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Samuel Eto'o

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Samuel Eto'o
Personal information
Full name Samuel Eto'o Fils
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona

Samuel Eto'o (born March 10, 1981 in Nkon, Cameroon) is a professional footballer, who currently plays for FC Barcelona. He is a distinguished forward who is known for his outstanding positional awareness, speed, and finishing. His talents have made him a leading scorer for both club and country and one of the world's best strikers. He was named African Footballer of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2005, making him the first player to win the award three years in succession since it has been handed out by the Confederation of African Football. He was recently named as one of the strikers for the FIFPro World XI team for the second consecutive year. His younger brothers David and Etienne are also professional footballers. Samuel Etoo has Somalian ancestry by paternal grandfather and grew up in Burco, in Northern Somalia. His career started when he met a Somalian man who taught him how to play football from the age of three to the age of 13 before moving back to his home town Nkon.


Club career

RCD Mallorca

After joining Real Madrid in 1996 and playing on the nursery team, Eto’o was loaned to second division CD Leganés for the 1997-1998 season. Eto’o found a way out of his frustration in the second division after performing well on his loan to RCD Mallorca. In the 2000-2001 season with Mallorca, Eto’o’s second with the team, he was able to score 11 goals in La Liga play and began to garner praise throughout the league. Of his entertaining style of play, Mallorca club president Mateo Alemany said, “I doubt if there is any other player in the world who would please the fans more at this moment.” Such strong performances prompted Mallorca to sign Eto’o at the end of the season to a club record, $6.3m (£4.4m) fee. [1]

During his time with RCD Mallorca, Eto'o became the highest ever league goal scorer in the history of the club, with 54 goals, including 14 and 17 apiece in his last two seasons. Such quality play transformed Eto'o into a hero amongst Mallorca supporters who made his replica shirt the best selling item in the Mallorca club souvenir shop. Eto'o enjoyed his rise to stardom saying, "I like it here in Mallorca, I have always been well looked after, the fans appreciate me and I also have a contract that runs until 2007." Eto'o showed his appreciation and generosity to fans when he paid 30,000 euros on a meal for Mallorca supporters who made the journey to watch Mallorca's Spanish Cup final against Recreativo Huelva in 2003. However, despite Eto'o's fame amongst fans, his volatile attitude erupted in several incidents off the field. A Spanish reporter covering Mallorca named Bartolome Terrassa filed a formal complaint with the police after a run in with Eto'o in the club parking lot. Terrassa accused Eto'o of saying, "The next time you are not going to escape, I'm going to kill you" towards the end of their dispute. Eto'o's former agent, Daniel Argibeaut, also accused Eto'o of poor behaviour in 2002. Argibeaut claimed Eto'o headbutted him and attacked him alongside four accomplices, saying "They then took of my shoes, which in Cameroon means I am threatened with death."[2] However, Eto'o's strong play overshadowed any off-field troubles, and he signed for FC Barcelona in the summer of 2004 for a transfer fee of €24 million after a long series of three-way negotiations with Mallorca and Real Madrid. Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez said that Eto'o was not needed as they already had Ronaldo and Raúl signed as strikers. Eto'o made his debut for Barcelona in the first game of the season at Ràcing Santander, on August 29, 2004. He made a resounding impact by scoring 5 goals in the first half.

Playing for Barcelona

FC Barcelona

2004-05

Eto'o joined Barcelona alongside stars Ronaldinho, Deco, Henrik Larsson, Ludovic Giuly, Juliano Belletti, and Edmilson. In his first season with Barcelona, Eto'o proved he could be the dominant scorer Barcelona had hoped they paid for as he scored 24 goals in La Liga and 4 more goals in 7 Champion's League matches. Although Barcelona were elimated from the Champion's League, Eto'o's new offensive talents help Barcelona capture the La Liga crown for the 2004-2005 season and collect his second African Player of the Year award. Eto'o was also narrowly edged for the "Pichichi title", going to the top scorer in La Liga, by Uruguayan footballer Diego Forlan.[3]


2005-06 and the Pichichi

Eto'o's second year with Barcelona was perhaps, well the finest of his career and helped Barcelona win their second La Liga crown in a row. After missing out on last year's "Pichichi" Eto'o made amends for it when on May 20, 2006, Samuel Eto'o assured himself the title of "pichichi" (top scorer of La Liga) after scoring a goal against Athletic de Bilbao in FC Barcelona's last game of the 2005-06 season to bring his tally to 26 for the season. Had he not scored in this game, he would still have been La Liga's top scorer for the season but would have had to share the title with Valencia CF's prolific striker, David Villa. Eto'o was very gracious to teammates after the game saying, "It has been a team effort although only one person gets the award, we've worked hard all season and have got our just rewards."[4]

