Samuel Eto’o Fils ( french pronunciation : [ samɥɛl eto fis ] ; born 10 March 1981 ) is a cameroonian retire professional football player who played as a striker. In his prime, Eto’o was regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the global, [ 5 ] and he is regarded as one of the greatest african players of all time, [ 6 ] winning the African Player of the class a phonograph 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 position with more feel players, he had several loan 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 musician in La Liga. [ 7 ] Winning La Liga three times, he was a key penis of the Barcelona attack, aboard Ronaldinho, that won the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto’o scoring in the final, and was separate of a movement 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 second player in history to score in two UEFA Champions League finals. [ 8 ] At Barcelona, Eto’o came in third for the FIFA World Player of the year in 2005 and was twice named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, in 2005 and 2006.
Reading: Samuel Eto’o
He signed with Inter Milan for the 2009-10 season, where he became the first actor 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 rowing with unlike teams. [ 9 ] After brief spells with Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea, Everton, and Sampdoria, Eto’o found fecund mannequin 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 penis of the Cameroon national team, Eto’o was a partially of the police squad 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 head scorer and one-third most cap player, with 56 goals in 118 caps. [ 10 ] Eto’o announced his retirement from international football in August 2014 .
Club career
actual Madrid
Having trained at the Kadji Sports Academy in Cameroon, Eto’o joined Real Madrid ‘s youth academy in 1997, but he could entirely train with Real Madrid B, as he was inactive a child. [ 11 ] 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 second division Leganés for the 1997–98 season. [ 12 ] After making 30 appearances for the baseball club and only scoring four goals, he returned to Madrid following the end of the 1998–99 temper. In January 1999, he was loaned out to Espanyol, [ 13 ] but made only one appearance for the club, against Real Valladolid in Copa del Rey .
Mallorca
The following season, in the winter transfer windowpane, 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 wave hand with Mallorca for a club commemorate £4.4 million fee. In his second season, he scored 11 goals and began to garner attention throughout the league. Mallorca President Mateo Alemany said of his style of bring, “ I doubt if there is any other player in the populace who would please the fans more at this here and now. ” Eto’o himself commented on his raise to stardom, “ I like it here in Mallorca ; I have constantly been well looked after, the fans appreciate me and I besides have a shrink that runs until 2007. ” He returned the fans ‘ taste when he donated €30,000 in meals to travelling Mallorca supporters who made the journey to the Copa del Rey final examination against Recreativo de Huelva in 2003. Mallorca won the match 3–0, with Eto’o scoring two former goals to seal the victory. Eto’o besides scored in two straight away wins against his former club Real Madrid : the first, a 1-5 cream, the only home loss of the Madrilenian clubhouse who went to win the 2002-03 La Liga. ; [ 14 ] the second ended with a 2-3 result that denied a back-to-back La Liga gain for Real. [ 15 ]
Barcelona
2004–2007
Eto’o playing for Barcelona in August 2008 Eto’o departed Mallorca as the club ‘s all-time ahead domestic league scorer ( 54 goals ) when he signed for Barcelona in the summer of 2004 for a transfer fee of €24 million, after drawn-out, tripartite negotiations with Mallorca and Madrid. [ 16 ] Initially, Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez wanted to buy back the full transfer rights and loan him out again, but finally the Barcelona deal proved lucrative enough to warrant a sale. [ 17 ] Additionally, the team already had its full quota of three non-EU players. [ 16 ] Eto’o made his Barcelona debut in the season undoer at Racing de Santander on 29 August 2004. After Barcelona won the 2004–05 La Liga claim, 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 first professional team. The head of the Real Madrid fan club federation remained unimpressed, however, stating, “ This character is a fantastic musician, but he leaves a lot to be desired as a person. ” [ 18 ] He signed an improved shrink with Barcelona in June 2005. [ 19 ] After missing out on the former year ‘s Pichichi trophy, which is given to the peak scorer 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 goal of the season against Athletic Bilbao. Eto’o was identical 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. ” [ 20 ] 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 fair outside the punishment area, but the Catalans struggled to capitalize on their one-man advantage until Eto’o scored the game-tying finish 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. