cameroonian football player

Samuel Eto’o Fils ( french pronunciation : ​ [ samɥɛl eto fis ] ; born 10 March 1981 ) is a cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the united states of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto’o was regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the world, [ 6 ] and he is regarded as one of the greatest african players of all time, [ 7 ] winning the African Player of the year a record four times : in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010. A precocious endowment, Eto’o moved to Real Madrid as a 16 year old. Due to competition in his status with more experience players, he had respective loanword spells, before signing for Mallorca in 2000 where he scored 70 goals. His impressive form saw him join Barcelona in 2004 where he scored 130 goals in five seasons and besides became the record holder for the most appearances by an African player in La Liga. [ 8 ] Winning La Liga three times, he was a key member of the Barcelona attack, aboard Ronaldinho, that won the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto’o scoring in the final examination, and was region of a front three of Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry that won the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto’o again scoring in the final. He is the irregular player in history to score in two UEFA Champions League finals. [ 9 ] At Barcelona, Eto’o came in third base for the FIFA World Player of the year in 2005 and was doubly named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, in 2005 and 2006.

He signed with Inter Milan for the 2009–10 season, where he became the first player to win two european continental trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Inter. He is the fourthly player in Champions League history, after Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Gerard Piqué, to have won the trophy two years in a row with different teams. [ 10 ] After brief spells with Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea, Everton, and Sampdoria, Eto’o found fecund form again in the Süper Lig with Antalyaspor having scored 44 goals in 76 league games. In 2015, he received the Golden Foot Award. As a member of the Cameroon home team, Eto’o was a separate of the team that won the Gold Medal at the 2000 Olympics. He besides won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002. Eto’o has participated in four World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations. He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with 18 goals, and is Cameroon ‘s all-time contribute scorekeeper and third most capped player, with 56 goals in 118 caps. [ 11 ] Eto’o announced his retirement from international football in August 2014 .

Club career

veridical Madrid

Having trained at the Kadji Sports Academy in Cameroon, Eto’o joined Real Madrid ‘s youth academy in 1997, but he could only train with Real Madrid B, as he was still a minor. [ 12 ] Real Madrid B were relegated to the third tier, Segunda División B, where non- EU players are not allowed, and as a solution, he was loaned to irregular division Leganés for the 1997–98 season. [ 13 ] After making 30 appearances for the club and entirely scoring four goals, he returned to Madrid following the end of the 1998–99 season. In January 1999, he was loaned out to Espanyol, [ 14 ] but made merely one appearance for the club, against Real Valladolid in Copa del Rey .

Mallorca

The future season, in the winter transplant window, he transferred to La Liga team Mallorca on loan, where he scored six goals in 19 games. At the end of the season, Eto’o left Real Madrid, signing a permanent deal with Mallorca for a club record £4.4 million fee. In his second gear temper, he scored 11 goals and began to garner attention throughout the league. Mallorca President Mateo Alemany said of his vogue of play, “ I doubt if there is any early player in the populace who would please the fans more at this moment. ” Eto’o himself 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 besides have a contract that runs until 2007. ” He returned the fans ‘ appreciation when he donated €30,000 in meals to travelling Mallorca supporters who made the travel to the Copa del Rey final against Recreativo de Huelva in 2003. Mallorca won the match 3–0, with Eto’o scoring two late goals to seal the victory. Eto’o besides scored in two back-to-back aside wins against his former club Real Madrid : the inaugural, a 1-5 beating, the alone home loss of the Madrilenian club who went to win the 2002-03 La Liga. ; [ 15 ] the second gear ended with a 2-3 solution that denied a back-to-back La Liga acquire for Real. [ 16 ]

