- Name: Samuel Eto’o
- Birth Place: Nkon, Cameroon
- Date of Birth: 10th March 1981
- Height: 180cm
- Weight: 75kg
- Position: Striker
- Previous Clubs: Barcelona
- Current Club: Inter Milan
Scoring over 100 goals in five seasons with FC Barcelona, and the record holder in number of appearances by an African player in La Liga, Samuel Eto’o has established himself at the top of the game with his combination of pace and deadly accuracy in front of goal.
After a brief stint with Real Madrid, he went to Mallorca on loan and scored 6 goals in 11 appearances. This performance motivated Eto’o to switch over on a permanent basis. In his second season, he scored 11 goals and became the darling of the fans with his thrilling skills. 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.
With Barca, he was an immediate success and became the top scorer in the league with goals in the 2005-06 season. Eto'o also contributed six goals during Barcelona's run to the 2005–06 Champions League title and was awarded with the UEFA Best Forward of the Year award for his accomplishments in the European campaign. Eto'o also won an historic third consecutive African Player of the Year award that season.
Plagued by injuries, 2007-08 season began badly for Eto’o. He finished with a total of 16 league goals in 18 appearances for the season. 2008-09 was a far better year, with Eto’o scoring 30 goals and the La Liga. He also scored in the Champions League final against Manchester United to win the title.
In July 2009, Eto’o joined Inter Milan in exchange of Ibrahimović. He was unphased by comparisons with Ibrahimović and is going strong scoring goals for his new club befitting a true professional.
Eto'o earned his first cap with Cameroon at age 14, in a 5–0 friendly loss to Costa Rica. In 1998, he was the youngest participant in the 1998 World Cup when he appeared in a 3–0 group stage loss to Italy, 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.
Thereafter he has been a permanent feature of the Cameroon team. In the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, he became the top scorer with 5 goals just like in the 2006 tournament. He was a part of the squad that won the 2000 Olympic tournament; and is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the African Nations Cup, with 18 goals.
Presently, Eto’o is the captain of the Cameroon team. |
