Eto'o: "I Am Not Ready"
(Goal.com) - Samuel Eto'o has explained the reason that he opted not to play in FC Barcelona's Champions League tie against Liverpool as he wants to make sure that he is fully fit.
The Cameroonian striker was not included in the squad for the European outing by coach FranK Rijkaard, despite reports that he was set to return.
After injuring his meniscus against Werder Bremen in September, Eto'o missed four months of action before returning as a substitute against Osasuna earlier this month.
His comeback was hotly anticipated, but it now appears that he had rush himself into playing again as his reluctance not to appear the following weekend against Racing proved.
There was some shock around Camp Nou when it was announced that Eto'o would not be part of the 18-man party to play Liverpool, but he has explained his reasons.
"For the moment, I am not ready," the former Mallorca forward stated.
"I want to to return to the Barça side feeling 100 per cent and that is not the case right now.
"I constantly talk to the coach and let him know how I feel and he always wants to hear my opinion."
With Lionel Messi set to start the match against the Reds after recovering from a broken toe, Rijkaard has some different options up front.
The Dutchman must now choose whether Eidur Gudjohnsen retains his place or whether Javier Saviola steps in, while third permutation could see Andrés Iniesta employed on the right with Messi as the main striker.
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Comments
Man oh man! Everytime this guy opens his mouth he sticks his foot in further! Of course he's not ready! Thats why Barca's manager opted to put him in his first game back for a short period of time. The further this knuckle head kid stays away from the media the better off he will be.
Posted by: Sam Adams | February 21, 2007 05:09 PM
yes sam you are so right i mean it they should ship him out of barcelona club.
he had on a white shirt during the liverpool game .make you think
Posted by: soccer dr nyc | February 22, 2007 01:14 AM
its clear that just hate the guy, but anyway hope now you have seen the importance of him now,e'too is the most important plkayer at barca cuz he is the one who have been scoring most of their winning goals for the past seasons....tel you what ronaldinho is not that of a danger without his lethal striker.....i dont think you guys are even bsarca fans cuz we are grateful to him and kw the importance of him in the team...
Posted by: yusupha | February 22, 2007 03:32 PM
yes i love barcelona living in new york as
an american i watch only soccer and only soccer. eto is paid to score goals .so he should shut his mouth and do it play soccer.
Posted by: soccer dr nyc | February 23, 2007 11:25 AM
AS far as i kw dr, e'too was nt the first guy who went to the media and start talking, as far as he was concern they should have talk to him rather than going to media, am not saying that he is right on what he did but they should have kept it in the team rather than selling him out, u know what you as a so call soccer dr should know what am talking about....and idont care weather you watch soccer or bball....dr
Posted by: yusupha | February 23, 2007 07:49 PM
What was that Eto'o? I can't hear you when you've got your foot shoved down your throat.
Posted by: Adam | February 23, 2007 10:45 PM
Does anybody get the feeling E'too isnt happy in Barca? I think he wants to leave.
Posted by: RcFutbolFreak | February 23, 2007 11:25 PM
ok i told you so eto should shutup and play
soccer .2/25/07 so he did the right thing play soccer look at the result.
Posted by: soccer dr nyc | February 26, 2007 01:12 AM
yow, u all down e'too has shown all you racist people that either you accept that he is the most important player in barca or stop watching barca cuz he will always be there, shining...'actions speak louder than words'......once more you have silence the critics...
Posted by: yusupha | February 26, 2007 04:49 PM
dear critiics of e'too,do a little mistake from the man warrant you all to talk dirty on him like that.e'too is human so is bound to make mistakes, look at zidane with the mistake he made the french still love him, thats loyalty and thats it should be....he help the team win the champs league being awarded man of the match at the final despite that you guys wanna throw him at the first oppurtunity,ungrateful guys...
Posted by: yusupha | February 26, 2007 05:01 PM
You guys what are you fighting for???!!!!!
Posted by: Revelian S. N | February 28, 2007 11:39 AM
I think RcFutbolFreak is on the money and Eto'o is unhappy and has grown restless at Barce. With the string of comments and incidents surrounding him that has surfaced over the past year, it looks clear that a rift is developing between him and the club. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Eto'o in transfer talks this summer.
Especially with Barcelona showing interest in Ronaldo, if relations with Eto'o continue to deteriorate, I wouldn't be surprised to the club look to unload him and free up some more cash in order to be able to make a better bid for Ronaldo. I can't imagine there would be any shortage of clubs interested in snatching Eto'o up either. Strikers of his caliber are few in number.
Posted by: Heath Young | February 28, 2007 12:09 PM
Yup exactly wat i was thinking heath.
Posted by: RcFutbolFreak | February 28, 2007 08:06 PM
If my pbrolem was a Death Star, this article is a photon torpedo.
Posted by: Susannah | February 14, 2012 05:30 AM