The legend of Togolese football, Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi, has returned from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, held in Côte d’Ivoire from January 11th to February 13th earlier this year.
Speaking to our colleagues at Radio France Internationale (RFI), the former Arsenal player expressed deep concern about the situation of the Togo national team, which has disappeared from the scene.
Well-known across Africa, Europe, and worldwide for his club exploits, Emmanuel Adebayor remains deeply connected to his homeland, Togo. Retired since last year, the former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker lives and closely follows events in his country. Kept away from the national team’s locker rooms by sporting authorities for unknown reasons, Adebayor never misses an opportunity to declare his love for the Sparrowhawks’ yellow jersey, with which he terrorized defenders during African Cup competitions.
Recently present at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, he once again spoke out. Approached by RFI to discuss the situation of the national team led by Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte in recent months, the 2008 Ballon d’Or winner, who was chosen by CAF to present the 2023 AFCON trophy to the winner last Sunday, did not hide his frustration.
“When you are a footballer at heart, if I am Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor today, it is thanks to football and especially thanks to my country. But when I see what my country is going through at the moment, it is very difficult to digest. We have not qualified for three AFCONs in a row, which is not normal at all,” he first exclaimed. “I had a 20-year career, I played in five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments with little Togo. I played in the 2006 World Cup.
Back then, the AFCON had 16 teams, and we qualified every other tournament. Now that it’s expanded to 24 teams and we haven’t qualified for three times in a row, there is a problem,” Adebayor, who once again extends his hand to the ministry and the federation to offer his contribution, highlighted. “Everyone will try to bring their experience, what they have won or learned in football. We will put it into daily practice with the players so that Togo can play in the 2025 AFCON in Morocco,” he continued.
Adebayor as ambassador rather than coach
Regarding contribution, the question of the national team coach position was posed to him. While former African stars like Aliou Cissé with Senegal, Djamel Belmadi with Algeria, Rigobert Song with Cameroon, and recently Emerse Fae, who won the 2023 AFCON with Ivory Coast, feel more comfortable as technical managers of their countries, Emmanuel Adebayor rejects this idea.
“I know my personality, I know how I see things, how I approach things so I think to be a coach, it’s not Sheyi Adebayor, but I can be an ambassador. I can be someone who will accompany the young brothers to share my experience with them. I can tell them how to prepare for a big match, how to relax after a match, what to eat or do after a match.
That’s all I can bring to my country,” said the former Tottenham and Crystal Palace player. Today, it’s clear that the Togo national team no longer instills fear on the African continent.
Facing supposed smaller teams that have not yet tasted the Africa Cup of Nations, in terms of World Cup talk, the current Togolese team, led by someone like Djene Dakonam (captain of Getafe in La Liga), struggles to achieve good results. In the latest FIFA rankings released this Thursday, Faure Gnassingbé’s country ranks 116th globally (28th in Africa).
Leave a Reply