Samuel Eto'o

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Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o 2.jpg
0Full Name Samuel Eto'o Fils
0Date of Birth 10 March 1981
0Place of Birth Douala, Cameroon
0Position Striker
0Chelsea career 2013 - 2014
0Debut 14 September 2013
0Games (goals) 35 (12)
0Other clubs Real Madrid
Leganés (loan)
Espanyol (loan)
Mallorca
Barcelona
Internazionale
Anzhi Makhachkala
Everton

Samuel Eto'o (born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian international striker who played for Chelsea during the 2013-14 season. A highly successful and decorated player, he was won the UEFA Champions League on three occasions, twice with Barcelona and once with Internazionale, in addition to numerous domestic honours in Spain and Italy. He has also won two African Cup of Nations titles with Cameroon and has been named African Player of the Year a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010. Although Chelsea finished his only season at the club trophyless, Eto'o's brief spell at the club will be well remembered, with a hat-trick against Manchester United arguably the highlight. He made 35 appearances in his solitary season in west London (including nine as a substitute), scoring 12 goals; all at Stamford Bridge.

Contents

Before Chelsea

Real Madrid and Mallorca

A prodigious talent as a teenager, Eto'o joined Real Madrid in 1997 but as he was still a minor his involvement was limited to the Real Madrid B team. To further complicate matters Real Madrid B were relegated to the Segunda División B, a level at which non-EU nationals are excluded, leading to Eto'o being loaned to CD Leganés for the 1997-98 season. At the start of 1999 he was loaned to RCD Espanyol, where he failed to make an appearance, before being loaned to Mallorca. Eto'o's loan spell at RCD Mallorca was a success, the young striker scoring six goals in 19 apperances. Such was his impact in Palma that the move was made permanent; Mallorca paying a club record £4.4m for the player. His performances over subsequent seasons more than justified the outlay, the Cameroon international going on to score 69 goals in 165 appearances in all competitions by the end of 2003-04.

Barcelona

In the summer of 2004 he signed for FC Barcelona, after protracted negotiations that also involved Real Madrid, who retained the option to buy back the player from Mallorca. The eventual fee of €24 million proved enough to see the deal go through. He won the league title in his first season at the club, but in Europe he was in the side that was knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the first knock-out round by Chelsea, in a memorable 4-2 win.

Eto'o helped the Catalan side retain the title the following season when he was top scorer in La Liga. He also scored six goals in Barcelona's run to the UEFA Champions League final (including the winner in a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge), where they would beat Arsenal 2-1. Both Barcelona goalscorers would go on to play for Chelsea; Eto'o himself and Juliano Belletti. In recognition of his performances over the course of the season he was named African Player of the Year for a third consecutive year, was selected for the FIFPro World XI and finished third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year. A knee injury at the start of the 2006-07 season would lead to Eto'o missing the first half of the campaign. After returning he caused controversially by confusing to come on as a substitute in a match against Racing de Santander on 11 February 2007. The striker later claimed that he hadn't had time to warm up properly. [1]

Eto'o suffered a second successive injury-affected season in 2007-08, a recurrence of his meniscus injury keeping him out until December, but he quickly returned to goalscoring form and the following season helped the club to an historic treble. Having regained the league title and won the Copa del Rey, Barcelona beat Manchester United in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final, with Eto'o scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win. It would prove to be his last goal for the club; he would leave in the summer after five years in Catalonia, having scored an impressive 129 goals in 201 appearances in all competitions.

Internazionale

In July 2009 Eto'o was used as a makeweight in a deal that saw Zlatan Ibrahimović move from Internazionale to Barcelona; the Catalan side paying €46 million in addition to the Cameroon international moving in the opposite direction. [2] Under former Chelsea manager José Mourinho Eto'o was a regular in the side, and though he wasn't quite as free-scoring as he had been in Spain he scored 12 goals in 32 league appearances as Inter won the Serie A title. In the UEFA Champions League Eto'o again scored against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, in a 1-0 second leg win that saw the Blues exit the competition. He would go on to win the competition for the third time as Inter beat Bayern Munich in the final. With Inter having also been victorious in the Coppa Italia, the result meant that Eto'o had won the treble in consecutive seasons; the first player to do so. His second season at the San Siro was less productive in terms of trophies (though Inter did retain the Coppa Italia), but from a personal goalscoring point of view Eto'o's output increased, with 37 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions; the highest total in a single season in his career.