Barcelona

2004–2007

Eto’o playing for Barcelona in August 2008 Eto’o departed Mallorca as the clubhouse ‘s all-time head domestic league scorer ( 54 goals ) when he signed for Barcelona in the summer of 2004 for a transfer tip of €24 million, after drawn-out, tripartite negotiations with Mallorca and Madrid. [ 17 ] Initially, Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez wanted to buy back the wax transportation rights and loanword him out again, but finally the Barcelona deal proved lucrative enough to warrant a sale. [ 18 ] Additionally, the team already had its broad quota of three non-EU players. [ 17 ] Eto’o made his Barcelona debut in the season opener at Racing de Santander on 29 August 2004. After Barcelona won the 2004–05 La Liga title, the team organized a gay party in the Camp Nou, during which Eto’o harangued the fans intonation, “ Madrid, cabrón, saluda al campeón “ ( English for, “ Madrid, bastards, salute the champions ” ). The Royal Spanish Football Federation fined Eto’o €12,000 for his comments, for which he late apologized. He expressed regret and asked for forgiveness from Real Madrid, his foremost professional team. The point of the Real Madrid winnow club confederation remained unimpressed, however, stating, “ This character is a fantastic player, but he leaves a fortune to be desired as a person. ” [ 19 ] He signed an improved compress with Barcelona in June 2005. [ 20 ] After missing out on the previous year ‘s Pichichi trophy, which is given to the lead scorekeeper in La Liga, Eto’o edged out Valencia striker David Villa for the award during the final matchday on 20 May 2006 when he scored his 26th finish of the season against Athletic Bilbao. Eto’o was identical courteous to teammates after the game, saying, “ It has been a team feat although only one person gets the prize. We ‘ve worked hard all temper and have got our fair rewards. ” [ 21 ] Eto’o besides contributed six goals during Barcelona ‘s run to the 2005–06 Champions League entitle. In the final examination, Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off early on for bringing down Eto’o just outside the penalty area, but the Catalans struggled to capitalize on their one-man advantage until Eto’o scored the game-tying goal in the second half. Barcelona went on to win the match 2–1, and Eto’o was awarded with the UEFA Best Forward of the Year prize for his accomplishments in the European campaign. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] Eto’o besides won an historic third back-to-back African Player of the Year award that season. He said in his acceptance manner of speaking, “ Above all, I dedicate this to all the children of Africa. ” [ 24 ] He was besides selected to his moment square FIFPro World XI and finished one-third in the prevail for the FIFA World Player of the year, making him merely the second African football player ever, after the liberian ace George Weah, to be voted into the top three. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] The season started badly for Eto’o, as he ruptured the meniscus in his right stifle during Barcelona ‘s Champions League group stage equal against Werder Bremen on 27 September 2006. Barcelona team doctor Ricard Pruna originally estimated that the injury would keep him out of action for two to three months. [ 27 ] After the operation, Eto’o ‘s recovery clock was extended to five months, but he resumed training with Barcelona in early January 2007. [ 28 ] [ 29 ]

2007–2009

Eto’o refused to come on as a alternate in a league catch against Racing de Santander on 11 February 2007. Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said after the match, “ He did not want to come on ; I do n’t know why. ” [ 30 ] Ronaldinho was critical of Eto’o ‘s actions, saying that Eto’o was not putting the team first, but Eto’o rebutted the comment, claiming that he did not come on because he did not have enough time to warm up properly. [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Three months by and by, Eto’o said, “ These kind of things are normally precisely speculation and do n’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 the comments, Barcelona President Joan Laporta was quick to quash rumours of transfers involving Eto’o and Ronaldinho. [ 33 ] After aggravating a meniscus wound on 28 August during a summer friendly against Inter Milan, Eto’o was sidelined indefinitely. [ 34 ] On 17 October, in the midst of his recovery period, he gained spanish citizenship. [ 35 ] He was cleared to play again on 4 December, and returned to the side a week later in Barcelona ‘s 2–1 league acquire over Deportivo de La Coruña. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] Eto’o recorded his first gear league hat-trick in a couple against Levante on 24 February 2008. [ 38 ] He finished with a sum of 16 league goals in 18 appearances for the season. [ 39 ] On 25 October, he recorded the fastest hat-trick in clubhouse history after netting three times in 23 minutes in a victory over Almería. [ 40 ] only two games late, on 8 November 2008, Eto’o scored four goals in the first gear one-half of Barcelona ‘s game against Real Valladolid, which ended 6–0. On 29 November 2008, he scored his 111th career Barcelona goal in all competitions in a 3–0 road win over Sevilla, moving him into the baseball club ‘s top ten all-time goalscorers. [ 41 ] On 14 February 2009, he scored his 99th and his hundredth league goals for Barcelona in a 2–2 draw with real Betis. Eto’o scored his thirtieth goal of the 2008–09 season in a La Liga match against Real Valladolid. The game ended 1–0 and meant that Barcelona kept a six-point lead over veridical Madrid in the league. He besides scored against Villarreal in the plot that put Barcelona one point away from lifting the 2008–09 La Liga trophy. He scored 30 goals in the season, finishing moment in the Pichichi Trophy goalscorers list behind Atlético de Madrid ‘s Diego Forlán. Eto’o scored the opening goal in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United. Barcelona went on to win the final examination 2–0, therefore completing the Treble. The trio of Lionel Messi ( 38 goals ), Eto’o ( 36 goals ) and Thierry Henry ( 26 goals ) scored precisely 100 goals between them in the club ‘s historic soprano year. [ 42 ]

