Akinfenva, Adebayo

Akinfenva comes from a Nigerian family: his father is Muslim and his mother is Christian. As a child, Akinfenwa was close to Islam, always respecting the month of Ramadan , but later was baptized. He reads the Bible every day and attends church every Sunday ^[3] .

One of his close friends is Clark Carlisle , a former Northampton team-mate ^[3] . As a child, Adebayo was rooting for Liverpool , and he considered John Barnes to be his idol ^[3] .

Akinfenwa is known as the most dimensional active footballer in the world, which is often mentioned in various games of the FIFA series (including FIFA 15 ) ^{[4] [5]} . In September 2014, he was invited to the presentation of the future FIFA 15 game along with such stars as footballer Rio Ferdinand , boxer George Groves and hip-hop performer Lethal Bizzle ^[6] .

Officially, Akinfenva’s weight fluctuates around 101 kg, his bench press is 200 kg (which is almost twice his own weight) ^{[2] [7]} . Akinfenva owns his own brand of clothing Beast Mode On ^[4] .

Early years

Akinfenva was born in London, Borough Islington. As a teenager, he joined the Lithuanian football team Atlantas on the advice of his agent, whose brother-in-law was part of the team’s coaching staff ^[8] . In Lithuania, he was often subjected to racist insults, as the following said:

Since I come from London, where no one would insult me, for me these things were frank arrogance.

Original Text (Eng.)

Coming from London, where it was just brazen. ^[3]

Adebayo returned to the UK in 2003 and joined the Wales champion club Barry Town ^[9] . He helped the club win the Championship and Wales Cup by playing at the Jenner Park Stadium. But despite the efforts of the Nigerian, the club suffered serious financial losses and lost its professional status. In October 2003, Akinfenva became part of Boston United ^[10] and in the debut match he scored the winning goal at the last minutes to the gate of the Swindon Town team within the League Cup match ^[11] , but even there he was not entrenched and left through a month in Leyton Orient, where the month did not last ^[12] . In December 2003, Akinfenva moved to Rushden & Diamonds, and in February 2004 he ended up in the Doncaster Rovers camp, his fifth in a club season ^[13] .

Torquay United

In July 2004, Akinfenva again had to change the team and moved to Torquay United, replacing David Graham who had left earlier from there ^[14] . In the regular season 2004/2005, he scored 14 goals, but this did not save the team from relegation to the Second Football League. Adebayo refused to renew the contract at the end of the season ^[15] .

Swansea City and Millwall

In July 2005, Akinfenwa moved to Swansea City, who were ordered to pay £ 85,000 in compensation. ^[16] In the match against Tranmeer Rovers , he scored his first goal, which also became the first goal of the “swans” at the new Liberty Stadium ^[17] . In the Cup Final of the Football League, the Nigerian scored the winning goal and brought victory to his team over Carlisle United with a score of 2: 1. He took part in the fight for entering the First Football League: in the match against Barnsley, a draw was 2-2 in most of the time, and everything was decided by a penalty shootout, but the Welsh lost it, and Akinfenva was one of two Swansea football players, did not realize their blow. In 2007, in a match against Scunthorpe United , he received a fracture of his right leg, and the season for him was over ^[18] . Earlier, his health was undermined by a fracture of his left foot in October 2006 ^[19] .

At the end of the 2006/07 season, Akinfenva refused to renew the contract with Swansea City ^[20] and on June 29, 2007, he began to make the transition to Sunidton Town ^[21] , but he did not undergo a medical examination. In November 2007, he signed a contract with Millwall ^[22] , but in 7 games he did not score a single goal ^[23] .

Northampton Town and Gillingham

On January 18, 2008, Akinfenva signed a contract with Northampton Town to the end of the season, making his debut in the game against Swindon Town Club and at the end of the match brought the team a draw, equalizing the score (1: 1). In the next game, he similarly helped the team escape from defeat from Leeds United (1: 1), and in the subsequent match against Gillingham he scored a double and brought victory with a score of 4: 0. In the same season, he distinguished himself three more times. On May 30, Adebayo extended the contract for a year, despite interest from the Leyton Orient and Grimsby Town ^[24] . In September 2008, he scored twice in three games. In May 2010, the contract with Northampton Town expired, and the player failed to conclude a new agreement.

July 29, 2010 Akinfenva signed a contract with Gillingham for one year ^[25] . In the first match against Cheltenham Town , he scored a debut goal for a new team. A bunch of Adebayo Akinfenva and Cody Macdonald formed in the club: together this duet scored 36 goals in a season. May 25, 2011 Akinfenwa returned to Northampton Town: the new team coach Harry Johnson decided to do this in order to gain the trust of the fans ^[26] . The first goal in the new season Nigerian scored on August 16 in a match with “Bristol Rovers”. At the end of the 2012/2013 season, he left the team ^[27] .

On July 2, 2013, Adebayo returned to Gillingham for free ^[28] . In a duet with Cody Macdonald, they managed to score only 10 goals, and in the ranking of the players of the year, according to the fans, he took 3rd place. Soon the club announced the departure of Adebayo ^[29] , and on June 20, 2014, the Nigerian signed a 14-month contract with Wimbledon from the Second League ^[30] .

As of January 5, 2015