It should have been a routine journey of approximately 80 miles. Down from a pre-tournament training camp in Pointe-Noire, beyond the Republic of Congo border and on to a new base in the Angolan city of Cabinda.

That was where Togo would be playing all of their three group games at the 2010 African Cup of Nations against Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast and the excitement was building. Les Eperviers the Sparrowhawks were ready to fly.

Yet three miles into Angola came the horrific attack that would change everything.

A convoy carrying the Togo squad and support staff found itself the target of a deadly onslaught from armed militia. Bullets peppered their two buses in a gunfight with security forces that is thought to have lasted at least half an hour.

Players made emotional calls to loved ones, lying prostrate on the floor between seats for protection. Some feared they would not leave the bus alive.

Its something we will never forget, Serge Akakpo, Togos former vice captain and centre-back, tells The Athletic. Its something that never leaves you because we were so close to death. I was thinking I was finished. I thought we were all going to die.

I wake up every day and I say I am blessed to be here, says former Togo captain and poster-boy Emmanuel Adebayor.

Two of the travelling party were not so fortunate. Assistant coach Amelete Abalo and media officer Stanislas Ocloo were both shot dead by the terrorists. Another nine were left injured, including reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale, whose playing career was ended by the attack.

Obilale required nine operations and now walks with the aid of a crutch. He is not afraid to admit he smokes a joint when the pain he suffers becomes too much. The day I was shot, I immediately knew it was over for football, he said.

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'I had two bullets in my back but I was lucky': The ever-lasting damage wrought by the 2010 Togo bus attack - The Athletic