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] Eto’o besides won an historic third back-to-back African Player of the Year award that temper. He said in his toleration speech, “ Above all, I dedicate this to all the children of Africa. ” [ 23 ] He was besides selected to his moment directly FIFPro World XI and finished third in the run for the FIFA World Player of the year, making him only the moment African football player ever, after the liberian star George Weah, to be voted into the top three. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] The season started badly for Eto’o, as he ruptured the meniscus in his right stifle during Barcelona ‘s Champions League group stage couple against Werder Bremen on 27 September 2006. Barcelona team doctor Ricard Pruna in the first place estimated that the wound would keep him out of action for two to three months. [ 26 ] After the mathematical process, Eto’o ‘s recovery time was extended to five months, but he resumed training with Barcelona in early January 2007. [ 27 ] [ 28 ]
2007–2009
Eto’o refused to come on as a substitute in a league match 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. ” [ 29 ] Ronaldinho was critical of Eto’o ‘s actions, saying that Eto’o was not putting the team foremost, but Eto’o rebutted the remark, claiming that he did not come on because he did not have enough fourth dimension to warm up properly. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] Three months later, Eto’o said, “ These kind of things are normally equitable guess 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. [ 32 ] After aggravating a meniscus injury on 28 August during a summer friendly against Inter Milan, Eto’o was sidelined indefinitely. [ 33 ] On 17 October, in the midst of his recovery period, he gained spanish citizenship. [ 34 ] He was cleared to play again on 4 December, and returned to the side a week late in Barcelona ‘s 2–1 league acquire over Deportivo de La Coruña. [ 35 ] [ 36 ] Eto’o recorded his first league hat-trick in a match against Levante on 24 February 2008. [ 37 ] He finished with a sum of 16 league goals in 18 appearances for the temper. [ 38 ] On 25 October, he recorded the fastest hat-trick in clubhouse history after netting three times in 23 minutes in a victory over Almería. [ 39 ] alone two games belated, on 8 November 2008, Eto’o scored four goals in the beginning half of Barcelona ‘s game against Real Valladolid, which ended 6–0. On 29 November 2008, he scored his 111th career Barcelona finish in all competitions in a 3–0 road win over Sevilla, moving him into the cabaret ‘s circus tent ten all-time goalscorers. [ 40 ] 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 finish of the 2008–09 season in a La Liga meet against Real Valladolid. The plot ended 1–0 and meant that Barcelona kept a six-point lead over real Madrid in the league. He besides scored against Villarreal in the game that put Barcelona one point aside from lifting the 2008–09 La Liga trophy. He scored 30 goals in the temper, finishing irregular in the Pichichi Trophy goalscorers list behind Atlético de Madrid ‘s Diego Forlán. Eto’o scored the possibility goal in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United. Barcelona went on to win the final 2–0, frankincense 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 triple year. [ 41 ]
Inter Milan
After Maxwell completed the transfer from Inter Milan, Joan Laporta confirmed that there was an agreement in principle between Barcelona and Inter Milan for Zlatan Ibrahimović to join the cabaret in exchange for Eto’o and €46 million. [ 42 ] [ 43 ] After Ibrahimović agreed terms with Barcelona, the club announced Eto’o would travel to Milan for his medical to complete the transfer. [ 44 ] On 27 July 2009, Eto’o passed his medical and signed for five years with Inter. [ 45 ] On his foremost 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 right value to my name. ” [ 46 ] On 8 August, Eto’o scored on his competitive introduction in the 2009 Supercoppa Italiana as Inter lost 1–2 to Lazio. [ 47 ] Two weeks late, Eto’o scored from the punishment blot against Bari in his first Serie A match. [ 48 ] In the be match, the Derby della Madonnina against Milan, Eto’o won Inter a penalty after being brought down by Gennaro Gattuso in the corner ; Milito scored the penalty and Gattuso was yellow carded and finally sent off. Inter won the couple 4–0. [ 49 ] Eto’o scored again on 13 September against Parma, his foremost goal from open play in a Serie A match. [ 50 ] At the end of September 2009, Eto’o demanded about £2.75 million from Barcelona after his transfer to Inter. The sum 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 player should get 15 % of the measure of his transfer to another spanish club. If the parties failed to reach a solution, the matter could go to court. [ 51 ]
