Sports

Eto’o’s Brilliant, Blemish To Be Remembered

Published

11 years ago

September 8, 2014

Samuel Eto’o’s Cameroon
career will be remembered as both brilliant and blemished.
The 33-year-old made his debut for the Indomitable Lions in 1997, aged just 15, and announced his retirement from internationals last Tuesday.
In the intervening 18 years – more than half of his life – he experienced the highs of winning titles as part of a toothsome and dangerous pride but also deep lows in recent times as Cameroon became a ragged outfit both on and off the pitch.
As the Indomitable Lions fortunes have waned, Eto’o’s reputation has taken some damaging blows – often self-inflicted as the striker’s behaviour was frequently the antithesis of what was expected after he became captain in 2009.
The new Everton striker’s greatest international achievements came when he was surrounded by quality players in the Cameroon side: the likes of Patrick Mboma, the late Marc-Vivien Foe, Geremi Njitap, Lauren Etame Mayer and even Rigobert Song.
In those halcyon days, the team mixed brute physical strength with tactical discipline and Eto’o’s clinical finishing – he is his country’s all-time leading scorer with 54 goals – helped clinch Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2000 and 2002.
Eto’o contested six Nations Cups in all, and leaves a major mark on the tournament by virtue of being its all-time top scorer. His 18 goals, four more than the next best total, is a benchmark likely to stand for some considerable time.
In between those back-to-back titles came a stunning Olympic gold medal as Cameroon beat Brazil on the way to the final, where they overcame a Spain side boasting Xavi and Carles Puyol.
Douala-born Eto’o played a major part in defeating the Spanish, scoring the goal that brought Cameroon back to 2-2 and forced extra-time, and then slotting home his kick to help win the penalty shootout.
But as Cameroon’s top talents fell away, Eto’o struggled to fill the void; not that one man, however talented, can carry a national side as Liberia’s George Weah, the only African to ever be crowned Fifa World Footballer of the Year, can attest.
Mboma himself told Tidesports source last Tuesday that “In our time, we had four to five leaders – Foe, myself, Raymond Kalla, Song – and when we left, Eto’o was almost alone in the team.”
But rather than any footballing deficiencies it was Eto’o’s squabbles with team-mates – he accused them of refusing to pass to him and also had an ugly feud with Alex Song – that dented his legacy.
“Under his captaincy, Eto’o did not help his team become stronger,” added Mboma. “He wasn’t negative to his team-mates, but he wasn’t that positive. He was more for himself rather than the whole squad, which is probably the reason why Cameroon have not won a title for a long time.”
Despite being national captain, there was little love lost between Eto’o and the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot).
In 2011 the former Chelsea man put aside his differences with his team-mates to lead a revolt against Fecafoot – with players so tired of receiving payments late they refused to honour a friendly against Algeria.
Eto’o’s actions earned him a 15-match ban that was later reduced to eight months, yet he remained in exile after his suspension ended as he railed against the “amateurish and poorly-organised” national set-up.
Rushed back into action after a meeting with representatives of the country’s president, Eto’o’s Cameroon failed to qualify for the 2012 and 2013 Nations Cups – an astonishing record considering they had reached at least the quarter-finals at the previous seven tournaments.
Club honours
Three Uefa Champions League medals (2006, 2009, 2010), four league titles (three in Spain, one in Italy), four national cups (two in Spain, two in Italy), one Club World Cup (2010)
But the nadir of the four-time African Footballer of the Year’s international career came in the World Cup, a tournament where he had long hoped to emulate the feats of his childhood hero, 1990 star Roger Milla.
At the tournament in South Africa in 2010 – the first edition to be held on African soil – Cameroon were the first team to leave the competition, prompting Eto’o to describe their exit after just two games as the biggest disappointment of his career.
He would play in a total of four World Cups (a joint African record), after making his debut as a 17-year-old against Italy in the 1998 finals, but never managed to help Cameroon into the knock-out stage.
Although he scored the goal that secured the 1990 World Cup quarter-finalists’ last group win, when beating Saudi Arabia in 2002, Cameroon has since lost seven straight games at the finals.
The last defeat came against Mexico at this year’s World Cup but marking Eto’o’s 118th – and last – appearance, it did at least allow an African football icon to bow out on the sport’s greatest stage.
Piers writes for BBC Sports.

Piers Edwards

Sports

Arsenal must win trophies to leave legacy – Arteta

Published

1 day ago

January 12, 2026

The Tide

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that the Premier League leaders must win trophies if they were to be remembered like the “Invincibles” side that last won the title for the Gunners in 2004.

Arsene Wenger’s side romped to the title 22 years ago without losing a single league game.

Arsenal headede into last night’s clash at home to reigning champions Liverpool with a five-point lead at the top of the table after Manchester City and Aston Villa dropped points against Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, respectively on Wednesday.

