Adebayor looks for fresh start

Emmanuel Adebayor said he was hoping to put a nightmare year behind him after signing a loan deal with Real Madrid.

GettyImagesEmmanuel Adebayor is hoping for a fresh start in Madrid

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After a positive start with Manchester City, Adebayor suffered psychological trauma as he was on the Togo coach attacked by gunmen in Angola last January, and he has been unable to recover his best form.
With Jose Mourinho seeking reinforcements in attack after Gonzalo Higuain was ruled out for much of the season, Adebayor has moved to the Bernabeu until the end of the season with a view to a permanent move and the striker is now hoping for better times ahead.
"My dream has come true to be able to play football again at the highest level, especially with Real Madrid," he said. "After Arsenal, when I went to Man City, don't get me wrong, it's true that I had an up and down time, and I was nearly dead as well on the way to the African Nations Cup.
"I was a little bit traumatised by all those kinds if things and it was a very difficult moment for me and today all those kinds of things are behind me. 2010 started very badly for me, but 2011 started very well by signing a contract with Real Madrid.
"Hopefully there's a lot of good coming my way, so I have to praise God that I'm still alive and I get the chance to wear the white shirt of Real Madrid.
"I'm very honoured and very, very happy to join this club, and for all that has happened over the last six months today I'm more comfortable, more relieved and I'm very happy."
Having performed well under Mark Hughes at Eastlands, Adebayor failed to convince Roberto Mancini but, asked what went wrong under the current City manager, he said: "I'm a footballer and what I need is to play football, to be out there on the pitch.
"I don't think there's a lot of things wrong. Right now he's lost confidence in me. He doesn't have any confidence in me anymore and he has decided to choose other players, so for me I'm very happy to be back again on the football pitch with Real Madrid and the chance to play football again."
Although Adebayor will have the chance of a permanent move, he says he is focusing on the next six months for now.
"At the moment I'm here for six months and I'm very honoured, and happy and grateful to wear Real Madrid shirt," he said. "The most important thing for me is to enjoy myself here and everybody is making me feel at home. I'm going to talk to the boss (Mourinho) to see how I can help the team win things.
"I'm a player who loves challenges, and who came here to achieve a lot of things. It's not going to be easy but I'm here to help the team achieve things."
He added: "I'm here to learn. Players never stop learning. I will learn and from then I will have to improve my game. I have to score goals, I have to create goals, I have to make things happen.
"I have to pay back all the people who have confidence in me by playing well on the pitch. Football isn't just about scoring goals - it's about attitude and what you can achieve and how you can help your team win games."