Eto’o play in the UEFA Champions League with Inter Milan, a rival he would win for the third time in his career Eto’o scored his first Serie A brace on 29 October during a 5–3 acquire over Palermo, with Mario Balotelli besides scoring doubly. [ 52 ] On 1 December 2009, Eto’o finished one-fifth in voting for the Ballon d’Or, which was won by his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi. Eight days late, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for the team in the final Group F equal against Rubin Kazan to help Inter win 2–0 at home and progress to the knockout stage as runner-ups. [ 53 ] Eto’o continued to be a supporter for Inter in Europe, netting the achiever in the second leg of 2009–10 UEFA Champions League polish of 16 against Chelsea on 16 March 2010, which allowed Inter to progress to the quarter-finals. [ 54 ] He scored his inaugural goal in Coppa Italia on 13 April against Fiorentina in the second gear of semi-finals to help Inter win 1–0 at Stadio Artemio Franchi and build up in the final 2–0 on aggregate. [ 55 ] Eto’o won his first silverware with the cabaret on 5 May as Inter defeated Roma 1–0 at Stadio Olimpico to lift the Coppa Italia. [ 56 ] His 12 Serie A goals helped Inter claim another championship, the fifth straight, after defeating Siena in the final matchday. [ 57 ] On 22 May 2010, Eto’o played in the third Champions League final examination of his career, as Inter won 2–0 over Bayern Munich to win the inaugural style in 45 years ; Milito scored both goals, with Eto’o setting up the second. [ 58 ] With Inter ‘s exuberate over Bayern Munich, he became the entirely musician to win the soprano in consecutive seasons with two different teams. [ 59 ] On 21 August 2010, Eto’o scored twice as Inter beat Roma 3–1 to win the Supercoppa Italiana. [ 60 ] His first hat trick for Inter occurred in the UEFA Champions League against Werder Bremen on 29 September 2010. [ 61 ] Inter won the plot 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 merely take it one match at a time and we will go ampere far as it takes us. ” Continuing his great form in Serie A and in the Champions League for the 2010–11 campaign, he was pivotal to Inter ‘s attack line. On 16 March 2011, Eto’o gave a fabled 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 first goal after four minutes, and provided two clinical assists to Wesley Sneijder and to Goran Pandev for the winner. After the game, Inter President Massimo Moratti said, “ I ‘m not certain if the deal that brought Eto’o to the club was my best piece of transfer business ever, but I very think it was a great piece of business for us. Eto’o is fantastic. I do not want to take anything aside from Ibrahimović, but for everyone it was truly a bang-up bargain to get Eto’o. Samuel is sincerely extraordinary. ” On 29 May, Eto’o scored two goals in the final of the Coppa Italia against Palermo to help Inter win 3–1 and taking his entire season goals to 37, a raw record high for him. [ 62 ]
Anzhi Makhachkala
On 23 August 2011, russian clubhouse 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. [ 63 ] [ 64 ] Eto’o made his introduction for Anzhi on 27 August 2011 against Rostov when he came on as a substitute with 30 minutes left in the game, late scoring an counterweight in the eightieth moment from a thwart by Yuri Zhirkov. [ 65 ] Eto’o scored the possibility goal in a 5–3 defeat [ 66 ] at dwelling to CSKA Moscow [ 67 ] leaving his slope four points above Krasnodar with entirely two games left for reservation to the Championship Group. At the end of the 2012–13 russian Premier League, Eto’o made it to the top 33 players of the Season number as the # 1 properly Striker. [ 68 ] Anzhi ‘s billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov shocked the Russian football world by deciding in August 2013 to scale down the cabaret ‘s ambitions and drastically shrink its budget. As a result, about all of the star players, previously signed in a offer to make the cabaret world-beaters, were available on the transfer market. [ 69 ] [ better source needed ]
Chelsea
Eto’o with Chelsea in 2014 On 29 August 2013, Eto’o signed a annual distribute with English Premier League cabaret Chelsea for an undisclosed tip. [ 70 ] He scored his first goal for Chelsea on 19 October 2013 against Cardiff City, in which he gave Chelsea the lead. [ 71 ] In Chelsea ‘s home Champions League match against Schalke 04 on 6 November, Eto’o scored twice in a 3–0 victory. [ 72 ] In Eto’o ‘s first league start of 2014, on 20 January, he scored his first base Premier League hat-trick for Chelsea, earning the Blues a 3–1 victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. [ 73 ] On 8 March, Eto’o opened scoring in Chelsea ‘s 4–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur when defender Jan Vertonghen sent a backpass uncoiled into his path. It was the three-hundredth finish in his clubhouse career. [ 74 ] In the second base leg of Chelsea ‘s Champions League round of 16 tie with Galatasaray, Eto’o gave the Blues a fourth-minute early moderate with his one-tenth goal of the season, a match they would go on to win 2–0. [ 75 ] Eto’o continued his good form after scoring another early on goal, in the fifth moment, against Arsenal on 22 March. however, he was then substituted after ten minutes for Fernando Torres after picking up a slender injury ; Chelsea went on to win the pit 6–0. [ 76 ]
Everton
