Emmanuel Adebayor

Early career

Adebayor was spotted playing for Sporting Club de Lomé by scouts from Metz, who brought him to France in 1999. He made his Ligue 1 debut against Sochaux on 17 November 2001. Following Metz's relegation, he played a season in Ligue 2, where 13 goals in 34 league matches prompted a summer 2003 move to Monaco. He featured nine times in Europe as Monaco reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League final against Porto in Gelsenkirchen, for which he was an unused substitute in his club's 3–0 loss.

Arsenal

On 13 January 2006, Premier League club Arsenal signed Adebayor for a reported £3 million. He was given the nickname "Baby Kanu" due to his resemblance to former Arsenal star Nwankwo Kanu, whom Adebayor had idolised as a youth. On 4 February 2006, Adebayor made his Arsenal debut in a Premier League match at Birmingham City and scored after 21 minutes, with Arsenal winning 2–0. Adebayor was cup-tied for Arsenal's run to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. Adebayor scored Arsenal's winning goal against Manchester United to give Arsenal a 1–0 win at Old Trafford, their first league win of the 2006–07 season. Earlier in the match, Adebayor was brought down in the six-yard box to earn Arsenal a penalty, which was taken by Gilberto Silva and saved.

Adebayor was sent off in the 2007 League Cup final which Arsenal lost 2–1 to Chelsea. He was shown a red card after a fracas towards the end of the match involving both Chelsea and Arsenal players. It was alleged…

Adebayor was also eligible to play for Nigeria but chose to represent the country of his birth, Togo. Adebayor helped Togo qualify for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations after 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. Adebayor helped Togo to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and started all three group matches against South Korea, Switzerland and France, but did not score any goals and Togo ended up in last place in their group. Adebayor was made team captain after the finals. Adebayor was called up for the 2006 Africa 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…

Upon signing for Arsenal, the club's manager Arsene Wenger likened Adebayor to one of his major influences as a striker, Nwankwo Kanu, and described him as "tall, good in the air" and capable of making good runs behind the defenders. Adebayor even wore the number 25 shirt at Arsenal, like his Idol, and the number 4 shirt at international level, while he was even given the nickname "Baby Kanu" in the media due to their similar playing styles. He was also known for his pace, strength, and technique, as well as his goalscoring and ability to link-up with his teammates. However, he was also notorious for his lack of discipline, in particular in his early career.

Adebayor was a pundit for the BBC Sport's 2010 FIFA World Cup coverage.