Samuel Eto'o

Samuel Eto'o Fils (born March 10, 1981 in Nkon) is a Cameroon Football (soccer) striker who currently plays for FC Barcelona. He is a versatile player who, in addition to being a prolific scorer, is also known for his playmaking and defense. He became the first La Liga player since 1990 to score fifty goals over two seasons during the 2005-06 campaign.

Club Career

RCD Mallorca

After joining Real Madrid in 1997 and playing for Segunda División B squad Real Madrid Castilla, Eto'o was loaned to second division CD Leganés for the 1997-98 season, then to RCD Mallorca in 1999; in his second season with the La Liga side, he scored eleven goals and began to garner praise 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." At the end of the season, Eto'o signed for a club record $6.3m fee. 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." Eto'o 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, which Mallorca won 3-0.

However, his volatile attitude also resulted in several off-pitch incidents. Bartolome Terrassa, a Mallorca beat writer, 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." In 2002, Eto'o's former agent, Daniel Argibeaut, also accused the player of assaulting him alongside four accomplices, saying, "They then took off my shoes, which in Cameroon means I am threatened with death." Eto'o departed Mallorca as the club's all-time leading domestic scorer with 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; Madrid president Florentino Pérez said that Eto'o was expendable as they already had Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima and Raúl González signed as strikers.

FC Barcelona

Eto'o made his Barcelona debut in the season opener at Racing de Santander on August 29, 2004, in which he scored an astounding 5 goals in the first half. His second year was perhaps the finest of his career and helped Barcelona win their second consecutive Spanish crown. After missing out on last year's The Pichichi Trophy (top La Liga goalscorer), Eto'o edged out Valencia CF striker David Villa for the award during the final matchday on May 20, 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."

Eto'o also contributed six goals during Barcelona's run to the UEFA Champions League 2005-06 title. In 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, Arsenal FC goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off in the 18th minute after 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 on a pass from Henrik Larsson in the 76th minute. Barcelona won the match 2-1, and Eto'o was awarded with the UEFA Best Forward of the Year award for his accomplishments during the CL campaign.

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." 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.

During Barcelona's CL group stage match against Werder Bremen on September 27, 2006, he ruptured the Meniscus (anatomy) in his right knee. Barcelona team physician Ricard Pruna originally estimated that the injury would keep him out of action for two to three months. After the operation, Eto'o's recovery time was increasead to five months, but less than one month later, he was spotted walking on his own power at a MotoGP event. Eto'o resumed training with Barcelona on January 16, 2007, saying he would be able to play again when he was "100% fit."

On February 11, in a match against Racing Santander, 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." Ronaldinho was critical of Eto'o's actions, saying, "[It] always is important to think about what's best for the team." Eto'o retorted, "Telling a news conference I didn't want to play is the behaviour of a bad person", and claimed that he did not come on because he did not have enough time to warm up properly. 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 Eto'o's comments, Barcelona president Joan Laporta was quick to quash rumors of transfers involving Eto'o and Ronaldinho.

International Career

Eto'o earned his first cap with Cameroon national football team at age 15 on March 9, 1997, in a 5-0 friendly loss to Costa Rica national football team. The following year, he was the youngest participant in the 1998 FIFA World Cup when he appeared in a 3-0 group stage loss to Italy national football team on June 17, 1998, at the age of 17 years and three months; incidentally, he was the only player in the tournament whose birthdate was in the 1980s. Eto'o scored his lone goal of the 2002 FIFA World Cup when he netted the game-winner against Saudi Arabia national football team during the group stage on June 6, 2002, which was Cameroon's only win of the competition.

Eto'o has won the 2000 African Nations Cup and 2002 African Nations Cups, and was a gold medalist at the Football 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 national football team on June 19. Cameroon were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2006 African Cup of Nations after Eto'o missed the decisive penalty in a 12-11 shoot-out loss to Côte d'Ivoire national football team following a 1-1 draw, but he nonetheless finished as the top scorer of the tournament with five goals.

Racism

Eto'o, like many black footballers, has experienced racial abuse in some away matches; while some merely ignore the insults, others like 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, 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. 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. 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.

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 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."

Honors

- La Liga: 2004-05, 2005-06
- Copa del Rey: 2003
- UEFA Champions League: 2005-06
- African Cup of Nations: 2000, 2002
- African Player of the Year: 2004-2006
- FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006
- UEFA Club Football Awards: 2005-06