Eto'o was also able to score 6 goals for Barcelona along their quest to win the 2005-2006 Champion's League title. While Eto'o performed consistently throughout the Champion's League stages, one of his finest performances came in the final against Arsenal. In the 18th minute, Eto'o attacked the goal after receiving a Ronaldinho pass which split the defense, only to be brought down by Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. Lehmann's tackle on Eto'o drew a red card and gave Barcelona the crucial man advantage early in the game. However, Barcelona struggled to exploit the man advantage until Eto'o scored on a pass from Henrik Larsson in the 76th minute, tying the game. Five minutes later Belletti scored, cementing the Champion's League title for Barcelona. For his strong performances, Eto'o was awarded with the UEFA Champion's League Best Forward award.[5]

Eto'o also made history after the season when he was voted African Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. Eto'o narrowly edged Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and expressed great gratitude for the high honor. In his acceptance speech Eto'o declared, "Above all, I dedicate this to all the children of Africa."[6]

Alongside winning his third straight African Player of the Year award, Eto'o was selected to his second consecutive FIFPro World XI team and finished 3rd in the Fifa World Player of the Year voting, making him only the second African in history to be voted into the top three positions.

Recent

During Barcelona's Champions League match against Werder Bremen on September 27, 2006, he ruptured the meniscus in his right knee. Ricard Pruna, Barcelona's doctor, originally estimated that the injury would keep him out of action for two to three months.[7] However, after an operation to treat the damaged meniscus, Barcelona doctors upped the estimated recovery time to five months.

Eto’o’s 5 months absence is a major blow for FC Barcelona as he is one of their most influential players. Though he will miss more than 20 matches, Joan Laporta still believes he can retain his title of "Pichichi". Eto’o himself says that he will be playing again before the five month period. Less than one month after his operation, Eto'o has been spotted in ValenciaGP, during the MotoGP, walking without crutches. Eto'o is surprising everyone with his fast progress, even after being asked not to watch Barca playing on TV. On January 16th, 2007 Eto'o went back to training with Barcelona and said he will start playing with the team when he is 100% fit.

On February 11, 2007, in a match with Racing Santander, Eto'o refused to come on as a substitute; manager Frank Rijkaard said 'He did not want to come on, I don't know why'.[8] Ronaldinho was critical of Eto'o, saying 'it always is important to think about what's best for the team'.[9] Eto'o responded by saying 'Telling a news conference I didn't want to play is the behaviour of a bad person',[10] explaining that he did not come on because he did not have time to warm up properly.

On the 23rd May Eto'o has been quoted as saying: "These kind of things are usually just speculation and don't come through to me. However, if it is true that I am a problem for my team then I will go. But like I said, I am happy here. The press can write what they want."

International career

Eto'o made his Cameroon debut at the age of just 15 in a friendly match against Costa Rica in a 5-0 loss, and at the age of 17, Eto'o was the youngest player at the 1998 FIFA World Cup when he appeared for Cameroon against Italy, at the age of 17 years and 3 months, being the only player who had been born in the '80s.

He also played at the 2002 FIFA World Cup where he scored the game winning goal against Saudi Arabia in Cameroon's only win.

Olympic medal record
Representing  Cameroon
Men's Football
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Team Competition

To date, Eto'o has won three major tournaments with his country: the 2000 and 2002 African Nations Cups, as well as the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

In 2006, Eto'o missed his penalty shot in the quarter-final of the 2006 African Cup of Nations game against Côte d'Ivoire, ending a record run of 24 consecutive penalties made, and eliminating his side from the competition. Nontheless, he was still the top scorer of the tournament, with five goals.

Skills and playing style

Samuel Eto'o was described in 2006 by football pundit Tommy Smyth as one of the best pure strikers in the world. He is known for his quick pace and agility on and off the ball and an ability to score equally well with both feet as well as his head. His style of play is characteristically daring and he often runs at defenders and goalkeepers with total confidence in his ability to get the ball past them. Because of his slight frame, Eto'o relies on nimbleness and timing rather than strength to score, and he frequently scores on the first touch after running onto well-placed through balls. He has also been known to use a move in which he passes the ball to himself high over the opposing goalkeeper before running around him, settling the pass, and scoring.

