Samuel Eto'o

Samuel Eto'o
Eto'o in 2011
President of Cameroonian Football Federation
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 December 2021[1]
Preceded by	Seidou Mbombo Njoya
Personal details
Born	Samuel Eto'o Fils[2] (1981-03-10) 10 March 1981 (age 43) Douala, Cameroon[3]
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[4][5]
Occupation	Footballer Football administrator
Association football career Position(s) Striker Youth career 1992–1996 Kadji Sports Academy 1996–1997 Real Madrid Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1997–2000 Real Madrid 3 (0) 1997–1998 → Leganés (loan) 28 (3) 1999 → Espanyol (loan) 0 (0) 2000 → Mallorca (loan) 13 (6) 2000–2004 Mallorca 120 (48) 2004–2009 Barcelona 144 (108) 2009–2011 Inter Milan 67 (33) 2011–2013 Anzhi Makhachkala 53 (25) 2013–2014 Chelsea 21 (9) 2014–2015 Everton 14 (3) 2015 Sampdoria 18 (2) 2015–2018 Antalyaspor 76 (44) 2018 Konyaspor 13 (6) 2018–2019 Qatar SC 17 (6) Total 587 (293) International career 2000 Cameroon U23 6 (1) 1997–2014 Cameroon 118 (56) Managerial career 2015–2016 Antalyaspor (interim player-manager) Medal record Men's Football Representing  Cameroon Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Team Africa Cup of Nations Winner 2000 Ghana–Nigeria Winner 2002 Mali Runner-up 2008 Ghana FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up 2003 France *Club domestic league appearances and goals

Samuel Eto'o Fils (French pronunciation: [samɥɛl eto fis]; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation.^[1] He won the African Player of the Year a record four times:^[6] in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010.

A precocious talent, Eto'o moved to Real Madrid as a 16 year old. Due to competition in his position with more experienced players, he had several loan spells, before signing for Mallorca in 2000 where he scored 70 goals, a club record.^[7] His impressive form saw him join Barcelona in 2004 where he scored 130 goals in five seasons and also became the record holder for the most appearances by an African player in La Liga.^[8] Winning La Liga three times, he was a key member of the Barcelona attack, alongside Ronaldinho, that won the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto'o scoring in the final, and was part of a front three of Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry that won the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto'o again scoring in the final. He is the second player in history to score in two UEFA Champions League finals.^[9] At Barcelona, Eto'o came in third for the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2005 and was twice named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, in 2005 and 2006.

He signed with Inter Milan for the 2009–10 season, where he became the first player to win two European continental trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Inter. He is the fourth player in Champions League history, after Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Gerard Piqué, to have won the trophy two years in a row with different teams.^[10] After brief spells with Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea, Everton, and Sampdoria, Eto'o found prolific form again in the Süper Lig with Antalyaspor having scored 44 goals in 76 league games. In 2015, he received the Golden Foot Award.

As a member of the Cameroon national team, Eto'o was a part of the squad that won the Gold Medal at the 2000 Olympics. He also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002. Eto'o has participated in four World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations. He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with 18 goals, and is Cameroon's all-time leading scorer and third most capped player, with 56 goals in 118 caps.^[11] Eto'o announced his retirement from international football in August 2014.