Anzhi Makhachkala

In August 2011 Eto'o moved to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, reportedly becoming the world's highest paid player. [3] He scored 13 goals in 23 appearances in his first season, and in 2012-13 scored 21 in 44 appearances, including 9 in 16 in the UEFA Europa League. In August 2013 Anzhi owner Suleiman Kerimov, whose money had been bankrolling the club, decided to drastically reduce the club's budget, meaning that retaining the club's star players, who were on huge salaries, was unviable. Eto'o subsequently moved to Chelsea, joining on a one-year deal on a reduced (but not insubstantial) salary [4] and following Brazilian international Willian who had also joined the Blues from Anzhi.

Chelsea career

Eto'o joined Chelsea in late August 2013, re-uniting with José Mourinho who had been his manager at Internazionale. [5] He made his debut two weeks later, but couldn't prevent his new side losing 1-0 at Everton. He scored his first goal for Chelsea just over a month later, in a 4-1 win against Cardiff City at Stamford Bridge. A brace against Schalke in a 3-0 home win in the UEFA Champions League group stage at the start of November were his first European goals for the club, but in general the Cameroonian was yet to fully adjust to the English game and remained a bit-part player. After Christmas he scored what turned out to be the winner against Liverpool in a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge, and three weeks later he would enjoy arguably his finest day in a Chelsea shirt, scoring a hat-trick in a 3-1 win against Manchester United, again at the Bridge.

Eto'o then opened the scoring in three important home matches in a two week period in March. Firstly he broke the deadlock in what would turn out to be a 4-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur, before setting the Blues on their way to victory against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. He also opened the scoring early in a remarkable match against Arsenal, that resulted in Chelsea humbling their London rivals 6-0. Eto'o left the club upon the expiry of his one-year contract in July 2014, having endeared himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful to a degree that initially seemed unlikely; winning the supporters over with a combination of enthusiasm and a knack for scoring important goals in big games.

After Chelsea

Eto'o remained in England following his season in west London, joining Everton ahead of the 2014-15 season. He would face Chelsea on his debut for the Toffees in the third match of the season, coming on as a substitute and scoring in a remarkable match that eventually resulted in the Blues winning 6-3 at Goodison Park.

Statistics

Season Prem FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2013-14 21 9 3 0 2 0 9 3 0 0 35 12
Total 21 9 3 0 2 0 9 3 0 0 35 12

Goals

# Season Date Year Competition Opponent Score Result Venue
12013-1419 October2013Premier LeagueCardiff City2-14-1Stamford Bridge
22013-1406 November2013UEFA Champions LeagueSchalke 041-03-0Stamford Bridge
32013-1406 November2013UEFA Champions LeagueSchalke 042-03-0Stamford Bridge
42013-1409 November2013Premier LeagueWest Bromwich Albion1-02-2Stamford Bridge
52013-1429 December2013Premier LeagueLiverpool2-12-1Stamford Bridge
62013-1419 January2014Premier LeagueManchester United1-03-1Stamford Bridge
72013-1419 January2014Premier LeagueManchester United2-03-1Stamford Bridge
82013-1419 January2014Premier LeagueManchester United3-03-1Stamford Bridge
92013-148 March2014Premier LeagueTottenham Hotspur1-04-0Stamford Bridge
102013-1418 March2014UEFA Champions LeagueGalatasaray1-02-0Stamford Bridge
112013-1422 March2014Premier LeagueArsenal1-06-0Stamford Bridge
122013-1419 April2014Premier LeagueSunderland1-01-2Stamford Bridge

International

Eto'o won his first cap with Cameroon on 9 March 1997 at the age of just 15; one day before his 16th birthday. He was the youngest player to make an appearance at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, appearing in a group stafe defeat to Italy when aged 17. He represented his country at the 2002 World Cup, scoring one goal, and was a member of the victorious 2000 and 2002 Africa Cup of Nations squads. He also represented Cameroon at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, winning a gold medal. On 30 January 2008 he became the all-time top scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations with the second goal of a hat-trick against Zambia.

He helped Cameroon qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and scored in a crucial group stage match against Denmark, but he couldn't prevent an eventual 2-1 loss that saw his side eliminated from the tournament. In 2011 Eto'o refused to play in a match against Algeria, and was eventually banned by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football for fifteen games, [6] later reduced to eight. In 2012, ahead of an Africa Cup of Nations play-off match against Cape Verde, he again refused to play, in protest at the "amateurish and poorly organised" national team set-up. [7] Cameroon's Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, intervened in the dispute, and the striker agreed to return to the side for the second leg, but couldn't inspire his side to victory, meaning that they failed to qualify. He scored 2 goals in Cameroon's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, helping them to qualify for the tournament.

Honours

Club

Real Mallorca
Barcelona
Internazionale

International

Cameroon

Individual

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