Samuel Eto'o

Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o - 001.jpg
Personal information
Full name Samuel Eto'o Fils
Date of birth 10 March 1981 (1981-03-10) (age 28)
Place of birth    Nkon, Douala, Cameroon
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club FC Barcelona
Number 9
Youth clubs
Kadji Sports Academy
Real Madrid B
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1997–2000
1997–1998
1999
2000
2000–2004
2004–		 Real Madrid
→ CD Leganés (loan)
→ Espanyol (loan)
→ Real Mallorca (loan)
Real Mallorca
FC Barcelona
 003 0(0)
028 0(3)
000 0(0)
013 0(6)
120 (48)
119 (90)   
National team2
1996– Cameroon 073 (36)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 11:14, 23 November 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 10:29, 11 October 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Samuel Eto'o Fils (born 10 March 1981 in Douala) is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona. He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with sixteen goals, and is also the record holder in number of appearances by an African in La Liga.[1]

Contents

Club career

From Madrid to Mallorca

Eto'o joined Real Madrid in 1997 but he could only train with Real Madrid B as he was still a minor. Real Madrid B were relegated to the Segunda División B, where non-EU players aren't allowed, and as a result he was loaned to second division CD Leganés for the 1997–98 season. The following two seasons he went to RCD Mallorca on loan. In his second season with the Primera Liga side, he scored eleven goals and began to garner attention throughout the league. Mallorca club president Mateo Alemany said of his entertaining style of play: "I doubt if there is any other player in the world who would please the fans more at this moment."[2]

At the end of the season Eto'o left Real Madrid, signing a permanent deal with Mallorca for a club record £4.4 million fee.[2] He commented on his rise to stardom, "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." He returned the fans' appreciation when he donated €30,000 in meals to travelling Mallorca supporters who made the journey to the Copa del Rey final against Recreativo de Huelva in 2003.[3] Mallorca won the match 3–0 with Eto'o scoring two late goals to seal the victory.[4]

However, his volatile attitude resulted in several off-pitch incidents. Bartolome Terrassa, a television journalist, filed a formal complaint after a run-in with Eto'o in the club's parking lot, accusing the player of saying, "The next time, you are not going to escape; I'm going to kill you." This was not the first incident however, as the previous year Eto'o's former agent, Daniel Argibeaut, accused the player of assaulting him with four accomplices, saying, "They then took off my shoes, which in Cameroon means I am threatened with death."[5]

Eto'o departed Mallorca as the club's all-time leading domestic league scorer (54 goals) when he signed for FC Barcelona in the summer of 2004 for a transfer fee of €24 million, after lengthy three-way negotiations with Mallorca and Madrid.[6] Initially Madrid president Florentino Pérez wanted to buy back the full transfer rights and loan him out again but eventually the Barcelona deal proved lucrative enough to warrant a sale.[7] Additionally, the team already had its full quota of three non-EU players.[6]

FC Barcelona

Debut to Champions League win

Eto'o playing for Barcelona

Eto'o made his Barcelona debut in the season opener at Racing Santander on 29 August 2004. After Barcelona won the 2004–05 La Liga title, the team organized a festive party in the Nou Camp, during which Eto'o chanted to the fans, "Madrid, cabrón, saluda al campeón" (roughly: "Madrid, bastards, hail the champions"). The Spanish Football Federation fined Eto'o €12,000 for his comments, for which he later apologized. He expressed regret and asked for forgiveness from Real Madrid, his first professional team. The head of the Real Madrid fan club federation remained unimpressed however, stating: "This character is a fantastic player, but he leaves a lot to be desired as a person".[8]

After missing out on the previous year's Pichichi (top La Liga goalscorer), Eto'o edged out Valencia CF striker David Villa for the award during the final matchday on 20 May 2006 when he scored his 26th goal of the season against Athletic de Bilbao. 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."[9]

Eto'o also contributed six goals during Barcelona's run to the 2005–06 Champions League title. In the final, Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off early on for bringing down Eto'o just outside of the penalty area, but the Catalans struggled to capitalize on their one-man advantage until Eto'o scored the game-tying goal in the second half. Barcelona went on to win the match 2–1 and Eto'o was awarded with the UEFA Best Forward of the Year award for his accomplishments in the European campaign.[10][11]

