a écrit le 13 août 2009 à 20h28 Eto'o settling in to unusual surroundings
There was a time when Samuel Eto'o and Jose Mourinho were portrayed as sworn enemies who were destined to spend their careers as opponents rather than allies.
Eto'o meets his new public.
Back in the days when Mourinho's Chelsea and Eto'o's Barcelona side were embroiled in explosive and acrimonious Champions League battles, the pair appeared to have differences that could never be reconciled.
Yet after one of the most expensive transfers in football history, Eto'o finds himself under Mourinho's command at Inter Milan, with the Italian club pulling off a masterstroke by securing the services of the proven Cameroonian goal poacher and pocketing the inflated sum of £40m in exchange for Swedish hit man Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The fact that Ibrahimovic is only regarded as a truly world class performer in Italy and has rarely looks a threat against Europe's best in the Champions League made the financial terms curiously one-side in the favour of Inter, with Eto'o content to have made the switch to the Serie A champions.
"It felt as if it was the right time to move on to another important championship and look to meet some fresh challenges head on," begins Eto'o. "It's like I'm starting from scratch again, which is an exciting and inspiring prospect.
"I have been in Spain for my entire pro career and had achieved far more than I could ever have predicted. I had five largely fantastic years at Barcelona and came to maturity there as a world-class striker. I won big trophies and had the pleasure of lining up with some of the biggest names around in football.
"Obviously, in the end people say I was forced out and with any working environment, there will be tensions and disagreements. Still, I don't want to dwell on the negatives. The satisfactions completely outweigh the bad moments: the incredible noise made by the 110,000 fans at the Camp Nou when were winning, the great attacking football we played. They are magical memories to take with me."
Inter are certainly getting a very different type of striker by swapping Ibrahimovic for Eto'o, with the new man quick to point out that his job is not to fill the void left by the departing hero.
"I don't like being compared to other players, whether past or present," he protests. "It doesn't make sense. I'm Samuel Eto'o and I have my own qualities, my own track record, which I think stands up to any sort of examination.
"My career has been a good one, probably better than good. I've won everyth
There was a time when Samuel Eto'o and Jose Mourinho were portrayed as sworn enemies who were destined to spend their careers as opponents rather than allies.
Eto'o meets his new public.
Back in the days when Mourinho's Chelsea and Eto'o's Barcelona side were embroiled in explosive and acrimonious Champions League battles, the pair appeared to have differences that could never be reconciled.
Yet after one of the most expensive transfers in football history, Eto'o finds himself under Mourinho's command at Inter Milan, with the Italian club pulling off a masterstroke by securing the services of the proven Cameroonian goal poacher and pocketing the inflated sum of £40m in exchange for Swedish hit man Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The fact that Ibrahimovic is only regarded as a truly world class performer in Italy and has rarely looks a threat against Europe's best in the Champions League made the financial terms curiously one-side in the favour of Inter, with Eto'o content to have made the switch to the Serie A champions.
"It felt as if it was the right time to move on to another important championship and look to meet some fresh challenges head on," begins Eto'o. "It's like I'm starting from scratch again, which is an exciting and inspiring prospect.
"I have been in Spain for my entire pro career and had achieved far more than I could ever have predicted. I had five largely fantastic years at Barcelona and came to maturity there as a world-class striker. I won big trophies and had the pleasure of lining up with some of the biggest names around in football.
"Obviously, in the end people say I was forced out and with any working environment, there will be tensions and disagreements. Still, I don't want to dwell on the negatives. The satisfactions completely outweigh the bad moments: the incredible noise made by the 110,000 fans at the Camp Nou when were winning, the great attacking football we played. They are magical memories to take with me."
Inter are certainly getting a very different type of striker by swapping Ibrahimovic for Eto'o, with the new man quick to point out that his job is not to fill the void left by the departing hero.
"I don't like being compared to other players, whether past or present," he protests. "It doesn't make sense. I'm Samuel Eto'o and I have my own qualities, my own track record, which I think stands up to any sort of examination.
"My career has been a good one, probably better than good. I've won everyth