Inter Milan

After Maxwell completed the transmit from Inter Milan, Joan Laporta confirmed that there was an agreement in principle between Barcelona and Inter Milan for Zlatan Ibrahimović to join the clubhouse in exchange for Eto’o and €46 million. [ 43 ] [ 44 ] After Ibrahimović agreed terms with Barcelona, the club announced Eto’o would travel to Milan for his medical to complete the transfer. [ 45 ] On 27 July 2009, Eto’o passed his medical and signed for five years with Inter. [ 46 ] On his first press-conference in Milan, he declared that he was where he wanted to be and refused to compare himself to Ibrahimović saying, “ I ‘m samuel Eto’o and I do n’t want to compare myself to anyone. I believe the victories I have earned up to immediately can contribute to giving the veracious value to my name. ” [ 47 ] On 8 August, Eto’o scored on his competitive debut in the 2009 Supercoppa Italiana as Inter lost 1–2 to Lazio. [ 48 ] Two weeks by and by, Eto’o scored from the penalty descry against Bari in his first Serie A match. [ 49 ] In the follow match, the Derby della Madonnina against Milan, Eto’o won Inter a punishment after being brought down by Gennaro Gattuso in the box ; Milito scored the penalty and Gattuso was yellow carded and finally sent off. Inter won the match 4–0. [ 50 ] Eto’o scored again on 13 September against Parma, his first goal from outdoors maneuver in a Serie A meet. [ 51 ] At the end of September 2009, Eto’o demanded about £2.75 million from Barcelona after his transfer to Inter. The measure represented 15 % of the £17.7 million ( US $ 29 million ) fee which Inter paid Barcelona in July 2009. The demand was based on a spanish rule that a actor should get 15 % of the amount of his transfer to another spanish clubhouse. If the parties failed to reach a solution, the count could go to court. [ 52 ]
Eto’o act in the UEFA Champions League with Inter Milan, a rival he would win for the one-third time in his career Eto’o scored his first base Serie A brace on 29 October during a 5–3 succeed over Palermo, with Mario Balotelli besides scoring doubly. [ 53 ] On 1 December 2009, Eto’o finished fifth in voting for the Ballon d’Or, which was won by his early Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi. Eight days late, he scored his foremost UEFA Champions League goal for the team in the final Group F match against Rubin Kazan to help Inter win 2–0 at base and advance to the hard stage as runner-ups. [ 54 ] Eto’o continued to be a protagonist for Inter in Europe, netting the winner in the second leg of 2009–10 UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Chelsea on 16 March 2010, which allowed Inter to progress to the quarter-finals. [ 55 ] He scored his first goal in Coppa Italia on 13 April against Fiorentina in the second of semi-finals to help Inter win 1–0 at Stadio Artemio Franchi and advance in the final 2–0 on aggregate. [ 56 ] Eto’o won his first silverware with the club on 5 May as Inter defeated Roma 1–0 at Stadio Olimpico to lift the Coppa Italia. [ 57 ] His 12 Serie A goals helped Inter claim another championship, the one-fifth consecutive, after defeating Siena in the final examination matchday. [ 58 ] On 22 May 2010, Eto’o played in the third Champions League final of his career, as Inter won 2–0 over Bayern Munich to win the inaugural deed in 45 years ; Milito scored both goals, with Eto’o setting up the second. [ 59 ] With Inter ‘s exuberate over Bayern Munich, he became the lone musician to win the ternary in back-to-back seasons with two different teams. [ 60 ] On 21 August 2010, Eto’o scored twice as Inter beat Roma 3–1 to win the Supercoppa Italiana. [ 61 ] His first hat magic trick for Inter occurred in the UEFA Champions League against Werder Bremen on 29 September 2010. [ 62 ] Inter won the game 4–0, with Eto’o saying, “ We will remain humble because we know that there are sides out there that are better than us, so we will barely take it one match at a clock and we will go equally far as it takes us. ” Continuing his outstanding phase in Serie A and in the Champions League for the 2010–11 crusade, he was pivotal to Inter ‘s attack line. On 16 March 2011, Eto’o gave a legendary operation in Munich as he helped Inter eliminate Bayern Munich 3–2 ( with an aggregate score of 3–3, winning on away goals ) in the Champions League. Eto’o scored the foremost goal after four minutes, and provided two clinical assists to Wesley Sneijder and to Goran Pandev for the achiever. After the game, Inter President Massimo Moratti said, “ I ‘m not certain if the deal that brought Eto’o to the cabaret was my best nibble of transfer business ever, but I actually think it was a great objet d’art of business for us. Eto’o is antic. I do not want to take anything away from Ibrahimović, but for everyone it was truly a great bargain to get Eto’o. Samuel is sincerely extraordinary. ” On 29 May, Eto’o scored two goals in the concluding of the Coppa Italia against Palermo to help Inter win 3–1 and taking his sum season goals to 37, a new read high for him. [ 63 ]

