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Samuel Eto'o announced in the night of September 6 to 7, 2019 that he put an end to his very rich football life. An end of career little in phase with the incredible course and the strong personality of the Cameroonian of 38 years.
Samuel Eto'o is he the greatest African footballer of all time? The Cameroonian is, for sure, one of the greatest strikers born on the continent. No other player from Africa has scored so much on the modern round ball, with the exception of Ivorian Didier Drogba and Liberian George Weah.
Unlike Weah, Samuel Eto'o, however, never received the supreme individual distinction for a footballer: the Ballon d'Or. The native of Nkon (near Yaoundé) has never even been on the podium in the election organized each year by France Football magazine. A situation that the African superstar has sometimes experienced badly. Especially in 2006, when he finished top scorer in the Spanish League (Liga) with 26 buses registered under the colors of FC Barcelona (FCB), after a breathtaking season.
With a Golden Ball to his name, perhaps there would be no debate. Because unlike Weah, Drogba or other big names on the continent, Samuel Eto'o has won everything, and many times. And he has established himself in five different countries.
Difficult beginnings in Europe
First there was Spain, the country that hosted it in 1996, after other unsuccessful attempts in Europe. Because, before shining in Liga from 1998 to 2009, the one who was still a teenager has tried his luck in France several times. He even spent several weeks in Paris without a visa in good standing.
Despite this failure, Samuel Eto'o returns to the Old Continent a few months later, in the Iberian Peninsula this time. The prestigious Real Madrid makes him sign a contract in 1996 but hardly to trust the young African. The Cameroonian is loaned to other Spanish clubs, less upscale, such as Leganès (1997-1998), Espanyol Barcelona (1999) and Mallorca (2000).
It is in the Balearic Islands that the interested party finally flourishes. To the point that the Madrid leaders agree to transfer him to RCD Mallorca in 2000. He will spend four very prolific years in goals (70 had 165 official matches).
A golden age with Cameroon teams
In parallel, Samuel Eto'o saw then a golden age with the national teams of Cameroon. In 2000 and again in 2002, he won the African Cup of Nations with one of the most talented generations in the history of Cameroonian football. Between these two awards, the striker also won the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.
At just 21, Samuel Eto'o has already won two CANs and has been selected for two World Cups (1998 and 2002). His trajectory in the national team will then experience some hiccups, such as eliminations in the 2004 and 2006 CAN quarter-finals or the non-qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.
The consecration with Barça
In clubs, the mid-2000s, however, is a good time for Samuel Eto'o. In 2004, he committed with FC Barcelona. His success in Catalonia is immediate with 29 goals in 45 matches in the 2004-2005 season and 34 in 47 games in the following year.
In fact, after a few years of lean cows, Barça found the summits of national and continental football, with the former Madrid at the tip of his attack. First of all there are these two championship titles of Spain (2005 and 2006). There is especially the consecration in the Champions League (C1); a competition during which he equalizes in the final against Arsenal (2-1).
Samuel Eto'o shares the bill with the Brazilian Ronaldinho. He especially sees a young Argentinean prodigy digging progressively his hole: Lionel Messi.
Revenge with Inter Milan
In 2008, after a disappointing season of the FCB, Josep Guardiola is designated coach. The ex-midfielder emblematic of Barça respects the talent of Ronaldinho and Eto'o. But the dilettantism of the first and the strong character of the second do not inspire him with sympathy. Especially, "Pep" would like to make Messi his number one asset.
If the Brazilian leaves for AC Milan in summer 2008, Samuel Eto'o spent another year in Spain. Despite a new European title and a goal in the final of the C1 (2-0 against Manchester United), it is sent to Italy in "exchange" of the Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic and forty million euros.
At Inter Milan, José Mourinho welcomes his new protégé with great respect, even if he aligns more on the wings than as the center forward. Vexed to be relegated behind the Argentine Diego Milito, the "Indomitable Lion" however complies with the tactical choices of his coach. In the semi-final return, facing Barcelona, the Portuguese will even position the Cameroonian on the left flank of the defense. A task that he performs brilliantly, helping to eliminate his former club. With the Milanese, Samuel Eto'o then won his third Champions League, beating Bayern Munich in the final (2-0).
Golden exile in Russia
Samuel Eto'o still manages a season of high flying in 2010-2011, marked among other things by a victory in the World Cup clubs (3-0 against the All-powerful Mazembe). But the scorer definitely masters the art of the counterpoise.
