Samuel Eto'o

Football player infobox
playername = Samuel Eto'o
fullname = Samuel Eto'o Fils


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|03|10
cityofbirth = Nkon, Douala
countryofbirth = Cameroon
height = height|m=1.80
nickname =
currentclub = FC Barcelona
clubnumber = 9
position = Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs = Kadji Sports Academy Real Madrid B
years = 1997–2000
1997–1998
1999
2000 2000–2004
2004–
clubs = Real Madrid
→ CD Leganés (loan)
→ Espanyol (loan) → Real Mallorca (loan)
Real Mallorca
FC Barcelona
|caps(goals) =003 0(0)
028 0(3)
001 0(0)
013 0(6)
164 (59)
115 (83)
nationalyears = 1998–
nationalteam = Cameroon
nationalcaps(goals) = 073 (36)
pcupdate = 15:12, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 10:29, 11 October 2008 (UTC)|

Samuel Eto'o Fils (born March 10, 1981 in Douala) is a Cameroonian football striker who plays for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona. He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with sixteen goals, and is also the record holder in number of appearances by an African in La Liga. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7383851.stm|title=Eto'o sets La Liga record|accessdate=2008-05-05|date=2008-05-05|author=Phil Minshull|publisher=BBC]

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 were 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. [cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/1450327.stm | title= Eto’o join Mallorca for £4.4m | work=BBC Sport| date=2001-07-21] He commented on his rise to stardom, "I like it here in Mallorca, I have always been well looked after,and the fans love 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." [cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/3024675.stm | title= Eto'o fever grips Majorca | work=BBC Sport| date=2001-07-21]

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 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 on board as strikers.

FC Barcelona

Eto'o made his Barcelona debut in the season opener at Racing Santander on August 29, 2004. After Barcelona won the 2004-05 La Liga title, the team organized a festive party in the Nou Camp, during which Eto'o chanted to the fans, "Madrid, cabrón, saluda al campeón" (roughly: "Madrid, fucker, salute the champion"). The Spanish Football Federation fined Eto'o €12,000 for his comments, for which he later apologized. "If it hadn't been for Real Madrid, I would never have got this far, so I beg forgiveness and hope that people will understand." [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/4553179.stm Eto'o apologises for outburst] ]

After missing out on the previous 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." [cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/5002096.stm | title= Eto'o thanks team for Pichichi | work=BBCSport Football| date=2005-05-21]

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. [cite web| url=http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/history/season=2005/intro.html | title= Eto'o thanks team for Pichichi | work=uefa.com| date=2006-06-01]

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." [cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4722080.stm | title= Eto'o king of Africa once again | work=BBC Sport| date=2006-02-16] 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. [cite web| url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/continentalfootball/story/0,,1883793,00.html | title=Eto'o setback for Barça | work=The Guardian| date=2006-09-29| accessdate=2006-09-29] 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."

In a league match against Racing Santander on February 11, 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." [cite web| url=http://www.eurosport.com/football/sport_sto1084515.shtml | title=Eto'o refuses to play | work=Eurosport| last=Chick | first=Alex| date=2007-02-17| accessdate=2007-02-17] Ronaldinho was critical of Eto'o's actions, saying, " [It] always is important to think about what's best for the team." [cite web| url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200702130067.html | title=Cameroon: Ronaldinho Slams Eto'o - Over Racing snub | work=allAfrica.com| date=2007-02-17| accessdate=2007-02-17] Eto'o retorted, "Telling a news conference I didn't want to play is the behaviour of a bad person" [cite web| url=http://www.eurosport.com/football/la-liga/2006-2007/sport_sto1085983.shtml | title=Eto'o slams Rijkaard and Ronaldinho | work=Eurosport| date=2007-02-14| accessdate=2007-02-14] , 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. [ [http://www.soccerway.com/news/2007/June/19/no-change-at-barca-says-chairman/ No Change at Barca, Says Chairman] "Soccerway.com" (accessed January 22, 2008)]

Eto'o became a Spanish citizen on October 17, 2007 [cite web| url=http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/castellano/noticies/futbol/temporada07-08/10/n071017101231.html| title= Eto'o nationalized | work=Barcelona official webpage| date=2007-10-17] , and on December 4, he was cleared to resume playing after having missed thirteen league games due to an aggravation of his meniscus injury during a summer friendly against Internazionale on August 28. He returned to the side in Barcelona's 2-1 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 when he scored twice in a 3-0 league win over Valencia. [ [http://africa.reuters.com/sport/news/usnBAN630986.html Eto'o double leads Barca to 3-0 win in Valencia] "Reuters.com" December 16, 2007 (accessed January 11, 2008)] He recorded his first league hat-trick in a match against Levante on February 24 2008.