Anzhi Makhachkala

On 23 August 2011, russian cabaret Anzhi Makhachkala reached an agreement with Inter to sign Eto’o in a three-year deal that made him the world ‘s highest-paid actor, with a wage of €20 million ( after taxes ) per season. [ 64 ] [ 65 ] Eto’o made his debut for Anzhi on 27 August 2011 against Rostov when he came on as a utility with 30 minutes left in the game, later scoring an counterweight in the eightieth minute from a cross by Yuri Zhirkov. [ 66 ] Eto’o scored the open goal in a 5–3 defeat [ 67 ] at home to CSKA Moscow [ 68 ] leaving his side four points above Krasnodar with lone two games left for reservation to the Championship Group. At the goal of the 2012–13 russian Premier League, Eto’o made it to the acme 33 players of the Season list as the # 1 right Striker. [ 69 ] Anzhi ‘s billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov shocked the Russian football world by deciding in August 2013 to scale down the club ‘s ambitions and drastically shrink its budget. As a leave, about all of the headliner players, previously signed in a bid to make the cabaret world-beaters, were available on the transfer market. [ 70 ] [ better source needed ]

Chelsea

Eto’o with Chelsea in 2014 On 29 August 2013, Eto’o signed a annual deal with English Premier League club Chelsea for an undisclosed fee. [ 71 ] He scored his first goal for Chelsea on 19 October 2013 against Cardiff City, in which he gave Chelsea the run. [ 72 ] In Chelsea ‘s home Champions League match against Schalke 04 on 6 November, Eto’o scored doubly in a 3–0 victory. [ 73 ] In Eto’o ‘s first league beginning of 2014, on 20 January, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick for Chelsea, earning the Blues a 3–1 victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. [ 74 ] On 8 March, Eto’o opened scoring in Chelsea ‘s 4–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur when defender Jan Vertonghen sent a backpass straight into his path. It was the three-hundredth goal in his baseball club career. [ 75 ] In the second gear leg of Chelsea ‘s Champions League round of 16 bind with Galatasaray, Eto’o gave the Blues a fourth-minute early lead with his one-tenth finish of the season, a match they would go on to win 2–0. [ 76 ] Eto’o continued his commodity mannequin after scoring another early finish, in the fifth infinitesimal, against Arsenal on 22 March. however, he was then substituted after ten-spot minutes for Fernando Torres after picking up a slight injury ; Chelsea went on to win the match 6–0. [ 77 ]

