Samuel Eto'o now is in the company of Hristo Stoichkov, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and a host of others that were superstars while wearing the blaugrana who ended up shunned and escorted out the back door of the Nou Camp. Eto'o's was among one of the more despicable ones. He wasn't allowed into the . It is great to have a Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but at THAT cost? Barca fans remember that there was only 30 million quid to work with and Ibra ended up at almost 90. I mean there is nothing I can do as the former Inter man is on a transcontinental flight back to the Old World ready to jon the Catalan giants. Wasn't that the same reason why Laporta carved Florentino Perez in every Spanish media outlet.? In my opinion Eto'o was the big-game player. Name me the last time Ibra scored a goal in an important match? Ibra might have incredible skills, but Eto'o gives you what you need when you need it most. The way he played on the pitch and the way he celebrated every goal he scored was like if it was his last. It was a great conquest for himself, his teams, and his fans. Sometimes the order of importance changed.

I was always a fan of Samuel Eto'o. From the time he scored his first goal all the way to the day he dribbled the ball into the net against Deportivo, Eto'o was one of the most feared strikers in Europe. I remember this confident 17-year-old playing for the Cameroon national team in France 98 and he was ready to set the world on fire. In that cup he was the youngest player on the side and one of the few that scored. From that point on he was the symbol of the Indomitable Lions.

As the main hitman at Mallorca, Samuel had to deal with racism and that was part of the reason for his temperment. It was a defense mechanism that he had in order to deal with the adverse conditions against Africans in the Iberian peninsula. This despise towards him became greater when he became so dangerous in front of opposing goals. If there was a classic goal by Eto'o that people from all over the world cheered for him was a few years ago against Zaragoza when he was being jeered by the home fans, something that was lived vivdly on both sides of the Atlantic.

The moments ensuing were both a triumph for the good guys as he would come back and score against these but he also had some bad moments when he faced the unnecessary wrath of Javier Clemente. Sometimes his reactions were just while some are not condoned by any stretch of the imagination from a professional or human standpoint.

From his explosive outbursts for social reasons as well as petty minutiae, Sammy was Sammy. From irritating coaches to Madrid fans, he was a true believer that a great defense is a great offense and he lived by that credo to the strictest interpretation of the law.

Even after Frank Rikjaard left, he was left at the mercy of Josep Guardiola. He was given a reality check of sorts and somehow that motivated him. Despite being under the gun througohut the entire season, he was able to produce the best season of his career. He ended up in second place in the La Liga scoring race, but if you include Champions League and Copa del Rey, his numbers got him to 35, confirming he would be the ideal player for the Catalans. Unfortunately his attitude was too much for Guardiola and his minutes were already counted.

Now while Ibrahimovic is flying over the Atlantic, Eto'o is packing his bags to head to Italy. All I can say is that Ibra has some gigantic shoes to fill and he will learn quickly what he got himself into. He will have to score quickly and score often as the roar of the Indomitable Lion will be heard loud and clear despite his absence. Having a player like Eto'o was incredible and I for one have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The Indomitable Trophycase (Barca only)

3 Spanish League titles
2 UEFA Champions League titles
2 Spanish Super Cups
1 Copa del Rey

1 Pichichi
1 African POY award
Cameroon's all-time leading scorer