Eto'o also won an historic third consecutive African Player of the Year award that season. He said in his acceptance speech, "Above all, I dedicate this to all the children of Africa."[12] He was also selected to his second straight FIFPro World XI and finished third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year, making him only the second African footballer ever to be voted into the top three.[13][14]

2006 to present

Eto'o during Barcelona's La Liga 2005-2006 celebration

The season started badly for Eto'o as he ruptured the meniscus in his right knee during Barcelona's Champions League group stage match against Werder Bremen on 27 September 2006. Barcelona team physician Ricard Pruna originally estimated that the injury would keep him out of action for two to three months.[15] After the operation Eto'o's recovery time was extended to five months but he resumed training with Barcelona in early January 2007.[16][17]

In a league match against Racing Santander on 11 February Eto'o refused to come on as a substitute. Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard said after the match, "He did not want to come on, I don't know why."[18] Ronaldinho was critical of Eto'o's actions, saying that Eto'o was not putting the team first but Eto'o rebutted the comment, claiming that he did not come on because he did not have enough time to warm up properly.[19][20] Three months later, Eto'o said, "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." Following the comments, Barcelona president Joan Laporta was quick to quash rumours of transfers involving Eto'o and Ronaldinho.[21]

Eto'o became a Spanish citizen on 17 October 2007, meaning he no longer counted as one of Barcelona's non-EU players.[22] He suffered an injury on 28 August during a summer friendly against Inter after aggravating his meniscus injury and he missed thirteen league games, returning to play on 4 December.[23] He returned to the side in Barcelona's 2–1 win over Deportivo La Coruña on 10 December, and scored again in a 3–1 Champions League victory over VfB Stuttgart two days later.[24][25] Eto'o demonstrated that injury had not harmed his prolificness as he netted his first domestic goals of the season in the following game, scoring twice in a 3–0 win over Valencia.[26] He continued to score through the season, recording his first league hat-trick in a match against Levante on 24 February 2008.[27] He finished with a total of sixteen league goals in eighteen appearances for the season, showing an impressive goal ratio in spite of his knee injury.[28]

Eto'o was satisfied with the season but he regretted that his injuries were causing him to miss many matches. He yearned for a complete pre-season and the chance to achieve full fitness.[28] He started the season in good condition and he remained a threat to opposition's defences as he recorded the fastest hat-trick in the club's history, scoring 3 goals within 23 minutes, in a victory over UD Almería on 25 October 2008.[29] The goals continued to come thick and fast as a 6–0 victory over Real Valladolid on 8 November yielded four more goals for Eto'o, all scored within the first half.[30] He was modest about his exploits however, putting his success down to good teamwork rather than an individual effort: "I don't think I have ever scored four goals in the same match before but I do not think I was the man-of-the-match. I did my job, which is to put the ball in. The team played fantastically".[31]

On November 29, 2008, Eto'o scored the first goal in a 0-3 league match at FC Sevilla; the goal was his 111th goal in all competitions for Barcelona, moving him into the club's top 10 all-time goalscorers.[32]

International career

Olympic medal record
Competitor for Flag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon
Men's Football
Gold 2000 Sydney Team Competition

Eto'o earned his first cap with Cameroon at age 14 on 9 March 1996, in a 5–0 friendly loss to Costa Rica. In 1998, he was the youngest participant in the 1998 FIFA World Cup when he appeared in a 3–0 group stage loss to Italy on 17 June 1998, at the age of 17 years and three months. Eto'o scored his sole goal of the 2002 World Cup when he netted the game-winner against Saudi Arabia during the group stage on 6 June 2002, which was Cameroon's only win of the competition.

Eto'o was a part of the squads that won the 2000 and 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, and was a gold medalist at the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, in which Cameroon finished as runners-up, he scored his only goal in a 1–0 group-stage upset of Brazil on 19 June. Cameroon were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations after Eto'o missed the decisive penalty in a 12–11 shoot-out loss to Côte d'Ivoire following a 1–1 draw, but he nonetheless finished as the top scorer of the tournament with five goals. He missed a team practice before the quarterfinals to attend the CAF African Player of the Year award ceremonies in Togo.

