I originally planned to start this piece with a thorough recap of all the sporting honours and accolades Samuel Eto'o has garnered this far (just so his die-hard Eto'o fans did think this is another bias onslaught on their idol's prowess). When I talk of accolades and honours, I am referring to trophies won individually and collectively, not appearances in lost finals and unwon competitions, second and third positions etc. This was the intention but after initial research, I was quickly overwhelmed by the immensity of the guy's achievements. The guy has won it all (gross exaggeration intended) and on various fronts, be it in Africa as a national team player, in Europe as a professional athlete or worldwide on one of Forbes rankings of filthily rich athletes.
Defeated by the length of the striker's list of plaudits, I decided to go straight to the point and this is my point.
On October 13th 2013, most Cameroonians irrespective of their tribal leanings, socioeconomic status,religious and political persuasions will be expecting their beloved Indomitable Lions to roar and devour the one obstacle standing between them and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil - the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia. This is their legitimate right: to hope for smooth victory even though there is proof to the contrary. If this is the case then let me break up this orgy of expectation with one hard cold fact: Eto'o is not Drogba. He does not fair too well when wearing the national team jersey. Despite his professed desire, he is often a pale reflection of the Eto'o we have oftenly seen defending his club colours in Europe.
Despite his unambigouos talent as evidenced by all the awards to his name, Samuel Eto'o has consistently been impotent with the Lions. He has rather been negatively potent when the Indomitable Lions are concerned. Let me explain.
Impotent
While some players have on numerous occasions pulled their teams out of quandaries, he has been unable to conjure the magic and individual brilliance expected of footballers of his calibre to lead the team to victory on various occasions. Take the 2003 Confederations Cup Finals in France when we lost to France. Sure those were mournful circumstances but for a player of his talent he wasn't as eloquent and loud as fans and his talent expected. Simply put, his performances with the national team have never been up to par with the talent he has exhibited with the various European clubs he has played for. Unlike other talented Cameroonian footballers before him, he has often not been able to individually present the Indomitable Lions' jersey through a prism of glory to a new generation of onlookers . All the glory the national team has amassed since Eto'o came on board cannot be attributed solely to Eto,o but to his membership in a galaxy of other talented stars.
Negative potence
The Indomitable Lions have been going through the desert for a while and Eto'o has allegedly and factually been the reason for the protracted nature of this difficult period. Press reports alleged that he alienated and antagonised some players during the run-up to the World Cup 2010 by flaunting his wealth and personality i.e. buying expensive wrist watches for them and demanding that particular players be called up and fielded. Although these are just reports, he didn't help his ailing reputation when he publicly rejected a replacement made by the coach during a major encounter. He headbutted a journalist during a press conference in 2008. He refused to play a friendly against Algeria in 2011. Most recently he aggravated the situation when he alleged during an online interview that some persons were trying to kill him, reason why he dined alone and got his team jersey directly from the team's sportsware provider. In March 2013, he sure scored against Togo in a World Cup qualifying match that sent Cameroon top of their group. However such instances have been far and in between and haven't been impressive to delete his catalogue of misdeeds and shortcomings with the national team. He seems to be putting the immense power his talent has conferred him to negative purposes.
So
So on the eve of this crucial encounter, let those who are expecting Eto'o to rise to the challenge bridle their hopes and hope for the worst so that in case he brilliantly and successfully leads the charge, he can be hailed and his past transgressions forgotten, not necessarily forgiven. But most importantly let them remember Eto'o is not Drogba: Eto'o doesn't seem to fair too well footballistically when he is carrying the weight of the nation on his shoulders. They should rather be placing their bets on the team instinctively pulling together so that their united roar can push the Carthage Eagles into submission on their home turf. Counting on one player who is still struggling to find his feet with his club isn't the wisest thing to do right now.
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