Togo disaster could prove the making of Adebayor

“At one point I didn’t think I would ever see City’s stadium and the fans again. I am glad that these terrible moments are behind me.” These are the words of Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who was quoted in The Guardian, explaining the attack on the Togo football team’s bus in Cabinda last month, during the African Cup of Nations.

As he went on to reveal that the bus attack was the ‘most difficult’ moment of his life, you get a feeling that for all the attention the Togo international has created during his time in England, this could be a turning point in the making of Adebayor.

To be so close to losing your life, which eventually led to the team withdrawing from the competition, is something that could transform Adebayor’s personality. Surely he knows that his actions and statements in the past have been questioned from all quarters?

His last season at Arsenal, along with the first few months of his career at Manchester City, has been littered with statements, controversy and on-the-pitch actions that will probably see most Arsenal supporters dislike him for the rest of his stay in England at least. Hate could be too strong a word, because he did serve the north London club well in his time there.

Scoring 30 goals in a season for Arsenal and almost see them reclaim the Premiership is perhaps what lured Adebayor to become “Greedybayor” or entice his agent to put AC Milan in his mind at the back end of last season. If it is to be believed that the lure of money was to attract Adebayor to Italy, eventually turning out to be Manchester, then he has every right to be slated.

The re-start he has now got to his time at Manchester City allows him to correct the issues. This is a chance for Adebayor to back up his statements he made in the aftermath of the Togo disaster. He knows the fans have supported him and sent him messages, so it will be interesting to see how he repays the faith.

Considering the loyal backing he has got from everyone at his club, it seems that they view him as a key part of the team. Faith was something that they did not have in the Brazilian Robinho- and in quite a ruthless manner. Having treated Robin van Persie to a rather nasty stamp when Manchester City met Arsenal in that infamous match earlier this season at Eastlands, Adebayor must be thinking what a fool he looked like at the time. Nobody could have predicted what would happen involving the Togo national team, but such a petulant act in a football match could easily have been prevented.

The striker dedicated his goal in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Portsmouth at the weekend to the three people who died, and that was a great touch on the player’s part. Now he must show more of that, and let his feet do the talking.