In the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, Eto'o became joint leading goalscorer (along with Laurent Pokou) in the competition's history after scoring his fourteenth goal with a penalty against Zambia on 26 January 2008. In the following game against Sudan on 30 January, Eto'o converted another penalty to become the tournament's all time leading scorer, followed by another goal in the same match that took his Cup of Nations tally to 16.[33] He finished as the top scorer for the second consecutive tournament, matching his 2006 total of five goals.

On 1 June 2008 Eto'o headbutted a reporter following an incident at a press conference. The reporter, Philippe Boney, suffered an injury but Eto'o later apologised for the altercation, offering to pay Boney's medical expenses.[34]

Racism

Eto'o has experienced racial abuse in some away matches; while some ignore the insults, Eto'o, Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry, and S.L. Benfica defender Marco Zoro have reacted by being outspoken in their criticism and threatening to leave the pitch.

In February 2005, during an away match with Real Zaragoza, Eto'o was the subject of racist taunts by Zaragoza supporters, who began making monkey-like chants and tossed peanuts onto the pitch whenever he had possession of the ball. However, the referee Fernando Carmona Mendez made no mention of the incidents in his match report, commenting only that the behaviour of the crowd was "normal" but two of the abusers were caught and given five-month sporting-event bans after being identified to police by other spectators.[35][36] Eto'o later declared that the punishment was insufficient and that La Romareda should have been closed for at least one year, but Rijkaard told him to concentrate on football and to stop talking about the incident. However, infuriated again by Zaragoza fans' racist chants the next season, Eto'o attempted to walk off the pitch in protest.[37] His teammates intervened and convinced him to continue playing. Video of the incident captured him saying "No más" ("No more") as he walked to the sidelines.[38]

Due to ongoing racism from La Liga crowds, Eto'o no longer brings family members, especially his children, to matches. "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 color 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."[39]

Trivia

Eto'o has two brothers who also play professional football. David Eto'o plays for Greek said Aris FC, and Etienne Eto'o plays for Real Mallorca

Career statistics

Club performance[40]
Club Season La Liga Copa del Rey European league[41] Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
CD Leganés 1997–98 28 3 2 1 - - 30 4
Real Madrid 1998–99 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
RCD Espanyol 1998–99 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
Real Madrid 1999–00 2 0 0 0 3 0 5 0
Real Mallorca 1999–00 13 6 0 0 - - 13 6
2000–01 28 11 5 2 - - 33 13
2001–02 30 6 1 1 9 3 40 10
2002–03 30 14 6 5 - - 36 19
2003–04 32 17 2 0 7 4 41 21
Total 164 57 16 9 19 7 199 73
FC Barcelona
2004–05 37 25 1 0 7 4 45 28
2005–06 34 26 0 0 11 6 45 32
2006–07 19 11 2 1 3 1 24 13
2007–08 18 16 3 1 7 1 28 18
2008–09 13 14 1 0 4 3 18 17
Total 121 92 7 2 32 15 160 109
Career Totals 282 147 23 11 51 22 356 180
Updated 12 November, 2008

Coloured backgrounds on "goals" column indicates position on the pichichi trophy (spanish goalier rankings) results (gold = first, silver = second, bronze = third)

