Eto'o should be allowed to choose his own ending

by: Marcos





As the transfer silly season is boosted by Madrid and their Monopoly money, the Barcelona rumour-mill is currently dominated by the 'will he, won't he' saga of Samuel Eto'o.

Presently there seem to be three paths open to him. Firstly, it is common knowledge that Manchester City have made a bid of around €25-30m, along with, to quote Laporta, a 'stratospheric' offer to the player himself. His second option is a belated contract renewal offer from Barcelona, a token gesture if ever there was one. The third, and possibly most likely option is for him to see out the remaining twelve months of his contract and leave for free next summer.

Barcelona appear to be pushing Eto'o out of the door and some fans seem equally happy to see him go, the most repeated reason being that it would be disastrous if he left for nothing. There's a palpable clamour among the Barca faithful to sign the Valencia forward David Villa and seemingly little appreciation for the contribution of Eto'o over the last five years. There is no doubting the pedigree of Villa of course, but the readiness of Barcelona to jettison such an integral part of their recent, phenomenal success is surprising to say the least.

The norm is for successful clubs to try everything to hold on to their key players, as United did with Ronaldo, Milan with Kaka and Bayern (so far to the greatest success) with Ribery, and herein lies the problem. Barcelona don't seem to regard him as a key player, a source of discontent for the man himself over several years. Those accolades fall to the likes of Messi, Iniesta and previously, Ronaldinho.

When you consider the success achieved during the Cameroonian's time with the club, it is easy to empathise with those feelings. His five year tenure has seen the club capture three La Liga titles, two Champions league trophies, two Supercopa's and a Copa del Rey. Samuel's contribution to that haul is a staggering 130 goals in 200 games, including a crucial strike in each Champions league final, equalling Raul as the only player to have scored in two Champions league finals and raising Eto'o to joint third on Barcelona's list of all-time scorers.

His goal in this years final against Manchester United proved that he is not just a poacher either; many of his goals have been self-made and his ability to beat his man and shoot from distance have made him one of Europe's most coveted hitmen. His unselfishness on the field means he creates chances for others and he is willing to play from the flanks, as he did in Rome, so as to allow Messi to come into the middle. Allied to this is a prodigious work rate that is crucial to Pep Guardiola's exigent style of play.

Of course this is not to say that David Villa, or another replacement, wouldn't perform equally well given the chance. Barcelona's attacking play and the mercurial creative talents of Xavi, Messi, Iniesta, Henry and Alves means that whoever occupies that role is guaranteed opportunities. But goal scoring feats such as Eto'o has produced at the highest level and biggest of games are rare to say the least. The most the club could possibly hope for from his replacement would be to equal the Africans return. Even this would mean an outlay of between €40-60m and require the new player to settle into the team and area immediately. He would need to understand Barcelona's footballing philosophy and patterns of play instantly, and to show the necessary willing and energy to press and harry opposing defenders.

The other stick used to beat Eto'o are reports of him being 'problematic', and 'difficult' off the field. These problems appear to be verbal though, limited to bouts of sulking and the odd negative comment. By all accounts he is punctual, professional, dedicated and one of the best trainers in the squad. If he is difficult, it doesn't translate to either his or the teams performance's on the pitch, and there were few signs of unrest in the wonderful spirit and determination shown by Barcelona in last year's epic campaign. Indeed, if his troublesome nature off the pitch yields an historic treble, other European giants may be falling over themselves to sign every talented misfit they can find.

The truth is, if Samuel Eto'o were to stay at Barcelona for another twelve months it would not constitute a disaster. He is a known quantity, a striker who sweats for the cause and bleeds goals. His hunger to win the Pichichi each year would guarantee he gives his all and a wiser move for the club may be to buy a younger, cheaper understudy who can learn from Eto'o and cover whilst he fulfils his international duties.

Alternatively, would it be so bad to see Eto'o and Villa competing for that central striking role this coming season? Come next summer when his contract expires Barcelona would still have the opportunity to re-sign him, if desired. If not, it means he cost the club €24m and gave six years extraordinary service. He should be able to walk off into the sunset with the club and fans blessing.

There is an old saying that advocates 'better the devil you know'. Who would bet against Samuel Eto'o scoring the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final, or better still, in the Bernabeu next may?