Everton

Eto’o ‘s contract with Chelsea expired at the end of the 2013–14 season, [ 78 ] [ 79 ] and on 26 August 2014, he joined chap English Premier League side Everton, signing a biennial contract. [ 80 ] He made his debut four days late, scoring one finish with a header in a 3–6 home defeat to Chelsea. [ 81 ] On 26 October, Eto’o bagged a brace for Everton, heading in the opening goal and curled in a fall upon from outside the area, as the Toffees defeated Burnley 3−1. [ 82 ] He stated that he wanted to win the UEFA Europa League with Everton, a tournament which he had never won earlier. [ 83 ] however, Eto’o left halfway through his first season at Everton, having scored four goals in 20 games across all competitions for them. [ 84 ]

Sampdoria

On 27 January 2015, Eto’o returned to the italian Serie A, joining Sampdoria on a two-and-a-half-year deal. [ 84 ]

Antalyaspor

On 25 June 2015, Eto’o moved to Turkish side Antalyaspor on a three-year compress. [ 85 ] He made his debut on 15 August 2015 in a league match against İstanbul Başakşehir, scoring two goals and helping Antalyaspor win 3–2. Eto’o had a blister get down to the season, scoring 13 goals in his first 15 games, and was named the interim player-manager for the team after the previous passenger car, Yusuf Şimşek, was sacked on 7 December. [ 86 ] He continued in this capacity until José Morais was hired as Şimşek ‘s permanent surrogate on 6 January 2016. [ 87 ]

Konyaspor

On 31 January 2018, after leaving Antalyaspor by common consent, Eto’o joined league rivals Konyaspor on a two-and-a-half-year shrink. [ 88 ]

Qatar SC

He signed for Qatar SC in August 2018. [ 89 ] In February 2019 he said he wished to continue playing for a far year. [ 90 ]

retirement

On 7 September 2019, Eto’o announced his retirement from football. [ 91 ]

International career

Eto’o playing for Cameroon in 2009. He is their all-time moderate scorer with 56 goals. Eto’o earned his first crown with Cameroon one sidereal day before his 16th birthday on 9 March 1997, in a 5–0 friendly loss to Costa Rica. In 1998, he was the youngest player in the 1998 FIFA World Cup when he appeared in a 3–0 group stage loss to Italy on 17 June 1998, at the long time of 17 years and three months. Eto’o scored his sole goal of the 2002 FIFA World Cup when he netted the game-winner against Saudi Arabia during the group stage on 6 June 2002, which was Cameroon ‘s only win of the competition. Eto’o was a separate of the squads that won the 2000 and 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, and was a gold medalist at the 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, in which Cameroon finished as runner-up, he scored his only goal in a 1–0 group stage upset of Brazil on 19 June. Cameroon were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations after Eto’o missed the decisive penalty in a 12–11 penalty gunfight personnel casualty to Ivory Coast following a 1–1 draw, but he however finished as the circus tent scorer of the tournament with five goals. He missed a team commit before the quarter-finals to attend the CAF African Footballer of the Year award ceremonies in Togo.