Honours

RCD Mallorca

FC Barcelona

International

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Phil Minshull (2008-05-05). "Eto'o sets La Liga record". BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Eto’o join Mallorca for £4.4m". BBC Sport (2001-07-21). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  3. ↑ Minshull, Phil (2003-05-13). "Eto'o fever grips Mallorca". BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  4. ↑ "Eto'o helps Mallorca lift Copa del Rey". The Hindu (AP) (2003-06-30). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  5. ↑ "Eto'o fever grips Majorca". BBC Sport (2001-07-21). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 McCoy, Tim (2004-08-26). "Six to watch in the Primera Liga". BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  7. ↑ "Eto'o is Barca priority". BBC Sport (2004-07-12). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  8. ↑ "Eto'o apologises for outburst". BBC Sport (2005-05-15). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  9. ↑ "Eto'o thanks team for Pichichi". BBC Sport (2005-05-21). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  10. ↑ "Ronaldinho delivers for Barça". UEFA (2006-06-01). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  11. ↑ Haslam, Andrew (2006-08-24). "Ronaldinho reigns in Monaco". UEFA. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  12. ↑ "Eto'o king of Africa once again". BBC Sport (2006-02-16). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  13. ↑ "Ronaldinho voted FIFPro World Player of the Year again". FIFPro. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  14. ↑ "FIFA World Player". FIFA. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  15. ↑ "Eto'o setback for Barça". The Guardian (2006-09-29). Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
  16. ↑ "Eto'o out for five months after knee operation". ESPN (2006-09-27). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  17. ↑ "Eto'o to train again on Monday". BBC Sport (2007-01-11). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  18. ↑ Chick, Alex (2007-02-17). "Eto'o refuses to play". Eurosport. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  19. ↑ "Cameroon: Ronaldinho Slams Eto'o - Over Racing snub". allAfrica.com (2007-02-17). Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  20. ↑ "Eto'o slams Rijkaard and Ronaldinho". Eurosport (2007-02-14). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  21. ↑ "No Change at Barca, Says Chairman". Agence France-Presse (2007-06-19). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  22. ↑ "Eto'o nationalized" (in Spanish). FC Barcelona (2007-10-17). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  23. ↑ "Eto'o cleared to return to action". BBC Sport (2007-12-04). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  24. ↑ Jensen, Pete (2007-12-10). "Barcelona 2 Deportivo la Coruna 1: Barcelona achieve harmony with REM's return to stage". The Independent. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  25. ↑ "Lyon and Fenerbahce roll on". UEFA (2007-12-12). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  26. ↑ Elkington, Mark (2007-12-16). "Eto'o double leads Barca to 3-0 win in Valencia". Reuters. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  27. ↑ Jensen, Pete (2008-02-25). "Eto'o hat-trick keeps Barcelona in hot pursuit". The Independent. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Barclay, Patrick (2008-07-07). "Eto'o out to prove class is permanent". The Irish Independent. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  29. ↑ Jensen, Pete (2008-10-27). "Eto'o treble maintains Barcelona's flying start". The Independent. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  30. ↑ Jensen, Pete (2008-11-10). "Four-goal spree by Eto'o seals return to favour". The Independent. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  31. ↑ "Spain: Eto'o modest after goal blitz". The Independent (2008-11-10). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  32. ↑ "Eto'o is one of Barça's top ten all-time goalscorers". fcbarcelona.cat (2008-11-30). Retrieved on 2008-12-01.
  33. ↑ "Eto'o goal record". BBC Sport (2008-01-26). Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  34. ↑ "Eto'o apologises for head butt". BBC Sport (2008-06-05). Retrieved on 2008-11-17.
  35. ↑ "Eto'o responds to racist abuse". BBC Sport (2005-02-13). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  36. ↑ "Two fined for Eto'o taunts". BBC Sport (2004-12-17).
  37. ↑ "The Ugly Game" (2006-03-26). Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  38. ↑ "Eto'o being abuse!". Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  39. ↑ "Racism forces Eto'o to keep kids away from games". ESPN (2007-04-04]). Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
  40. ↑ "Samuel Eto'o". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  41. ↑ Counts for appearances and goals at the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup.

External links

FC Barcelona – current squad

1 V. Valdés • 2 Cáceres • 3 Piqué • 4 Márquez • 5 Puyol • 6 Xavi • 7 Gudjohnsen • 8 A. Iniesta • 9 Eto'o • 10 Messi • 11 Bojan • 13 Pinto • 14 Henry • 15 Keita • 16 Sylvinho • 18 Milito • 20 Alves • 21 Hleb • 22 Abidal • 24 Touré Yaya • 25 Jorquera • 27 Pedro • 28 Sergio B. • 29 V. Sánchez • Coach: Guardiola
Persondata
NAME Fils, Samuel Eto'o
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mahmut
SHORT DESCRIPTION Cameroonian international Football (soccer) player
DATE OF BIRTH 10 March 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH Douala, Cameroon
DATE OF DEATH Living
PLACE OF DEATH Living