DURBAN — The icy truce between Togo coach Didier Six and captain Emmanuel Adebayor ended after their defeat by Burkina Faso in the Africans Nations Cup (Afcon) quarter-finals on Sunday.
Reuters
Adebayor criticised Six’s decisions and management style following the 1-0 extra time loss and he gesticulated to the coach and his technical team as he left the field.
The two hardly got off to the best of starts when Six left Adebayor out of his original squad, but was overruled by the president of the country’s FA who insisted Adebayor should be included.
During the tournament, Adebayor told the media he was the true leader of the squad and the striker gave an interview to French Radio station RFI on Monday.
“The coach was not a help,” the Tottenham Hotspur forward said.
“Me, I was on the pitch, so I couldn’t do his job and mine, I couldn’t coach and play. I tried to do my best, but he didn’t help us.”
Six, when asked about his relationship with Adebayor after the match, replied: “You will have to ask Adebayor that.”
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Togo achieved their best performance in the finals by getting past the group stage for the first time in seven attempts.
But their build-up was overshadowed by doubts about whether Adebayor would play as he was at loggerheads with the FA over bonuses and the coaching set-up.
Although there was much conjecture among the Togolese media about whether their one world-class player would continue his international career, Adebayor said he was keen to do so.
“My international career is not stopping here. I’ve been in Afcon quarter-final, now I think I’ve got the qualities to go to the semi-finals, and a final, and to win the title.
“But you know as well as I do that our management isn’t really up to that.
“With our performance at Afcon, the country, the President of the republic, the fans have seen what we are capable of. Now it’s up to them to invest so that we can organise in the best manner possible.
“If the Togo team is organised in the best way possible, I will always be there for it. It’s true that I hear each time ‘he’s coming, he’s not coming’ — but that’s because there are lots of problems. If these problems are resolved, I will be there.
“You’ve seen that I give the best of myself. I speak in the dressing room, I’m a leader, I’m the captain.”
