How did Sameul Eto’o get on under Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, as Chelsea reportedly chase his signature?
Chelsea apparently have one transfer target this summer, Jose Mourinho has made it quite clear that he wants Wayne Rooney to be the spearhead of his attack this season.
However, every day that passes seems to see Manchester United be more and more obstructive to this apparent deal. As far as they are concerned it is simple – Wayne Rooney is not for sale.
With that in mind, it finally appears as though Mourinho is readying a ‘Plan B’ – should the pursuit of Rooney prove fruitless. And that Plan B has appeared to come forward and say ‘come and get me’.
Samuel Eto’o played under the mercurial Portuguese at Inter Milan in 2010, and won the treble under his management. The Cameroonian obviously harbours good memories from that time – judging by his comments in the media this week:
”There is only one Jose Mourinho. I have played under a lot of great coaches – but there is no other character in the game like Jose. He is one of the best coaches in the world – and we had a lot of success together at Inter Milan. I would like to have the chance to play under him again – because it is never boring when Jose is around. Of course Chelsea are a great team – and when we have all the offers on the table then I will discuss with my agent and see what my next step is.”
Samuel Eto’o’s time as the highest paid player in the world could be about to come to an end. The striker is no longer wanted at Anzhi Makhachkala, as they undergo a complete financial restructuring, which will see the vast majority of the clubs foreign players leave this summer.
With that in mind, Eto’o’s availability has quite suddenly been hurled into the spotlight.
So how good was Eto’o under Mourinho?
He arrived at the San Siro in the summer of 2009, as part of a deal that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic join Barcelona, and instantly became a vital member of Mourinho’s team.
He featured in 48 games for the club that season – scoring 16 goals.
That return is not exactly mind blowing for a striker of his obvious ability, but he found himself second fiddle in the scoring ranks to sensational Argentine Diego Milito.
But Mourinho had instilled in him a real team ethos, which even saw the striker occasionally playing out wide, and tracking back with a marauding full-back. Under Mourinho, Eto’o was becoming a more holistic player.
Then Mourinho left for Real Madrid in 2010 – thus starting a merry-go-round of managers at the club that started with Rafa Benitez.
But Eto’o actually got better, statistically, after Mourinho left the club. He scored 37 goals in 53 appearances, across all competitions – the best ever season of his career.
But Mourinho laid those foundations. He made Eto’o a far better player than he was before, adding attributes to his game that were never present during his time in Spain. Whether those attributes have survived playing in Dagestan remain to be seen.
But if a deal to sign Rooney falls through, Chelsea could do a lot worse than roll the dice on Samuel Eto’o.
image: © Jason Bagley
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