Under Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona, Eto'o has played as the central striker as well as on either wing in an attempt to stymie teams who man-mark the Barça front three. Eto'o has adapted very well to the wing positions and has created numerous goals for his team mates while simultaneously scoring a lot of goals himself. In 2005/06 season he became the first player since the 1990 season to score 50 goals over 2 seasons in La Liga.

Eto'o is seen as defensively sound, applying pressure on the ball when his team are not in possession[11]. And the trust Rijkaard placed in his striker's defensive capabilities was evident when he shifted Eto'o to the left flank in the 05/06 Champions League semi-final against Milan to counter the attacking threat of Cafu .

Racism

Eto'o has experienced racial abuse in some matches outside Barcelona's stadium, Camp Nou. In some rival stadiums it is perhaps due to the intensity of the rivalry as well as the scoring threat of Eto'o. Many black players have been subject to racist taunts; while some merely ignore these insults, others like Eto'o, the Ivorian defender Marc Zoro of Messina and French superstar Thierry Henry of Arsenal have reacted by being outspoken in their criticism and threatening to leave the pitch.

An incident occurred in February 2006 when Eto'o suffered from racially-driven verbal abuse by some Real Zaragoza spectators during a match against FC Barcelona. The fans began making monkey-like chants whenever Eto'o had possession of the ball and peanuts were hurled onto the pitch. Referee Fernando Carmona Mendez did not mention the incidents in his match report, commenting only that the behaviour of the crowd was "normal".[12] Some fans were identified to police by fellow spectators and they were fined and banned from attending sporting events for five months.[13] Eto'o declared in the aftermath that the punishment was insufficient and that La Romareda, Real Zaragoza's stadium, should have been closed for at least one year. However, Eto'o's coach, Frank Rijkaard, told him to concentrate on football and to stop talking about the incident.

The incident was one of the latest controversies alleging the racist attitudes of Spanish football fans, and opened a general discussion on racism in football. The Football Association voiced its outrage at the incident, reeling from England's similar predicament during a friendly match against Spain at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which were sparked by earlier comments made by Spanish national team coach Luis Aragonés regarding Thierry Henry. There was criticism not only for racial taunts from the home crowd, but also for the reaction of Spanish officials; politicians were slow in condemning the incident while the RFEF declined to sanction Luis Aragonés for his remarks.

In Spain, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Mexico, France and Italy, black players have been the object of racial abuse from the opposing team fans. This has had the merit of bringing the racial issue to the forefront and prompting FIFA president Sepp Blatter to threaten to impose more stringent sanctions for such attitudes.

Racist taunting from crowds across the Spanish league has led Eto'o to no longer bring family members to games, especially his children. Of this unfortunate situation Eto'o said, "It is something that has affected me personally. I think players, leaders, and the media have to join forces so that no one feels looked down upon because of the colour of their skin. At this moment in time I prefer my children don't go to football matches. In the stands they have to listen to things that are difficult to explain to a child. It is better they aren't exposed to it." Eto'o has not mentioned if his opinion on this subject will change, however; the consistent racial abuse Eto'o has received from Spanish fans makes any change unlikely in the short term.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Eto'o join Mallorca for £4.4m". BBC Sport. 2001-07-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Eto'o fever grips Mallorca". BBC Sport. 2001-07-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Samuel Eto'o". About: World Soccer. 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Eto'o thanks team for Pichichi". BBCSport Football. 2005-05-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Eto'o thanks team for Pichichi". uefa.com. 2006-06-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Eto'o king of Africa once again". BBC Sport. 2006-02-16. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Eto'o setback for Barça". The Guardian. 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-09-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Chick, Alex (2007-02-17). "Eto'o refuses to play". Eurosport. Retrieved 2007-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Cameroon: Ronaldinho Slams Eto'o - Over Racing snub". allAfrica.com. 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2007-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Eto'o slams Rijkaard and Ronaldinho". Eurosport. 2007-02-14. Retrieved 2007-02-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "BBC: "He is also fantastic at defending from the front.."".
  12. ^ "Eto'o responds to racist abuse". BBC Sport. 2005-02-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Two fined for Eto'o taunts". BBC Sport. 2004-12-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Racism forces Eto'o to keep kids away from games". ESPN Soccernet. 2007-04-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)


Preceded by UEFA Champions League Best Forward
2005-06 		Succeeded by
current holder
Preceded by African Footballer of the Year
2003, 2004, 2005 		Succeeded by
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