At 30, he is attracted to Russia. A team from the south-east of the country, the Anji Makhachkala, is setting up a golden bridge. With 20 million euros per year, he gets the biggest salary ever paid to a footballer, by a club.
Already in 2008, Samuel Eto'o went to Uzbekistan to study a huge offer made by Kuruvchi Tashkent. But he had declined. In the Russian league, the 30-year-old does not have to force his talent. He spends most of his time commuting between Moscow, where he lives, and Dagestan, where he trains and plays Anji's home games.
The beginning of trouble
The following years, however, are less good for Samuel Eto'o, whether in clubs or selection. With Cameroon, having twice clashed with Egypt at the CAN (in the finals in 2008, and in the quarterfinals in 2010), the top scorer in the history of the competition (18 goals) does not qualify for the 2012 and 2013 editions. He also saw a 2010 World Cup and especially 2014 which ended in pitiful eliminations in the first round of the tournament. In the wake of the Brazilian World, he announced his international retirement.
In any case, there was water in the gas for several years already between the Cameroon Football Federation (Fécafoot) and its star. In 2011, Fécafoot suspended him for 15 games following the boycott of a friendly match in Algeria. A challenge of which he had been one of the leaders. The penalty was then reduced to eight months.
In Russia too, the icon is no longer quite in the odor of sanctity. The owner of the Anji is experiencing financial difficulties and no longer wants to pay the huge emoluments of Samuel Eto'o, including.
Samuel " Ego'o "
This is the opportunity for him to discover a new great championship: England. José Mourinho, who took over the reins of Chelsea, brought his former colt to London. But the new collaboration between the two men is far from their romance to the Italian. On the sidelines of a TV show, the Portuguese laugh at the age of Eto'o: " He is 32 years old ... Maybe 35, who knows? The scene, captured by a camera, throws a cold. A few months later, the center-forward replied: " It's not because an idiot said I was an old man that you must believe him . »Atmosphere ...
Sure of his strength and his talent, Samuel Eto'o never hesitates to go to the clash. A few weeks earlier, he came back with a virulent look at how Guardiola made him leave Catalonia in 2009: " I reminded Guardiola when he arrived that he had never been a great player, but a good player. "
If he regularly praises the talent of his ex-teammates in clubs (Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta ...), Samuel Eto'o is rarely tender with his compatriots. Its omnipresence and omnipotence in Cameroonian football also annoy some "Indomitable Lions" old and current.
The big Brother
The player often speaks of him in the third person. He does not always support the contradiction. And he does not hesitate sometimes to pick journalists too critical for his taste.
So much for the dark side of a complex character. Because he loves on the other hand the role of big brother. He never hesitates to be expensive with his entourage and to help people in distress. When the former glory and Cameroon coach Jean-Paul Akono has serious health problems in 2013, Samuel Eto'o supports the transfer and care of his elder.
During the years following his stay at Inter Milan, Samuel Eto'o also devotes a lot of time to extra sports activities, even charity. Whether in the prevention of AIDS, the fight against racism, or its fight against child poverty in Africa. The player has also created a foundation in his name, since 2006.
A man of influence
Samuel Eto'o also has the ear of many African personalities and not just the president of Cameroon, Paul Biya. If he maintained cold relations with his compatriot Issa Hayatou, the Cameroonian works in close collaboration with his successor to the presidency of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
He thus became one of the advisers of the CAF boss, the Malagasy Ahmad. A new challenge for those who have quietly pursued their career as an attacker between 2014 and 2019 in less flashy formations, such as Everton (England), Sampdoria of Genoa (Italy), Antalyaspor and Konyaspor (Turkey), as well as Qatar SC ...
Since Ahmad's takeover, Samuel Eto'o has donned his ambassadorial and continental football legend with great conviction. An outfit that goes perfectly to the one who has been nominated four times African player of the year, a record co-held with Ivorian Yaya Toure.
In the federation, we hope that they continue to work for the development of Cameroonian football. He had championed our project, which he supported and still supports. We are very honored to have such an ambassador at our disposal. We hope that today, with the free time at his disposal, he will devote more time to the development of football in his country.
Cameroonian football professionals question the future of Eto'o 08/09/2019 - by Joël Wadem Play