By Akosua Adjei.
Samuel Eto’o Fils is a Cameroonian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. In his prime, Eto’o was regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the world, and he is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, winning the African Player of the Year a record four times: 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.
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.
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.
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.(Source-Wikipedia)
