Emmanuel Adebayor has spoken of his personal trauma following last week’s attack on the bus carrying the Togo team, during which their press officer died in his arms. He is currently back in Togo, having been granted compassionate leave by Manchester City. Speaking in a TV interview in Togo, he said:
"If it meant going back tomorrow, I wouldn't be capable of giving everything that I've got. At the moment I can't eat, I am losing weight. It is very difficult for everyone. At the moment my head is not on football now. We are talking about lives – life is more important than football.”
Now I lost all respect for Adebayor during his final year at Arsenal, in which it was obvious that he wanted away, despite his mealy-mouthed protestations to the contrary. His provocative actions after scoring against his old club earlier in the season – sprinting 90 yards to celebrate in front of the travelling Arsenal fans – didn’t help rebuild any bridges either.
On this occasion, however, I entirely sympathise with his decision to spend some time away from football and get his head straight - not because it weakens a rival with their sights on a Champions League spot, but because it’s the right thing to do.
City manager Roberto Mancini has made it clear he will not try to hasten Adebayor’s return, and in doing so demonstrated that, although I have some reservations about whether he is a proven top class manager, he is clearly a top class man.
"He [Adebayor] has lived through a terrible tragedy. You can imagine the shock of a terrorist shooting at your bus and some of your closest friends. What counts more than anything is the man and he is extremely distressed. I'm very sorry for him because the situation is unbearable. I will wait for him and when he comes back we will speak with him. After that we'll decide when he's ready and OK to play."
As a typically tribal and one-eyed football fan, it’s not normally in my nature to praise a rival manager, player or club. But at a time when Sir Alex Ferguson is becoming increasingly curmudgeonly, Rafa Benitez is hanging on to his job and his reputation by a thread and even Arsene Wenger is prone to the occasional bizarre and unwarranted outburst, it is reassuring to see Mancini putting human interest beyond financial or competitive ones. The Premier League is a better place for his presence.
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