Eto’o ‘s narrow with Chelsea expired at the end of the 2013–14 season, [ 77 ] [ 78 ] and on 26 August 2014, he joined chap English Premier League side Everton, signing a biennial contract. [ 79 ] He made his debut four days late, scoring one goal with a heading in a 3–6 base frustration to Chelsea. [ 80 ] On 26 October, Eto’o bagged a brace for Everton, heading in the opening finish and curl in a hit from outside the sphere, as the Toffees defeated Burnley 3−1. [ 81 ] He stated that he wanted to win the UEFA Europa League with Everton, a tournament which he had never won earlier. [ 82 ] however, Eto’o left halfway through his inaugural season at Everton, having scored four goals in 20 games across all competitions for them. [ 83 ]
Sampdoria
On 27 January 2015, Eto’o returned to the italian Serie A, joining Sampdoria on a two-and-a-half-year consider. [ 83 ]
Antalyaspor
On 25 June 2015, Eto’o moved to Turkish english Antalyaspor on a three-year compress. [ 84 ] He made his debut on 15 August 2015 in a league meet against İstanbul Başakşehir, scoring two goals and helping Antalyaspor win 3–2. Eto’o had a blister start to the season, scoring 13 goals in his first gear 15 games, and was named the interim player-manager for the team after the previous coach, Yusuf Şimşek, was sacked on 7 December. [ 85 ] He continued in this capacity until José Morais was hired as Şimşek ‘s permanent surrogate on 6 January 2016. [ 86 ]
Konyaspor
On 31 January 2018, after leaving Antalyaspor by reciprocal consent, Eto’o joined league rivals Konyaspor on a two-and-a-half-year contract. [ 87 ]
Qatar SC
He signed for Qatar SC in August 2018. [ 88 ] In February 2019 he said he wished to continue playing for a far year. [ 89 ]
retirement
On 7 September 2019, Eto’o announced his retirement from football. [ 90 ]
International career
Eto’o playing for Cameroon in 2009. He is their all-time precede scorekeeper with 56 goals. Eto’o earned his foremost ceiling with Cameroon one day before his 16th birthday on 9 March 1997, in a 5–0 friendly loss to Costa Rica. In 1998, he was the youngest participant in the 1998 FIFA World Cup when he appeared in a 3–0 group stage loss to Italy on 17 June 1998, at the age 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 gain of the rival.
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Eto’o was a part 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 merely finish in a 1–0 group stage overturn of Brazil on 19 June. Cameroon were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations after Eto’o missed the critical punishment in a 12–11 penalty gunfight loss to Ivory Coast following a 1–1 draw, but he however finished as the top scorer of the tournament with five goals. He missed a team drill 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 competition ‘s history after scoring his 14th finish with a penalty 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 leave scorekeeper, followed by another finish in the lapp peer that took his cup of Nations match to 16. [ 91 ] He finished as the circus tent scorer for the second straight tournament, matching his 2006 total of five goals. On 1 June 2008, Eto’o headbutted reporter Philippe Bony following an incident at a press conference. Bony suffered an injury, but Eto’o former apologized for the affray, offering to pay Bony ‘s medical expenses. [ 92 ] In the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying equal against Gabon, Eto’o scored a goal in the 68th hour. He followed it up with another goal in the home fastness. He led the scoring chart with eight qualification goals. Eto’o scored in the World Cup qualification match against Morocco to win Cameroon a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament. On 19 June 2010, Eto’o scored a finish in Cameroon ‘s 2010 World Cup group degree match against Denmark, from a err 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 one-fourth time. [ 93 ] 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 year. [ 94 ] The ban was reduced to eight months in January 2012, meaning Eto’o would lone miss four competitive matches. The change was brought about after Cameroon President Paul Biya asked officials to reconsider the controversial sanction. [ 95 ] On 27 August 2012, Eto’o was in the squad to face Cape Verde in the beginning leg of a qualification 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. [ 96 ] After an intervention from Cameroon Prime Minister Philemon Yang, Eto’o agreed to return for the second stage. [ 97 ] however, Eto’o ‘s reelect was not adequate for Cameroon to overturn a 0–2 beginning leg deficit, and the Indomitable Lions failed to qualify for the Cup of Nations. On 23 March 2013, Eto’o scored his first 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 goal in the like pit, sending cameroon to the acme of their stipulate group. In November 2013, he captained the team in their 4–1 aggregate kill of Tunisia in the play-off to secure World Cup qualification. [ 98 ] In June 2014, Eto’o was selected in Cameroon ‘s police 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. [ 99 ] After joining Everton, on 27 August 2014, Eto’o announced his retirement from international rival. [ 100 ]
manner of play
