adminJOHANNESBURG. — Cameroon captain Samuel Eto’o revealed that some of his teammates refused to pass him the ball so he couldn’t score against Tunisia in their first leg World Cup soccer playoff last month.
The player, who joined Chelsea this season, said it was a plot to stop him from getting goals and forced him to drop back into the midfield to get the ball himself when they weren’t passing to him upfront.
Cameroon face Tunisia in the second-leg tomorrow, after the first-leg ended 0-0.
“It’s true and regrettable,” Eto’o said at the pre-match press conference in Yaounde.
“And when you watched me retreating to the midfield to chase the ball, it’s because I heard of the plot. Football is a collective sport. You are obliged to pass the ball even to your worst enemy, especially when he is in a good position to receive it.
“It is time to put all these issues behind us and concentrate on Sunday’s match.
“We need to unite, chat during the game and do our best to obtain the result that the entire nation is expecting from us.
“And since our coach is right here, I want him to help stop the act of not passing the ball to a player on the field!”
Coach Volker Finke, while saying there could be issues between players, denied that the players refused to pass to Eto’o. — AFP.
Online Reporter