| Samuel Eto'o | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Eto'o Fils | |
| Date of birth | March 10 1981 | |
| Place of birth | 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 | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1996-1997 1997-1998 1997-2000 1999-2000 2000-2004 2004- |
Real Madrid B → CD Leganés (loan) Real Madrid → Real Mallorca (loan) Real Mallorca FC Barcelona |
? (?) 28 (3) 3 (0) 12 (6) 120 (48) 94 (63)[1] |
| National team | ||
| 1996- | Cameroon | 60 (24) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Samuel Eto'o Fils (born March 10, 1981 in Douala) is a Cameroonian football 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.[2] He became the first La Liga player since 1990 to score fifty goals over two seasons during the 2005-06 campaign.
Contents |
Club Career
RCD Mallorca
After joining Real Madrid in 1997, Eto'o trained with Real Madrid B because he was still a minor. Because Real Madrid B was relegated to the Segunda División B (where non-EU players aren't allowed), he was loaned to second division CD Leganés for the 1997-98 season. He was loaned to RCD Mallorca in 1999; in his second season with the Primera 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.[3] 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."[4] 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 and Raúl signed as strikers.
FC Barcelona
Eto'o made his Barcelona debut in the season opener at Racing Santander on August 29, 2004. 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 Pichichi (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."[5] Eto'o also contributed six goals during Barcelona's run to the 2005-06 Champions League title. In the 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.[6] 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."[7] 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 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.[8] 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."[9] Ronaldinho was critical of Eto'o's actions, saying, "[It] always is important to think about what's best for the team."[10] Eto'o retorted, "Telling a news conference I didn't want to play is the behaviour of a bad person"[11], 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. [12] Eto'o became a Spanish citizen on October 17, 2007[13], and on December 4, he was cleared to resume playing after having missed the first fourteen games of the season due to an aggravation of his meniscus injury during a summer friendly against Internazionale.[14] He returned to the side in Barcelona's 1-0 win over Deportivo La Coruña on December 10, and scored once in a 3-1 Champions League victory over VfB Stuttgart two days later. Eto'o netted his first domestic goals of the season on December 16 after scoring a brace in a 3-0 league win over Valencia.[15]
International Career
Eto'o earned his first cap with Cameroon at age 15 on March 9 1996, in a 5-0 friendly loss to Costa Rica. 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 on June 17 1998, at the age of 17 years and three months. Eto'o scored his lone goal of the 2002 World Cup when he netted the game-winner against Saudi Arabia during the group stage on June 6 2002, which was Cameroon's only win of the competition.
| Olympic medal record | |||
Competitor for  Cameroon |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Football | |||
| Gold | 2000 Sydney | Team Competition | |
Eto'o has won the 2000 and 2002 African Nations Cups, 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 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 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 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, referee Fernando Carmona Mendez made no mention of the incidents in his match report, commenting only that the behaviour of the crowd was "normal"[16], but two of the abusers were caught and given five-month sporting-event bans after being identified to police by other spectators.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]
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." [20]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | Domestic League | Domestic Cups | European games[22] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||||
| CD Leganés | 1997–98 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 30 | 4 | ||
| Real Madrid | 1998–99 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| RCD Espanyol | 1998–99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||
| Real Madrid | 1999–00 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 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 | 133 | 54 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 7 | 163 | 69 | |||
| FC Barcelona | |||||||||||
| 2004–05 | 37 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 42 | 28 | |||
| 2005–06 | 34 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 45 | 32 | |||
| 2006–07 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 13 | |||
| 2007–08 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | |||
| Total | 93 | 63 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 118 | 76 | |||
| Career Totals | 257 | 123 | 19 | 10 | 41 | 19 | 317 | 152 | |||
| Updated 16 December 2007 | |||||||||||
Honors
- La Liga: 2005, 2006
- Copa del Rey: 2003
- UEFA Champions League: 2006
- African Cup of Nations: 2000, 2002
- African Player of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2005
- FIFPro World XI: 2004-2005, 2005-2006
- UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 2006
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2006
References
- ^ ESPN (Last updated: 25 Jun 2007)
- ^ BBC: "He is also fantastic at defending from the front..".
- ^ Eto’o join Mallorca for £4.4m. BBC Sport (2001-07-21).
- ^ Eto'o fever grips Mallorca. BBC Sport (2001-07-21).
- ^ Eto'o thanks team for Pichichi. BBCSport Football (2005-05-21).
- ^ Eto'o thanks team for Pichichi. uefa.com (2006-06-01).
- ^ Eto'o king of Africa once again. BBC Sport (2006-02-16).
- ^ Eto'o setback for Barça. The Guardian (2006-09-29). Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
- ^ Chick, Alex (2007-02-17). Eto'o refuses to play. Eurosport. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
- ^ Cameroon: Ronaldinho Slams Eto'o - Over Racing snub. allAfrica.com (2007-02-17). Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
- ^ Eto'o slams Rijkaard and Ronaldinho. Eurosport (2007-02-14). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
- ^ http://www.soccerway.com/news/2007/June/19/no-change-at-barca-says-chairman/
- ^ Eto'o nationalized. Barcelona official webpage (2007-10-17).
- ^ Eto'o Cleared to Play Again. Goal.com (2007-12-04).
- ^ http://africa.reuters.com/sport/news/usnBAN630986.html
- ^ Eto'o responds to racist abuse. BBC Sport (2005-02-13).
- ^ Two fined for Eto'o taunts. BBC Sport (2004-12-17).
- ^ The Ugly Game (2006-03-26). Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Eto'o being abuse!. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Racism forces Eto'o to keep kids away from games. ESPN Soccernet (2007-04-04).
- ^ Samuel Eto'o. ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ Counts for appearances and goals at the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup.
External links
- Profile - fcbarcelona.cat (in English)
- 2007/08 Champions League bio - UEFA.com
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| 1 Songo'o • 2 Elanga • 3 Wome • 4 Song • 5 Kalla • 6 Njanka • 7 Omam‑Biyik • 8 Angibeaud • 9 Tchami • 10 Mboma • 11 Eto'o • 12 Lauren • 13 Abanda • 14 Simo • 15 Ndo • 16 William • 17 Pensée • 18 Ipoua • 19 Mahouvé • 20 Olembé • 21 Job • 22 Boukar • Coach: Le Roy |
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| 1 Boukar • 2 Tchato • 3 Wome • 4 Song • 5 Kalla • 6 Njanka • 7 Ndo • 8 Geremi • 9 Eto'o • 10 Mboma • 11 Ndiefi • 12 Lauren • 13 Mettomo • 14 Epalle • 15 Alnoudji • 16 Songo'o • 17 Foé • 18 Suffo • 19 Djemba‑Djemba • 20 Olembé • 21 Job • 22 Kameni • 23 Ngom Kome • Coach: Schäfer |
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1 V. Valdés • 3 Milito • 4 Márquez • 5 Puyol • 6 Xavi • 7 Gudjohnsen • 8 A. Iniesta • 9 Eto'o • 10 Ronaldinho • 11 Zambrotta • 14 Henry • 15 Edmílson • 16 Sylvinho • 17 Giovani • 18 Ezquerro • 19 Messi • 20 Deco • 21 Thuram • 22 Abidal • 23 Oleguer • 24 Touré Yaya • 25 Jorquera • 27 Bojan • Coach: Rijkaard |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Ronaldinho |
UEFA Champions League Best Forward 2005 – 2006 |
Succeeded by Kaká |
Preceded by El Hadji Diouf |
African Footballer of the Year 2003 – 2005 |
Succeeded by Didier Drogba |