In his prime Eto’o was highly quick and amuck excellent dribbling ability with close ball manipulate Eto’o was a fast, strong, and energetic forward, who was known for his stamen, work-rate, ability in the atmosphere, and his accurate complete ability both with his question and feet. [ 101 ] [ 102 ] [ 103 ] [ 104 ] A potent and fecund goalscorer with good proficiency, composure in front of goal, and an ability to play off early forwards, [ 102 ] [ 105 ] Eto’o was primarily deployed as a central striker, although he was besides a team player ; indeed, during his clock at Inter, under José Mourinho, he demonstrated luminary tactical intelligence and versatility by playing in several other positions on the sales talk. [ 101 ] [ 106 ] During Inter ‘s 2009–10 treble-winning temper, Eto’o played an authoritative function in the police squad, and was utilised as a winger or even as an attacking midfielder on the left 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 play and work-rate off the ball, which frequently saw him to track back. [ 102 ] [ 107 ] [ 108 ] [ 109 ] [ 110 ] During the render stage of the Champions League semi-final couple against his former club Barcelona, Eto’o further demonstrated his wor-krate and versatility by playing as a makeshift right-sided attacking full-back or wing-back following Thiago Motta ‘s controversial sending-off. [ 106 ] [ 109 ] [ 110 ] [ 111 ] Eto’o has besides been renowned for his leadership, opportunism and mentality throughout his career. [ 111 ] [ 112 ] In his prime, Eto’o was regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the populace ; [ 5 ] [ 109 ] [ 106 ] he is presently regarded as one of the greatest african players of all time. [ 6 ] He is often ranked among the three greatest african strikers, aboard George Weah and Didier Drogba. [ 113 ] [ 114 ] Despite losing some of his accelerate with historic period, he continued to maintain a reproducible goalscoring rate as a striker, due to his ability to get into good positions and prison term his attack runs, as shown by his goal in a 6–3 loss against Chelsea on 30 August 2014, during his time with Everton. [ 115 ] Beyond his accelerate and goalscoring, Eto’o was besides known for his first touch, close control, and passing ability in his premier ; even in his advance historic period, he maintained his dribbling skills in his subsequently career, which he used to his advantage to beat defenders and serve or create chances for teammates. [ 109 ] [ 116 ] In his mid-thirties Eto’o incorporated an ‘ old homo ’ act in his finish celebration – a reply to jibes by José Mourinho about being besides erstwhile – where he bent over and started walking lento with an complex number cane, with the celebration featuring in EA Sports ’ FIFA video game FIFA 18. [ 117 ]
other activities
Eto’o was crowned overriding head in Kaffu Bullom, a chiefdom in Sierra Leone in November 2015. He was visiting Sierra Leone as separate of the FIFA “ 11 for Health and 11 against Ebola ” program in the nation. [ 118 ]
personal life
Eto’o is a native of Nkon, a suburb of Yaoundé. He made his first steps in the zone 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. [ 119 ] On 9 November 2020, Eto’o was involved in a car accident, when his 4×4 had a frontal collision with a busbar. It was said that Eto’o was unhurt from the accident. The driver of the bus tried to escape the scene before being apprehended and taken to a patrol place. [ 120 ] Eto ’ o is a patron of french baseball club Paris Saint-Germain. [ 121 ]
racism
Eto’o had experienced racial pervert in some away matches during his career. He is one of several high-profile contemporaneous players to have reacted to the abuse by threatening to leave the pitch and being outspoken in criticism of their experiences. In February 2005, during an away match with Real Zaragoza, Eto’o was the topic of racist taunts by Zaragoza supporters, who began making monkey-like chants onto the pitch whenever he had possession of the ball. 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. [ 122 ] [ 123 ] Eto’o late 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 pitch in protest. [ 124 ] His teammates intervened and convinced him to continue play. After experiencing regular racist mistreat from sections of corroborate 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 consequence in time I prefer my children do n’t go to football matches. In the stands they have to listen to things that are unmanageable to explain to a child. It is better they are n’t exposed to it. ” [ 125 ] On 17 October 2010, in a Serie A game against Cagliari, after merely three minutes of play, the referee halted the match to give a warn to some Cagliari fans who were singing racist chants towards Eto’o. After act was resumed, the rest of the stadium chanted forte in an undertake 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 finish in the 39th minute. [ 126 ]
career statistics
club
International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[10][130]
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
director
Team
From
To
Record
Antalyaspor
7 December 2015
6 January 2016
5
2
1
2
0 40.00
[86]
Total
5
2
1
2
0 40.00
—
Honours
club
Mallorca [ 131 ]
Barcelona [ 131 ]
Inter Milan [ 131 ]
International
Cameroon [ 131 ] [ 132 ]
individual
Records
See besides
References
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