In the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, Eto’o became joint leading goalscorer ( along with Laurent Pokou ) in the rival ‘s history after scoring his 14th goal with a punishment against Zambia on 26 January 2008. In the pursuit game against Sudan, on 30 January, Eto’o converted another penalty to become the tournament ‘s all-time run scorer, followed by another goal in the same couple that took his cup of Nations tally to 16. [ 92 ] He finished as the peak scorer for the second straight tournament, matching his 2006 sum of five goals. On 1 June 2008, Eto’o headbutted reporter Philippe Bony following an incident at a crush conference. Bony suffered an injury, but Eto’o former apologized for the affray, offering to pay Bony ‘s checkup expenses. [ 93 ] In the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Gabon, Eto’o scored a goal in the 68th hour. He followed it up with another finish in the home fastness. He led the scoring graph with eight qualification goals. Eto’o scored in the World Cup qualification match against Morocco to win Cameroon a blot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament. On 19 June 2010, Eto’o scored a goal in Cameroon ‘s 2010 World Cup group stage match against Denmark, from a error by christian Poulsen. Cameroon finally lost the game 2–1 and was eliminated from the World Cup. Eto’o described it as the biggest disappointment of his career. In December 2010, Eto’o became the first base man to be named African Player of the year for a fourthly fourth dimension. [ 94 ] On 16 December 2011, Eto’o was suspended 15 games by the Cameroonian Football Federation, after the team refused to play a friendly against Algeria earlier in the class. [ 95 ] The prohibition was reduced to eight months in January 2012, meaning Eto’o would only miss four competitive matches. The change was brought about after Cameroon President Paul Biya asked officials to reconsider the controversial sanction. [ 96 ] On 27 August 2012, Eto’o was in the squad to face Cape Verde in the first peg of a reservation play-off for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, but the striker refused to play, as a protest against what he described as the “ amateurish and ill organised ” national team set-up. [ 97 ] After an intervention from Cameroon Prime Minister Philemon Yang, Eto’o agreed to return for the second gear leg. [ 98 ] however, Eto’o ‘s return was not enough for Cameroon to overturn a 0–2 first branch deficit, and the Indomitable Lions failed to qualify for the Cup of Nations. On 23 March 2013, Eto’o scored his inaugural goal for Cameroon in 16 months with a penalty kick against Togo in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. He went on to score an 82nd moment winning finish in the like couple, sending cameroon to the top of their qualify group. In November 2013, he captained the team in their 4–1 aggregate frustration of Tunisia in the play-off to secure World Cup qualification. [ 99 ] In June 2014, Eto’o was selected in Cameroon ‘s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, becoming the third gear African to participate in four tournaments after compatriots Jacques Songo’o and Rigobert Song. [ 100 ] After joining Everton, on 27 August 2014, Eto’o announced his retirement from international rival. [ 101 ]

style of play

In his flower Eto’o was extremely quick and possess excellent dribbling ability with stopping point ball control Eto’o was a fast, strong, and energetic ahead, who was known for his stamen, work-rate, ability in the air, and his accurate finish ability both with his drumhead and feet. [ 102 ] [ 103 ] [ 104 ] [ 105 ] A powerful and fecund goalscorer with good technique, composure in front of goal, and an ability to play off other forwards, [ 103 ] [ 106 ] Eto’o was primarily deployed as a cardinal striker, although he was besides a team musician ; indeed, during his clock at Inter, under José Mourinho, he demonstrated luminary tactical intelligence and versatility by playing in several other positions on the pitch. [ 102 ] [ 107 ] During Inter ‘s 2009–10 treble-winning temper, Eto’o played an important character in the police squad, and was utilised as a winger or tied as an attacking midfielder on the leave flank in Mourinho ‘s 4–2–3–1 formation, where he was chiefly required to help his team creatively and defensively with his link-up playing period and work-rate off the ball, which frequently saw him to track back. [ 103 ] [ 108 ] [ 109 ] [ 110 ] [ 111 ] During the fall leg of the Champions League semi-final match against his former club Barcelona, Eto’o further demonstrated his wor-krate and versatility by playing as a improvised right-sided attacking full-back or wing-back following Thiago Motta ‘s controversial sending-off. [ 107 ] [ 110 ] [ 111 ] [ 112 ] Eto’o has besides been renowned for his leadership, opportunism and brain throughout his career. [ 112 ] [ 113 ] In his choice, Eto’o was regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the world ; [ 6 ] [ 110 ] [ 107 ] he is presently regarded as one of the greatest african players of all meter. [ 7 ] He is often ranked among the three greatest african strikers, aboard George Weah and Didier Drogba. [ 114 ] [ 115 ] Despite losing some of his speed with age, he continued to maintain a reproducible goalscoring rate as a hitter, due to his ability to get into good positions and time his attack runs, as shown by his goal in a 6–3 loss against Chelsea on 30 August 2014, during his time with Everton. [ 116 ] Beyond his amphetamine and goalscoring, Eto’o was besides known for his first touch, close dominance, and passing ability in his flower ; even in his advance long time, he maintained his dribbling skills in his subsequently career, which he used to his advantage to beat defenders and help or create chances for teammates. [ 110 ] [ 117 ] In his mid-thirties Eto’o incorporated an ‘ erstwhile man ’ act in his goal celebration – a response to jibes by José Mourinho about being excessively old – where he bent over and started walking lento with an fanciful cane, with the celebration featuring in EA Sports ’ FIFA video recording plot FIFA 18. [ 118 ]

