False EMMANUEL ADEBAY R habariinspiration 42 W hile the likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and John Terry battle for the limelight in the England national team, Emmanuel Adebayor has no such problem. The Arsenal striker is arguably Togo’s most famous son and has helped turn his country’s football team from African minnows into World Cup contenders. In 2006, the West African nation stormed to qualification for the World Cup in Germany and it was Adebayor who was the main msafiri James Andrew talks to the prolific Arsenal goal scorer who says there’s a little bit of Drogba and Kanu in him the same shirt as the player who used to be plastered across his wall as a youngster. He said: “ It was fantastic to sign for the club where my biggest hero, Kanu, was a star. When I was younger I had posters of him on my wall. To be honest, I would have played for Arsenal for free. It was amazing they let me have the number 25 shirt. “ When I first came to London a lot of people said, ‘ He’s a very good player, but not such a good finisher’, and I’d like to prove them wrong. It was difficult for me. Coming from France, I was not used to the football in England. So that’s why perhaps it was normal that people compared me more with Kanu. Now I’m stronger; I can keep the ball and hold onto it. I’m quicker than before too. So maybe there’s a little bit of Didier Drogba and a little bit of Kanu – that could be a good striker!” After just a season and a half of playing alongside Arsenal’s all- time leading scorer Thierry Henry, Adebayor was handed the daunting task of having to fill the Frenchman’s boots following his transfer to Barcelona last summer. But compared to dodging a life of crime as a teenager in Togo’s capital Lome, making sure Arsenal did not miss Henry seemed easy. Adebayor weighed in with 30 goals for Arsenal last term, but it was their third season without winning a trophy and the striker knows that it will be the medals won at the end of his career on which he will be judged. But he says he is just pleased to be playing football. “ I’d probably be a gangster if I weren’t a footballer,” he added. “ Most of my friends from when I was young are bad boys. “ I’m a striker. I scored 30 goals last season; next season I want 50. I don’t want to be the next Pele or Maradona, I’m happy to be Ade. The most important thing is trying to improve myself as a footballer. People love me to score goals; that’s what I want to do more of. I’m improving, but next season I want more.” On an international level, the one thing on Adebayor’s mind is qualification for the World Cup in South Africa in two years’ time – and playing on the world stage in Africa is something that the striker is relishing. “ It is a dream for every African player to play in a World Cup in our own continent, and in 2010 we have that chance in South Africa.” sporting heroes talisman. The striker, then with Monaco, scored 11 goals as Togo qualified ahead of the much- fancied Senegal, who reached the quarter finals four years previously. With World Cup qualification secure, Adebayor fulfilled a dream by following in the footsteps of his hero, Nigerian footballer Nwankwo Kanu, by signing for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger signed Adebayor in January 2006 for £ 7m and the Togolese striker could not believe his luck when he was handed Ryan Pierse/ Gety Images Q NATIONALITY TOGO Q DOB 26.02.84 Q PLAYS FOR ARSENAL FC Q TRANSFER FEE TO ARSENAL £ 7m Q www. ARSENAL. com IT IS A DREAM FOR EVERY AFRICAN PLAYER TO PLAY IN A WORLD CUP IN OUR OWN CONTINENT

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