Former Inter striker Samuel Eto’o discussed the Treble winning season, his teammates and coach Jose Mourinho in an interview in today’s paper edition of the Milano based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
First, he spoke about his memories from the Treble winning season.
“I raised the cup to the sky and it’s not only my hands that hold it. It’s a flash, I can see the hands of millions of Inter fans, who pull it up with me.”
Eto’o discussed his first contact with the Nerazzurri and defender Marco Materazzi.
“It was with who would become my brother Marco. The story of his text message is well known. A certain Materazzi texted me ‘If you come to the Inter we will win everything’, I didn’t have that number in my address book and I asked Albertini, ‘Is it his?’ Yes, it is.
It had never happened to me before in my career, that message was decisive for my choice. And from there a great friendship was born.”
The Cameroonian moved onto talking about Inter president Massimo Moratti and Nerazzurri coach Jose Mourinho.
“He called me speaking perfect French and said, ‘Eto’o, trust me. You’ll be very happy with the move to Inter, it will become like your home.’ He was right.
“Mourinho sent me a picture of a Nerazzurri shirt with the number 9 on it and wrote, it’s yours, it’s waiting for you.”
Eto’o commented on the initial differences between his wage request and Inter’s offer.
“Participating in such a sporting challenge made a difference to me, but there was also a difference between the offer and my request.
“When I met the executives involved in the negotiation, including Moratti and Branca, I said, ‘Let’s turn that difference into a team bonus if we win the Champions League in the next two years. Ten months later we were European champions.”
He revealed that he felt disappointed by Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola when he departed the club in the summer of 2009.
“Yes, but by then I’d left everything behind, and I was already talking to other clubs, I knew I was leaving. That message from Materazzi stopped all other negotiations, I felt that it was the right place to go.”
Eto’o discussed how he only scored 16 goals in the Treble winning campaign, even though he was crucial to the squad that season.
“I knew I was lucky enough to be where I wanted to be, the real Eto’o was seen the following season. Tactically I did my duty, what a squad like Inter deserved, even though I played as a full-back at Barcelona when there was a full emergency.
“When Thiago Motta was sent off, Mourinho called me and Zanetti and explained us how to position ourselves. I didn’t have time to think, I just said to myself, ‘Give everything and we’ll see at the end’. And in the end, we were in the final.”
The Cameroonian spoke about his striker partner Diego Milito, who was instrumental in the Treble winning campaign.
“Thank God jealousy is not a feeling that I have. Diego was great, he never made mistakes in front of goal but in the end, we did the same thing. I played for the team, he scored for the team.”
Eto’o discussed the Champions League clash against Chelsea in London.
“I’ll always remember two things about that night. Mourinho’s speech before the match, ‘No team I coached can beat me’. We entered the field determined, we even played for the coach.
“Then I remember when I stopped before I went to score, at that moment I said to myself, ‘If you do it well, then you score easy’. I still have it here in my eyes, that control.”
The former Inter striker commented on how it felt to play against his former club, Barcelona, in the Champions League that season.
“That’s exactly what I said to myself, we were about to write a story that was too good, to climb the last step before the final at Camp Nou, it was a sign for me.”
Eto’o touched on what Mourinho said before the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
“It wasn’t long, he just said, ‘you don’t play finals, you win them. Either we die on the pitch and bring the cup to Milan, or we die because we’re not going back to Milan. So, let’s go back there, and take the cup with us.’”
The Cameroonian discussed if he was close to returning to Inter in 2013.
“I don’t know if there was ever a chance, it was a wish of mine. For me it would have been very nice.”
Finally, Eto’o discussed how he will always be an Inter fan.
“That’s right, when you become an Inter fan once, you will die as an Inter fan. There is no reason for this, it’s simply how it is, period.”
