Samuel Eto’s Remarkable Achievement.
On this day in July 2009, Samuel Eto’o moved to Inter Milan in unpopular fashion after Barca added 46 million euros on him to get Inter’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic in exchange.
Despite Eto’o’s 36 goals in 52 games the previous season which helped Barca win a historic treble (La Liga, UEFA Champions League, and Copa del Rey), Barca coach Pep Guardiola forced him out in exchange for ‘the big Swede’.
“I want to write history with Inter!” were Samuel Eto’o’s words during his presentation at Inter.
As fate would have it, Eto’o settled in well at Inter, and Barca was paired up with Inter in the semi-final of the Champions League. Shamefully for Pep, by the time the tie came around, he had fallen out with his beloved Zlatan due to the big Swede’s ego and mediocre performances. Zlatan could not do for Barca half of what Eto’o did. In the much-awaited semi-final clash, Eto’o ran his socks off playing in full-back position to bundle Pep and Zlatan out of the competition. At the sound of the final whistle, he didn’t hide his joy in front of the Camp Nou faithful, to let them see what difference his transfer had made.
Eto’o went on to win the Champions League with Inter, becoming only the 4th player in history to win the title back-to-back with different clubs.
That same season, Samuel Eto’o equally won the Lega Calcio and Coppa Italia, becoming the only footballer in history to win back-to-back trebles with different clubs.
The streets will never forget. History never will.