Eto'o: "Renewal talks should wait for the summer"

Barcelona player Samuel Eto'o gave an interview to Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia.





When he took over, Guardiola said that you weren't part of his plans. Things seem to have changed.
Although I wasn't part of his plans, Pep didn't say I wouldn't be part of the team. He recognized what we had achieved. There were 23 players in the squad last season, but some were given a greater responsiblity, which is normal. Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o didn't win games on their own. To be at my best, I need Puyol, I need Valdés, I need Xavi, and all the others. I accept the fact that I hasn't been at my best level over the last two years. It's true, but it's also true I have been injured. I'm not looking for excuses, I'm just saying that Pep hadn't coached me on a daily basis. So his point of view was normal. When he saw how hard I was working during training, I'm sure he said to himself: "Samuel has to stay". When we defeated the champions a few weeks ago, we celebrated together like we had won the league. When I missed the penalty, I told myself that I had to score. I was looking at the scoring board, to see how much time there was left. I started to feel tired, but I had to stay focused. I knew I had to score the one chance I would get. I scored and I started to run. Before, I had told Bojan that I would score, so I ran to him saying "you see, you see" and Pep was also there.

You've played for three Spanish clubs: the one that brought you here but wasted you, the one where you could end your career and Barça. What do you feel for Barça?
The president always says: "I love this club". And we all love it. Once you're part of this club, you don't look elsewhere anymore. Because of the way they treat us, the way the club works, the city... If things are going well, you can't compare it with anything. How could I not fall in love with this club? I also have a lot of feelings for Mallorca and I'm grateful they gave me a first chance when nobody believed in me. I would like to end my career there.

When will that be?
In 2010, I will be 29 years old and the World Cup will take place on my continent. I don't want to look like a fool there or show a lack of respect for the public.

You're thinking about the renewal?
I'm focused on my daily work. I still have a contract. If one day Barça wants me to continue, there will be time for that. If someone, the president or Txiki, tells me that we should sit down to negotiate, I will tell them that I don't want to be distracted now, that they should wait for the summer to settle it. For now, it's only about football and more football. There's no time for distractions, no talks about one euro here or one comma there.

This will be an expensive renewal...
One year there was a important club that wanted to sign me and they were ready to pay me whatever it took...

An English club that plays in a blue shirt?
I don't know (laughs). Anyway, I called the president and I told him that I didn't want to leave Barça, that I would let him know if one day I would. And if that day comes, I will leave as happy as the day they signed me. But I'll be a Barça fan until I die.

During the pre-season, the majority of the teammates asked that Eto'o would continue.
Thank you for reminding that. At a moment in which a lot of people had an opinion about me, my answer was my teammates who said I should stay. They see during the training sessions what I'm about. There were doubts about my attitude in the dressingroom but the answer of my teammates showed my real role. I'm not faking things and I'm a true teammate. I will always be grateful to them. It was a human detail.

That's where the team spirit comes in. Now everybody talks about the group, including yourself. What's the role of Guardiola in this?
I never thought about scoring my goals and that's it. We've lost two years while we had the best player of the world in the squad, everybody was to blame and who was the least to blame was Frank. He dealt with the dressingroom just like he had been doing since the first day. I think he showed being a great person by not changing his way of thinking. When we lost games, we weren't able to raise our head. Mistakes like that are made a lot. But now we have that extra experience. If you don't burn yourself, you never know what it is. But when you have burnt yourself once, you know fire can be dangerous. We will continue with modesty, like Pep wants it. He has used the right words. He, who never had coached in the first division, arrived and introduced the dialogue. And he keeps on doing that. Living like this has a lot of advantages.

You have the feeling that nobody can beat this team?
No, we cannot live things like the fans. We have a lead, but we're not even halfway the league. We know we're playing great, but we also know we're gonna have to face difficult moments. I just ask the fans to bring their enthusiasm to the stadium every game. The moment of celebrating will come later.


This was the second part of this interview. You will be able to read the next part on this blog in the coming days, with Eto'o talking -among other things- about Africa. Read the first part of the interview here:
Eto'o: "I live to be happy"

Read more:
Barcelona wants to renew Eto'o
Bojan: "There's still a lot left to learn"
Eto'o confused by Madrid reactions