FCBARCELONA.CAT
Main menu
Content menu
Football
02.09.2008 17:06
Eto’o reaches 150 games for Barça
Berta Brau
Samuel Eto’o has now played 150 games in a Barça shirt, a figure that he reached on Sunday at Los Pajaritos. The 96 goals he has scored in those 150 matches have made his name synonymous with goalscoring feats.
The first Cameroonian in Barça history is a fast-fighting provocateur, a non-conformist and a first class goalscorer. That is Samuel Eto’o. And on Sunday against Numancia, the Barça centre forward made his 150th appearance in a Barcelona shirt.
Official debut
It was on August 29, 2004, that Samuel Eto’o made his official debut for Barça under Frank Rijkaard against Racing Santander. Things could not have got off to a better start for the African, who scored from the penalty spot as he helped his new side to a 2-0 win.
150 games in five competitions
He has now played 150 times in different tournaments, most
of which were logically league fixtures, a total of 109. He has played in 30 European games, plus
six in the Copa del Rey and one in the European Super Cup and four in the Spanish Super Cup. 150
games in which the striker has been on target 96 times, a record of well more than a goal a game.
Scoring on four fronts
The 150 games over the course of four years have seen the Cameroonian score in four of those five competitions, the European Sup Cup being the only one to elude him. Samuel Eto’o has scored a total of 78 goals in the League, 14 in Europe, 2 in the Copa del Rey and 2 in the Spanish Super Cup.
Average 27 league games a season
In his two first seasons at FC Barcelona, Samuel Eto’o played practically every league match, but in the last two, 2006/07 and 2007/08, two serious injuries limited him to 19 and 18 matches respectively. In 2006/07, a torn meniscus sustained in his right leg against Werder Bremen in September meant Eto’o was sidelined for five months. Then in last year’s Trofeu Joan Gamper, the Cameroonian missed three months with another leg injury.
Goals to remember
In his 150 games for Barça, Eto’o has scored goals of all types, some of which have gone down
in club history. These included decisive goals like that scored at Levante in the 2004/05 season,
and which sealed the league title mathematically, and another at the Saint Denis in the Champions
League which tied the game against Arsenal and paved the way to eventual victory. And then there
are goals that ignite passion like no others at FC Barcelona, the ones that are scored against the
old rival Real Madrid.
Goals that have helped Barça win three titles and remain among the elite of world football. Now, as he goes into his fifth season as part of a new-look team under a new manager, Samuel Eto’o will be looking to further not only his individual achievements, but those of the team as well.
Goals that have helped Barça win three titles and remain among the elite of world football. Now, as he goes into his fifth season as part of a new-look team under a new manager, Samuel Eto’o will be looking to further not only his individual achievements, but those of the team as well.
