VilaWeb - Diari escola: Samuel Eto'o: The Return of an Idol

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diumenge, 28 d'abril de 2024

> Seeking to Break Goal Records

> The Best Defending Striker

> FC Barcelona Titles

dimarts, 18 de novembre de 2008

During the summer it seemed as though his days at Barça were numbered. Today, he is an indispensable member of the team coached by Josep Guardiola, which is at the top of the Spanish League and as of a few days ago, qualified for the next round of the Champions League. We are, of course, talking about the Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o.

Eto'o's hunger for goal scoring seems insatiable. In the Champions League he has scored three and, in the Spanish League, 13 in just 11 matches. He scored 3 against Almeria and, in the match against Valladolid, he scored 4– a figure far from common in today's football.

The Barça striker has recovered the form he exhibited during his first two seasons. In the 2004-2005 season, he scored 25 goals, followed by 26 in 2005-2006, a feat that won him the Pichichi, a trophy given to the top goalscorer of the league.

Behind the club now are the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons, made more complicated by injuries and tensions in the Barça dressing room and aggravated by a dearth of titles for a team that had become used to winning. Impassioned and temperamental, Eto'o could not keep himself from venting his feelings.

So, things have turned around completely for a player who has made history at FC Barcelona and who, at 27, is able to do a whole lot more.

+ Webs relacionades dins Nosaltres.Cat: FC Barcelona.

Seeking to Break Goal Records

+ Eto'o is the fourth highest goal scorer wearing a Barça shirt in the league.

With the goals he has scored this season, Samuel Eto'o is the fourth highest goal scorer wearing a Barça shirt in the league: 91, one more than Patrick Kluivert. The Cameroonian striker is about to overtake Mariano Martín's 97 goals. Beyond Martín are two equally legendary names in Barça history: César Rodríguez and Ladislau Kubala, with 195 and 131 goals, respectively.

The Best Defending Striker

+ Eto'o excels in this task of pressurising rival defenders.

Josep Guardiola's Barça is characterised by playing an attacking game, offensive football based on ball possession (not surprising considering Guardiola was the brain behind Johan Cruyff's so-called 'dream team'). However, that does not mean that the team doesn't defend. In fact, the team's defence starts with the strikers who have the task of pressurising rival defenders and of regaining possession of the ball as soon as possible. Samuel Eto'o excels in this task, which requires high commitment and speed.

FC Barcelona Titles

+ Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o in the 2006 Champions League final.

With Barça, Samuel Eto'o has won two Spanish League titles and one Champions League (the club's second), all three under the then-coach Frank Rijkaard, another fan of offensive football. Eto'o's contribution in the final of the Champions League against London's Arsenal was decisive as his goal was the equaliser a few minutes from the end of the match. On an individual level, Eto'o is a three-time winner of the African Player of the Year award and, in 2005, came third in FIFA's World Player ranking.

MATERIALS

Samuel Eto'o
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Pàgina del FC Barcelona.
Samuel Eto'o
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Viquipèdia.
Samuel Eto'o
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Fitxa de la UEFA.
Jugadors de llegenda
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Del Barça.
Lliga 2008/2009
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Crònica dels partits disputats pel Barça.

QUE HO SABIES?

Samuel Eto'o came to Barça from Mallorca where he spent five years (1999-2004), and won a cup title. Prior to that he was at Real Madrid, Barça's main rival.
During the first ten matches of the current league Barça has scored 34 goals, more than any other team in the last 50 years.
The goal record at Barça is held by Paulino Alcántara (1896-1964) who scored 357 goals in 357 matches.