It’s
hard to make a generic statement about the role of football in African
countries without sounding shallow. But as a Cameroonian, born, bred and
resident, I can confidently and factually say football in Cameroon is a
religion in whose doctrines Cameroonians believe, in whose shrines they pray
even if they are in ruins, and whose prophets we adore. No other prophet has
been adored and even worshipped with more blind devotion than striker Samuel Eto’o.
Since bursting unto the world footballing scene
in the early 2000s with Spanish side Real Mallorca, he has commanded the loyal
fanship of almost all football loving Cameroonians. The devotion has been so
great that each time he has moved to a new club, he has dragged along a mammoth
congregation of followers who have also changed their club allegiance just like
their idol. He has become a god and like most mortal gods, Eto’o has often missed
his strides: remember May 30, 2008 when he head-butted a journalist. Back then
and despite other wrongs, both rumoured and verified, Eto’o has benefitted from the
immense goodwill he has been stocking over years with his on-pitch performances.But with this
2014 World Cup in Brazil and on the heels of two defeats, one against Mexico
where he was missing though in action and the mulling against Croatia wherein
injury prevented him from making the cut, the Chelsea forward seems to have
completed depleted the goodwill he built and enjoyed almost unquestionably.
With rumours and visible signs of unrest in the den, the player has come under bitter
and sometimes unfair criticism for his absent presence and the overall poverty
of output from the often hailed Indomitable Lions. The intensity and
consistency of these criticisms have left many wondering why Eto’o? Why is
Eto’o so criticised although the slightest attempt at objective inquiry will
readily provide more reasons, besides Eto'o, for the inability of the Lions to roar, talk less
of exacting submission from any of their foes so far. Well, two reasons can credibly explain this
situation.
Against
the backdrop of the above portrait, Samuel Eto’o is undoubtedly the first
reason for the criticism being heaped on him. Surely if he could choose, he
would have preferred to put in match-winning plays rather than be an impotent
act in a play of defeat. However despite all his good wishes, his inability to
deliver performances when compared to his past exploits, especially at club level, have justifiably given reason to more and not just
some people to hurl criticism at him. For diehard fans, the easy culprit has been
his injury and since it can’t talk it is guilty as charged. But in the injury’s
defence, it must be said that even before being called up to team for the World
Cup, he was nursing this injury while with his English side Chelsea. For a
player who intends to carry on playing professionally, wasn’t it prudent for
him to throw in the towel for the long term sake of his career instead of
endangering his future for a one-month fling with possible glory? Forgive his
critics for they may not know who they are criticising but isn’t this Samuel
Eto’o the same who is the leading all- time scorer at the African Nations Cup? Isn’t he the guy who has accustomed the
Cameroonian public in general to awe-drawing performances
that brought Olympic glory in 2000, AFCON glory in 2000 and 2002 as well as a
finalist spot at the 2003 Confederations Cup? In simple terms, Eto’o is a victim
of his past prowess. Since he accustomed his Cameroonian fans to quality and praise in return, they can be forgiven for criticising when he is below par.
Secondly
the striker is equally the victim of the continued unofficial competing comparison between
Drogba and himself amongst the public. Since the mid -2000s when both players were at the height
of their careers, there has been an unrelenting debate, started and fuelled by
fans and pundits alike, as to who is the better of both strikers. In this sometimes objective and often times
sentimental debate Drogba has come out on top successively when the measuring
rod has been their spate with their national teams, which officialdom
would want to constitute the enduring legacy of every player. Circumstances
have come to the Ivoirian’s aid; he inspired his country to their maiden
World Cup in 2006, providing the nation with a unifying factor when it was plagued by war. Such a
context amplifies and gives added prominence beyond the world of sports to a
fit with which Eto’o too can credited but which has been blighted severely and
erased from collective memory by the Lion’s own doing. So since Cote d’Ivoire
just like Cameroon qualified for this year’s World Cup and both players were
selected by their respective teams, this debate has raged on. Comparatively
again Samuel Eto’o, with his evasive presence in Cameroon’s one nil defeat to
Mexico bowed to Drogba and his second half entry in their 2-1 victory over the
Samurai Blue of Japan. As strange as it seems, Drogba won this latest match off
although he came off from the bench and did not even score. His entry was
credited with Cote d’Ivoire's eventual victory, just as in past deadlocks in
which the Elephants’ have found themselves, proponents of this argument say. This is
contrasted with the blandness of Eto’o’s on-pitch presence and his sometimes pervasive
off pitch presence. Samuel Eto’o’s inability to walk away with a
victory from this umpteenth unofficial standoff with his pal Didier Drogba is
another reason for all the rotten eggs he is being pelted with.
Many other factors can account for the current fate of the Indomitable Lions and Samuel Eto'o. There is even an aspect of scapegoatism in Samuel Eto’o’s fall from grace in the eyes
of the Cameroonian public. There is also an aspect of frustration as Cameroonians seem fed up with Eto'o's shortcomings. This criticism could be nothing more than a manifestation of this frustration which emanates from Eto'o's depletion of all the goodwill he had left. We could go on and on with the guessing. Whatever the case, he deserves some of the blame not
just because he is the great Samuel Eto’o but because he is one of the eleven. Most
importantly he deserves some blame because he is one of the few Cameroonian
players to have benefitted the most from the goodwill of Cameroonians. Isn’t it
said to whom much is given, much is expected? Samuel Eto’o is a big boy and
rather than lash out and challenge his critics to a duel he should spread his
shoulders as wide as possible to bear as much responsibility as he can. Those are the same shoulders he has
been using to carry all the praise heaped on him. Right?