On 11 December 2021, Eto’o was elected President of the Cameroon Football Federation ( FECAFOOT ) .

early activities

Eto’o was crowned overriding foreman in Kaffu Bullom, a chiefdom in Sierra Leone in November 2015. He was visiting Sierra Leone as part of the FIFA “ 11 for Health and 11 against Ebola ” program in the country. [ 119 ]

personal biography

Eto’o is a native of Nkon, a suburb of Yaoundé. He made his first steps in the district of Mvog-Ada, one of the most deprive of the cameroonian capital. He has two brothers who are besides footballers : David and Étienne. Eto’o has four children : Maelle, Étienne, Siena and Lynn. He married his longtime sweetheart Georgette on 6 July 2007. Georgette is the mother of Siena and Lynn, who both live with her in Paris. [ 120 ] On 17 October 2007, he earned his spanish passport. [ 121 ] On 9 November 2020, Eto’o was involved in a cable car accident, when his 4×4 had a frontal collision with a bus. It was said that Eto’o was unhurt from the accident. The driver of the bus tried to escape the picture before being apprehended and taken to a patrol station. [ 122 ] Eto ’ oxygen is a garter of french club Paris Saint-Germain. [ 123 ]

racism

Eto’o had experienced racial misuse in some away matches during his career. He is one of several high-profile contemporaneous players to have reacted to the pervert by threatening to leave the cant and being outspoken in criticism of their experiences. In February 2005, during an aside peer with Real Zaragoza, Eto’o was the subject of racist taunts by Zaragoza supporters, who began making monkey-like chants onto the flip whenever he had possession of the testis. Referee Fernando Carmona Méndez, however, made no mention of the incidents in his match report, commenting only that the behavior of the crowd was “ normal ” ; two of the abusers were caught and given five-month sporting-event bans after being identified to police by other spectators. [ 124 ] [ 125 ] Eto’o later declared that the punishment was insufficient and that La Romareda should have been closed for at least one year, but his director Frank Rijkaard, of Surinamese lineage, told him to concentrate on football and stop talking about the incident. Infuriated again by Zaragoza fans ‘ racist chants the following season, however, Eto’o attempted to walk off the slope in protest. [ 126 ] His teammates intervened and convinced him to continue play. After experiencing regular racist pervert from sections of support in spanish crowd, Eto’o stopped bringing family members to matches. He stated, “ 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 color of their skin. At this moment in prison term I prefer my children do n’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 are n’t exposed to it. ” [ 127 ] On 17 October 2010, in a Serie A game against Cagliari, after just three minutes of play, the referee halted the equal to give a warning to some Cagliari fans who were singing racist chants towards Eto’o. After shimmer was resumed, the rest of the stadium chanted forte in an try to drown out the racist chants in order to avoid the match being suspended. Inter went on to win 1–0 with an Eto’o goal in the 39th moment. [ 128 ]

career statistics

club

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[11][132]
National team Year Apps Goals
Cameroon 1997 3 0
1998 5 0
1999 1 0
2000 9 5
2001 9 2
2002 13 5
2003 7 2
2004 9 4
2005 6 1
2006 5 5
2007 3 1
2008 11 11
2009 8 5
2010 12 8
2011 9 4
2012 2 0
2013 4 2
2014 3 1
Total 118 56

International goals See List of international goals scored by Samuel Eto’o

coach

Team From To Record
Antalyaspor 7 December 2015 6 January 2016 5 2 1 2 0 40.00 [87]
Total 5 2 1 2 0 40.00

Honours

club

Mallorca [ 133 ]
Barcelona [ 133 ]
Inter Milan [ 133 ]

International

Cameroon [ 133 ] [ 134 ]

individual

Records

See besides

References