At the end of the 08-09 season, Barcelona sent Samuel Eto'o to Inter Milan and to many observers (including myself), he was dismissed unfairly and unjustifiably painted in a negative light. Many idiotic Barca supporters saw the departure of Eto'o as a good thing, although they failed to realize that he was a MASSIVE part of Barca's historic Triplete.
The frechman Paul Le Guen announced the 30-man for the world cup. The African squad will by led by striker Samuel Eto, added to the experience and talent of Espanyol goalkeeper Kameni, Emana y Webo.
The coach has called up on veterans like Geremi and Rigobert Song, and left out Marsella midfielder Stephane Mbia y Burnley defender Andre Bikey.
Goalkeepers:
Guy Roland N'Dy Assembe (Valenciennes)
Idriss Carlos Kameni (Espanyol/Spain)
Hamidou Souleymanou (Kayserispor)
Patrick Tignyemb (Bloemfontein Celtic).
Defenders:
Patrick Abouna (Astres Douala)
Benoit Assou Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur)
Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham Hotspur)
Gaetan Bong (Valenciennes)
Aurelien Chedjou (Lille)
Geremi (Ankaragucu)
Boukar Makadji (Al Nahdha)
Nicolas Nkoulou (Monaco)
Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor)
Midfielders:
Achille Emaná (REAL BETIS)
Enoh Eyong (Ajax Amsterdam)
Jean Makoun (Olympique Lyon)
Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern)
Joel Matip (Schalke 04)
Patrick Mevoungou (Canon Yaounde)
Marcel Ndjeng (Augsburg)
Landry Nguemo (Celtic)
Alexandre Song (Arsenal).
Forwards:
Vincent Aboubakar (Coton Sport)
Eric Choupo-Mating (Nuremburg)
Paul Alo'o Efoulou (Nancy)
Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan)
Mohamadou Idrissou (Friburgo)
Dorge Kouemaha (Club Bruges)
Achille Webo (Real Mallorca/Spain)
Jacques Zoua (Basilea)
For those Ibrahimovic supporters, you have finally gotten your first dose of what he has to offer in big games. When the deal went down, George and I mentioned that Ibrahimovic was not a big-game player. Part of what he was brought to do was score in those games and he will have to surpass the player he was replacing.
Samuel Eto'o is not a gamer, he is a big game hunter. Catalan eyes will have their peripheral vision focused on what their former Pichichi is doing on the other side of the Mediterranean.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was slammed by both Spanish and Italian media already after his pallid performance in the European Supercup. He showed next to nothing against a Shakhtar Donetsk side that was very defensive and took Barca almost to penalties. Ibrahimovic was not counted on and Pedro eventually would give more points to the Barca youth side.
You know that somewhere in Milan, where Samuel Eto'o is living, he must be giggling. He will forever be a Blaugrana. He will always be happy if and when Barca win another title from now to the end of time.
Feeling? Well Guardiola might have the medal, but he is starting to realize what he no longer has.
Why wasn't Samuel Eto'o extended the same lifetime/long term commitment from Barcelona that was given to Xavi & Puyol? Its true that Xavi & Puyol are Catalans and products of La Masia and Eto'o isn't. However, production on the field should trump that and the Cameroonian's goal scoring prowess is unsurpassed.
He is the only player to score in 2 UEFA Champions League finals, that's enough proof right there.
The attitude of Samuel Eto'o always comes up but when has he spoken out or done something irrationally or ugly? If there are any incidents of his fault where's the evidence, show me the YouTube ugliness displayed by Eto'o. In fact, he's been the victim of vicious racism from La Liga crowds to the point that he fears for his family's safety at the games and bravely almost walked off the pitch during a game and ETO'O HAS A PROBLEM?. Ain't that a mindfuck for you.
Most of the "controversy" surrounding Eto'o has been the striker responding to some kind of character attack or allegation. Eto'o has been the victim of that old racist double standard: A good negro swallows his pride and cowers in the face of negativity but a problem negro expresses and defends himself.
If his attitude was such a problem, then Barca wouldn't have won The Triplete.
Samuel Eto'o was the perfect teammate during the Treble winning season, all he asked for was to be paid like one of the best in the world. A reasonable request considering that he is the top striker in the world. Barcelona was too stingy to show Eto'o the money but swung a $100 million deal to overpay a white Swede and send Eto'o to Inter Milan.
Talk about underappreciated, he's worth more than Ibrahimovic and Barca gave Eto'o & money to Inter Milan for a guy whose never scored a goal in the knockout stage of the Champions League, showed no loyalty and jumped ship after Juventus was relegated. To quote Malcolm X, Barcelona "got had, got took, got hoodwinked, bamboozled, run amok, led astray." by Inter Milan all because they couldn't see themselves long term with a black African.
