The Togo national team captain together with two other colleagues refused to join the rest of the team called by new coach Tom Saintfiet for their preparations towards the opening Nations Cup qualifier with no official explanation.
And the striker who was given a compassionate leave by his English club, Tottenham, to solve his family and psychological problems prior to the end of season, has hinted he was still working on himself after watching from the stands as Togo lost 0-1 to Ghana in a friendly at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday.
“Obviously I’ve been working to be fit to be able to play football again because it has been a long time since I have played a full 90-minute game with my legs,” the lanky forward said in response to a question on why he was not part of the team on the field.
“Being here to even watch the game is more than beautiful for me. I just have to get back home and get my body ready for the weekend game [against Liberia],” Adebayor added.
For him to be permitted to join camp now by Togo’s new Belgian gaffer may be another matter altogether as the former Malawi boss stated in his post-match press conference that he has been forced to make do with the rest of the team who have made themselves available for the national team course.
“He [Adebayor] is a very influential person when it comes to football in Togo. I cannot sack or name someone in my team when I haven’t seen him in camp; he hasn’t trained and has not communicated anything about his inability to join his colleagues.
“Adebayor, Ayittey and one other player have all not reported to camp and have not told us why. We have a match to play on Sunday and that is where my focus is. I will make do with what I have for now then later augment the squad with some more players as I will invite others.
“The players I have here, are willing and have subjected themselves to training formalities and I am happy with their performance against Ghana,” Saintfiet told reporters in his post-match press conference.
Togo host the Liberians in Lome on Sunday afternoon.
Source----http://www.supersport.com/football/africa-cup-of-nations/news/150610/Adebayor_says_he_is_available_for_Togo
No comments:
Post a Comment