Samuel Eto’o
How the legendary former Cameroon international is helping to develop a new generation of stars across the continent, including South Africa.
“I THINK I HAD THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD AT THE TIME.”
During the recent 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan, former Cameroon gold medal winner Samuel Eto’o spent a few a days in South Africa. And KICK OFF’s Lorenz Köhler caught up with the four-time African Footballer of the Year to find out more about his legacy pitch unveiling, his thoughts on the struggles of African football on the global stage and his attempts to set the foundation for bridging the gap to enable aspiring talents to have the chance of following his iconic footsteps.
Samuel Eto’o is undoubtedly one of Africa’s greatest icons with his achievements in football elevating his status beyond the realms of just sports fandom.
A legendary, almost mythical, figure who became the first-ever player to win consecutive European ‘ Trebles’ when he starred for FC Barcelona and Inter Milan between 2009 and 2011, under Pep Guardiola under Jose Mourinho respectively, two of the greatest tacticians in football history.
Eto’o is the all-time top scorer for Spanish side Real Mallorca and Cameroon, along with an illustrious list of individual and team accolades over a distinguished career that spanned over two decades.
At the age of 19, he had already been developing his craft in Europe for four years with Real Madrid B, Leganes, Espanyol and Mallorca, which led to one of the continent’s most famous achievements in football.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the teenager, alongside the fearsome attacker Patrick Mboma, took the tournament by storm and secured a gold medal in the final against a Spain squad littered with incredible talent, such as Xavi and Carles Puyol.
It represents one of two first-place finishes for Africa after Nigeria’s triumph four years prior in Atlanta.
Fast forward 21 years and there was no representation in the last four at the Tokyo Olympics, and the Indomitable Lions remain the last side to secure gold.
Eto’o believes the regression of success is down to poor planning, and the secret to his team’s success was the belief that there was no better squad in Australia for those Games.
“Football is not only money. It’s first an idea, after that better organisation. The big problem African football has,
is they don’t have [clear] projects, they don’t have organisation. But we have good talent, if you don’t have a good project or vision, it’s difficult to compete with others who have the vision and project [in place],” Eto’o explains to KICK OFF.
“When you move to France or Germany, I’m sure their federation has a four-year project. It’s day after day. I had a lot of chances [to boost my career] during my time with Cameroon. I think I had the best team in the world at the time and at that moment you need to have an organisation of your football,” he adds.
Receiving his flowers
There’s often been suggestions that Africa’s elite talents have been disrespected and are not honoured enough for their achievements from a global perspective.
One need not look further than Zambia’s all-time top scorer Godfrey ‘Ucar’ Chitalu, whose alleged 116 goals in a single calendar year back in 1972 is still overlooked as a record as Lionel Messi is recently recognised to have beaten Gerd Muller’s 85 goal haul – with FIFA disputing claims of the domestic records.
“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO CREATE A DREAM.”
Eto’o, for all his achievements, was not recognised for the highest individual honour in club football with the Ballon d’Or – something he claims he’s unbothered by as he embarks on the next phase of his legacy post his professional career.
“The most important thing is to create a dream, this is the most important thing to me. I tried my best when I played and now I want to support and help African talent get to Europe,” the 40-year-old explains.
“Everybody saw how important [the legacy launch was] and the
pride I have for what I’ve done. For myself, it was incredible to see [me being honoured] I was very happy about that. But the most important thing is to create the dreams, and maybe with those dreams some other dreams can be created [for children] with this legacy pitch and facilities in my name.”
The four-time UEFA Champions League winner may not have received the individual accolades he deserved during his career but the moment he walked onto the Fives Legacy pitch in honour of his name – some 5867 km away from the city of Douala he was born in back in 1981 – the way his face lit up was a moment that could not have been bought or repeated.
Situated in Strand, Cape Town, the stateof-the-art facilities within an area with severe socio-economic issues, represents what Eto’o strives for now and the partnership with South African Breweries has brought that to life since he ended his playing career.
Eto’o first joined forces with the brand in 2018, one year before he officially hung up his boots and, together, they formed part of the team which launched Africa 5s – a fivea-side football competition which took the continent by storm.
Africa 5s is a continental social football league that launched with five countries and has since expanded to eight, with the inclusion of women’s teams.
Plans are already in motion to extend the facilities with 11-a-side pitches and cricket courts, which won’t be limited to just South Africa, but potential the entire continent. But his involvement in giving back is not limited to the development of football at the grassroots level.
Eto’o also set up a foundation in his name as he looks to sow seeds after reaping a harvest as one of the most recognisable football personalities that could live comfortably without having to ever lift a finger again.
Having once witnessed people in tears on the streets of Barcelona when meeting the elusive figure, it really speaks to the values and the determination to stay true to himself by funding basic health and education, predominantly in West Africa, for his non-profit organisation.
The deep interest in his attempts to uplift the youth of Africa, where 60% percent of the population is under the age of 25, is inspiring and when asked whether he feels more icons of the continent should follow his lead, he said adamantly that it’s not his place to talk on the behalf of others, but can only do what he feels is right.
Visibly emotional at the event, Eto’o notably delighted in the words of South African football legend Teko Modise, who was also in attendance, that underprivileged kids being exposed to that level of facilities will only lead to development of a wider pool of talent.
“I’M NOT HERE TO GIVE LESSONS FOR OTHER PLAYERS, EVERYBODY HAS TO DO GOOD THINGS FOR AFRICAN FOOTBALL.”
Where does the passion come from?
Amidst a precarious situation of many federations under the umbrella of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which has notably been crippled by corruption and poor leadership, Eto’o implored for better decision-making in the future and less self-serving narratives in order to reverse the flagging fortunes.
“It’s very important and it’s not about the advantage other continents have over Africa. FIFA is doing well to give all federations the same money, they all get the same millions, important money for the countries,” he said when asked about why he’s opted on this journey to hold hands with corporate investors.
“The people right now aren’t doing the right things properly. This is the problem of Africa. I’m not here to give lessons for other players, everybody has to do good things for African football.”
In the new era of African football which is now being led by former Mamelodi Sundowns president Patrice Motsepe, there’s been a general increase of hope. Africa’s eighth-richest man has taken to reform the continental governing body towards a goal of profitability and self-sustainability again after years of controversy.
In a sense, the development of football in Africa has become an over-talked narrative with little tangible success as national teams notably become less competitive in the FIFA World Cups with every four years that pass by.
But with Eto’o and Cameroon having achieved an Olympic Gold medal and with two AFCON titles during his career and a second-place finish at the 2003 Confederations Cup, he suggests a paradigm or mentality shift is one of the biggest tools towards a brighter future.
It’s difficult to argue the logic from someone who overcame abject poverty towards his current standing in the world, that developing mental fortitude is as important as the lack of investment many suggest is the detriment to competing at the highest level.
“I think the first thing Africa needs to establish is what is their project? Whether it’s more infrastructure or better organisation of their football. After that, Africa needs to have the ambition to win World Cups,” he said with conviction, answering without any hesitation when asked what’s the solutions to the rut we’ve found ourselves in.
“All nations must have the mentality that they can win AFCON. Some teams go to AFCON thinking their participation is enough, it’s not! If you want to win something, you need to believe you can win.
“The organisers of federations in Africa need to organise it like they are going to win the tournaments. When you organise for tournaments you need to change the mentality of the players to make them feel like they can be a winner, that’s the most important thing.”
“SOME TEAMS GO TO AFCON THINKING THEIR PARTICIPATION IS ENOUGH, IT’S NOT!”