On March 16 2008, Eto'o netted his seventy-first goal in his 100th career La Liga match with Barcelona; only Mariano Martín (90 goals) and Ladislao Kubala (84) scored more upon reaching the century mark in club appearances.Fact|date=April 2008 He finished with a total of sixteen league goals in eighteen appearances for the season.

International career

Eto'o earned his first cap with Cameroon at age 14 on March 9 1996, 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 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.

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 runners-up, he scored his only goal in a 1-0 group-stage upset of Brazil on June 19. 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 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. He missed a team practice before the quarterfinals to attend the CAF African Player 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 fourteenth goal with a penalty against Zambia on 26 January 2008. In the following game against Sudan on January 30, Eto'o converted another penalty to become the tournament's all time leading scorer, followed by another goal in the same match that took his Cup of Nations tally to 16. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7210917.stm |title=Eto'o goal record |accessdate=2008-01-27 |date=26 January 2008 |work=BBC Sport - Football |publisher=BBC Online] He finished as the top scorer for the second consecutive tournament, matching his 2006 total of five goals.

On June 1 2008, Eto'o was accused of headbutting a reporter after he refused to answer questions at a press conference in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundè. The reporter, Philippe Bony, who suffered a fractured hand during the fracas, said, "“He hit me very hard on my upper lip. One of my teeth is loose.”" Cameroon players and staff attempted to confiscate cell phones and video cameras in order to prevent recording of the incident. [cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/jun1k.html |title=Eto’o head-butts journalist |accessdate=2008-06-01 |date=1 June 2008 |publisher=Football Italia]

Racism

Eto'o 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, the referee Fernando Carmona Mendez made no mention of the incidents in his match report, commenting only that the behavior of the crowd was "normal" [cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4261881.stm | title=Eto'o responds to racist abuse | work=BBC Sport| date=2005-02-13] , but two of the abusers were caught and given five-month sporting-event bans after being identified to police by other spectators. [cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4104067.stm | title=Two fined for Eto'o taunts | work=BBC Sport| date=2004-12-17] 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. [cite web| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901060403-1176955,00.html | title=The Ugly Game | date=2006-03-26 | accessdate=2007-06-28] 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. [cite web| url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQv4aIXaGQ4 | title=Eto'o being abuse! | accessdate=2007-06-28]

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 color 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." [cite web| url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=418751&cc=3888 | title= Racism forces Eto'o to keep kids away from games | work=ESPN Soccernet| date=2007-04-04]

Career statistics

Honours

RCD Mallorca

*Copa del Rey: 2003

FC Barcelona

*La Liga: 2005, 2006
*UEFA Champions League: 2006
*Spanish Supercup: 2005, 2006

International

*African Cup of Nations: 2000, 2002

Individual

*African Cup of Nations Top Scorer: 2006, 2008
*African Player of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2005
*FIFPro World XI: 2004-05, 2005-06
*UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 2006
*UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2006
*Spanish La Liga Top Scorer: 2006

References

External links

*FIFA player|170667|Samuel Eto'o
* [http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/futbol/temporada_07-08/plantilla/jugadors/etoo.html Profile] - fcbarcelona.cat (in English)
* [http://en.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/Players/Player=45996/index.html 2007/08 Champions League bio] - UEFA.com Navboxes
title= Samuel Eto'o - Navigation boxes and awards
list1=

Persondata
NAME= Fils, Samuel Eto'o
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Mahmut
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Cameroonian international Football (soccer) player
DATE OF BIRTH= 10 March 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH= Douala, Cameroon
DATE OF DEATH= Living
PLACE OF DEATH= Living