Arteta’s men, runners-up for the past three seasons, have two more points and four more goals than Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ managed after 20 games.

But the Spaniard said those stats matter little unless Arsenal go on to win the league.

“No, because ‘the Invincibles’ won a lot,” Arteta told his pre-match press conference on whether his side can be considered better than Arsenal’s last title winners.

“They won consistently, and they created a history and a legacy, and we have to do that.”

The lone major piece of silverware won by Arsenal in six years under Arteta remains the 2020 FA Cup

“There are a lot of stats, but in the last two or three years we have managed more points and more goals than ever before. But at the end, we have to translate that to major trophies,” he added.

“Probably doing what we are doing now would have been enough (in 2004), but now it’s not, and we have to make the margins even bigger.”

Arsenal lost 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield back in August in what was billed as an early showdown between title rivals.

The defending champions headed to the Emirates 14 points off the top after a difficult second season for Arne Slot, but Arteta insisted the Reds remain a superb side.

The Gunners were without sidelined defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera but were“monitoring the load” on Kai Havertz as the Germany forward intensified his training while continuing to recover from a long-term leg injury.

Sports

AFCON: Osimhen, Lookman Threaten Algeria’s Record

Published

1 day ago

January 12, 2026

The Tide

Nigeria sharpshooters Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will provide a stern test to the flawless record of Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, a son of French football icon Zinedine Zidane, in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Morocco.

Zidane is the only first-choice goalkeeper amongst the eight quarter-finalists to have kept a clean sheet in all of his tournament matches so far, but the task facing him in Marrakesh tomorrow will not be easy.

Former African player of the year award-winners Osimhen and Lookman have tormented defences during the tournament, scoring three goals each.

Zidane, 27, kept clean sheets in group matches against Sudan and Burkina Faso before being rested against Equatorial Guinea.

He was recalled for a last-16 clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo and once again was unbeaten during a dramatic extra-time victory.

Former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, his Spanish wife and another son have been among the crowds in each match Luca played for the Desert Foxes.

“It is special when your family come to watch,” said Luca Zidane, who began his career with Real Madrid B in 2016 and now plays for Spanish second-tier side Granada.

Born in France, Zidane represented his country of birth at five age-limit levels. Under FIFA rules he could also play for Spain or Algeria, where his grandparents were born.

Zidane chose Algeria, debuting in a 2026 World Cup qualifying victory over Uganda last November and, when an injury ruled first choice Alexis Guendoez out of the AFCON, he was promoted.

“I am proud to represent Algeria and play in the Africa Cup of Nations. It is a great experience,” he told reporters.

“I try to be myself, to build my career on my terms, step by step,” he said.

Algeria have been an AFCON bogey team for Nigeria, winning four and drawing two of nine meetings, including a 5-1 drubbing of the Super Eagles en route to winning the 1990 tournament at home. But the current Super Eagles appear to be in the mood to get this one over the Algerians.

The Desert Foxes have put successive group-stage exits behind them under Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic and substitute Adil Boulbina unleashed a thunderbolt to eliminate DR Congo.

Nigeria are the 12-goal leading scorers in Morocco with Osimhen, Lookman and Akor Adams forming a potent frontline.

But coach Eric Chelle will be concerned that the three-time champions have conceded four, the most among the eight title hopefuls.

Sports

Palace ready To Sell Guehi For Right Price

Published

1 day ago

January 12, 2026

The Tide

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has said that the club would sell captain Marc Guehi this month if his asking price is met.

The England defender is out of contract in the summer and Manchester City have emerged as contenders to sign him during the January transfer window.

Palace blocked a proposed £35m move to Liverpool last summer but risk losing the 25-year-old for nothing at the end of the season.

City’s interest in Guehi has progressed following injuries to defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias during Sunday’s draw against Chelsea.

“I’m not naive,” said Glasner, as reported by Tidesports source. “If a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen.”

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are among the European clubs to have shown an interest in signing Guehi on a free transfer, and he can sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club from this month.

“If you’re just valuing sports, everyone in the club will say Marc has to stay,” Glasner added. “The chairman will tell you the same. But it’s not one-dimensional. If you see the financial situation, it’s very important.

“If somebody comes, there will be a moment when the club says ‘now the financial issue is more important than the sports issue’.

“There will be a threshold where the club has to say it will happen, as long as Marc says ‘I want to leave’, because the final decision is always with the player.”

Guehi helped Palace finish 12th last season and win the FA Cup to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history.

The Eagles then won the Community Shield in August, beating Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties, and are 14th in the table and through to the knockout phase play-offs in the Uefa Conference League.

“The chairman rejected many offers in the summer because we want to play a successful season and wanted to win the Community Shield,” Glasner added. “Therefore, Marc is important, and then he rejected the offer.

“The threshold at that time, the money we got offered was not above it. Maybe it was close, but it was not above.”