Cameroon great Eto’o signs for Chelsea

African superstar Samuel
Eto’o will test himself in English football after
Chelsea announced on Thursday that he has
joined the Premier League giants on a one-
year contract.
The 32-year-old Cameroon striker arrives
from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala on a
free transfer, in a move that may signal the
end of Chelsea’s pursuit of Manchester
United striker Wayne Rooney.
Chelsea have had two bids for Rooney
rejected and manager Jose Mourinho
recently admitted that he had a “Plan B” in
case their pursuit of the England
international did not come off.
“I am very happy to be here, but also
anxious because I want to get playing as
soon as possible,” said Eto’o, who was
pictured brandishing a Chelsea shirt on the
club website.
“It wasn’t a hard decision. I saw the
qualities Chelsea have, and I was very happy
with Jose Mourinho before, so when the
opportunity came, I was very happy to take
it.”
Eto’o previously worked under Mourinho at
Inter Milan and was a member of the team
that claimed an unprecedented treble of
Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League
titles in 2010.
The move also reunites him with former
Anzhi team-mate Willian, who completed a
switch to Chelsea in a deal reportedly worth
£30 million ($47 million, 35 million euros) on
Wednesday.
Willian and Eto’o are among a number of
players to have been moved on by Anzhi
after the Russian side’s billionaire owner
Suleiman Kerimov decided to restructure the
club and drastically shrink their budget.
Eto’o is expected to compete with Fernando
Torres, Romelu Lukaku and Demba Ba for a
place at the tip of the Chelsea attack,
although he played on the right flank under
Mourinho at Inter.
A four-time African Footballer of the Year,
Eto’o began his career in European football
at Real Madrid, but joined Real Mallorca in
2000 after a successful loan spell.
He lifted the Copa del Rey with Mallorca in
2003 before joining Barcelona a year later.
The striker enjoyed stunning success at
Barcelona, scoring in Champions League
final triumphs in 2006 and 2009 and also
claiming three Spanish league titles.
He subsequently joined Inter in 2009, as
part of the deal that took Zlatan Ibrahimovic
to Barcelona, and won his third Champions
League title in his first season at San Siro.
It made him the first player to win
consecutive European trebles with two
different clubs.
His move to big-spending Anzhi in August
2011 came as something of a shock,
although Kerimov was reported to have
made him the best-paid player in world
football.
Eto’o has also won the Africa Cup of Nations
on two occasions with Cameroon and was a
member of the team that triumphed at the
2000 Olympics in Sydney.