In the match against Arsenal, Adebayor's former team mate Van Persie accused him of deliberately kicking him in the face, and he was later handed a three-match ban after being found guilty of violent conduct. 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.

International career

Born in Togo, Adebayor was also eligible to play for Nigeria but chose to represent the country of his birth. 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. Togo were eliminated after losing all three matches. He was dropped by Togo following the row over bonus payments. 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

Honours

Individual

* Goal of the Month: September 2007
* Goal of the Season: 2007–08
* PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08
* BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2007
* African Player of the Year: 2008
* Togo Footballer of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008