GONE BUT not forgotten the saying goes. But for deceased former Trinidad and Tobago footballer Akeem Adams it’s more than just fond memory.
There seems to be more of a supernatural presence of Adams at Point Fortin Civic, the club he was once set to represent before earning himself a move to Hungary with top flight club Ferencvárosi TC last August.
Adams, a two-time former Trinidad and Tobago Youth World Cup defender and ‘senior’ team player, hit the ground running at Ferencvárosi as a permanent fixture in then head coach Ricardo Moniz side, and an early favourite to the “Fradi” supporters.
But tragedy struck on September 25 at the apartment of the 22-year-old Adams when he suffered a massive heart attack.
After three months fighting for his life, inclusive of four life-saving operations — one of which his left leg was amputated later, the Point Fortin-born defender suffered a stroke at the Városmajori Heart Clinic in Budapest and fell into a coma on December 28. Two days later Adams’ body, which had been on the support of a mechanical heart, gave up naturally.
Prior to his passing, the team of doctors, headed by Professor Merkely Bela, at Városmajori were hoping that Adams would have survived long enough for a heart transplant. Akeem, however, was only able to stay alive long enough to spend Christmas with his mother Ancilla Dick-Adams and brother Akini Adams, although limited to a bed in ICU at the Városmajori Heart Clinic.
Three days after his passing, Point Fortin Civic, who had started the season with a promising three-match winning streak, conceded its fifth consecutive defeat in the 2013-2014 Digicel Pro League at the hands of Caledonia, 2-1 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
But as Ancilla and Akini were sorting out travel arrangements for Akeem’s body to be flown to Trinidad from Hungary, it seems that his spirit returned home earlier. Point Fortin Civic went on to snap the five-match losing streak with a goalless draw against North East Stars and was defensively sound in the four matches that followed.
Civic stormed to a 5-0 win over Police FC on January 18, at the Mahaica Oval — the venue of Akeem’s funeral service the day before — and followed up with a 3-0 win over Rangers, a 0-0 draw against Central FC, and most recently snapped a 12-match unbeaten streak boasted by league leaders DIRECTV W Connection last Saturday, with a 2-1 win at the home.
“(His death) touched all of us deeply,” said Civic head coach Reynold Carrington this week.
“I think the players really responded in honour of Akeem,” added Carrington, a former TT captain and product of Point Fortin just as Akeem.
“Akeem coming from humble beginnings had a significant part in our players re-identifying themselves. Akeem and I had good relationship and his passing also helped me in re-identifying myself as well the ambition of the club. “He was one of the players training with us, before the season kicked off and before he joined (Ferencvárosi).
“All the players know the love and admiration that Akeem had for the game and life in general.”
Civic, now on a five-match undefeated run, are second on the league table with 20 points, 12 points away from Connection (32 points). “All the while I’ve been saying to the players we needed to change, in the sense that we shouldn’t just settle for chasing second spot.