I wonder if Yaya Toure & Seydou Keita are paying attention. I'm still a Barca fan but as a person of color, this one hurts and Eto'o deserved better.
The saga of what will happen with Cameroon goal assassin Samuel Eto'o is finally over. Eto'o is headed to Inter Milan where he will pair up with Diego Milito to form the most devastating strike duo the Nerazzurri has had in 10-15 years. As a Barca fan, I am thoroughly disappointed and upset. Why? Because, for a guy who has been the best striker in the world the last 4-5 years, he was low-balled by a team he showed a lot of loyalty too.
I can't help to think that if Eto'o weren't a dark-skinned African but a light-skinned European that he would have gotten the money he deserved and would be still wearing the famous Barca shirt. Let's be real here, in recent history Barcelona has a reputation of making their darker skinned talents feel less wanted and valuable.
Rivaldo, Patrick Kluivert, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and even Frank Rijkaard all left Barca unappreciated. The club chose Louis Van Gaal over Rivaldo, Kluivert was unceremoniously released in 2004, Ronaldo only played one season, and Ronaldinho's well-publicized fall out was a shame for a player who helped to put Barca back on the footballing map. Even Rijkaard who won 2 La Liga titles and a Champions League seems less revered than Van Gaal whose 2nd tenure at Barca was a disaster.
Now Eto'o suffers the same fate, an unappreciated exit from the club that helped his career and that he helped become THE European power.
During Eto'o's tenure Barca has extended lifetime till retirement contracts to Xavi, Puyol, and hopefully soon Andres Iniesta all of them more than deserve it. Eto'o was just as important to Barca's success and they refused to make the same commitment. What's the difference between Eto'o and those guys?
[Continued on Part II]
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
The final installment of the Award Winners series will feature the candidates for the African Player of the Year. The winner of the 2007 award went to Sevilla's Mali striker Frédéric Kanouté.
Kanouté was the 1st African P.O.Y. not to be born in Africa, but this year's candidates & eventual winner were all born on the African continent. The WCB list of candidates is slightly different from shortlist that was formally announced so here are our three top candidates for African Footballer Of The Year (in no particular order):
Mohamed Aboutrika
He is the best African footballer plying his trade in Africa. Even though he wears No. 22, he has the skills of a true No. 10. Aboutrika led Egypt to its 5th African Cup of Nations title, scoring the trophy clincher in the final vs. Cameroon. He finished tied for 2nd on the tournament's goal scoring list. Despite injury he has been instrumental in leading African superclub Al-Ahly to the 2008 CAF Champions League Final. It is the 4th time in the last 4 years that Al-Ahly has reached the final. Aboutrika could break Cameroon hearts twice in 2008 because his Al-Ahly team is on the verge of defeating Cameroon side Cotonsport Garoua in the final and thus leading Al-Ahly to a record 6th African Club title.
Samuel Eto'o
He wasn't on the announced formal shortlist for the award and as a 3-time winner he's already had his time but in '08, Eto'o was great. He was the leading goal scorer in the African Cup of Nations in leading Cameroon to a surprise final appearance. Despite missing time during Barca's season due to the Cup of Nations and injury he still managed 16 goals in 18 La Liga appearances. He didn't have the hardware like Aboutrika but he was still a beast and finished with same trophy count as Michael Essien and as many goals as Didier Drogba.
Emmanuel Adebayor
The tall lanky forward from Togo had a breakout season for Arsenal. Under Arsene Wenger's flowing, sharp cutting passing system, Adebayor flourished scoring 24 goals in the Premiership finishing 2nd along with Liverpool's Fernando Torres and behind Man U's Cristiano Ronaldo. Togo did not participate in the African Cup of Nations but his breakout Premiership campaign make him a legitimate candidate for African Player of the Year and a force on the European club scene and Togo national team for a good while.
The winner of the title of African Footballer of the Year is:
Mohamed Aboutrika
The Egyptian playmaker is the deserving winner of African Player of the Year because he performed great in the biggest stages at both the club and national team levels. The same argument made earlier for Joffre Guerron and his South American Player of the Year can be made for Mohamed Aboutrika. The best player on the best club team and in Aboutrika's case, the best player on the best national team in Africa. He would make history if he wins the African P.O.Y. because since the Confederation of African Football gave out the award in 1992, no Egyptian has ever won. We should see soon, a Pharaoh once again reigning over Africa.
