adminABIDJAN. — Cameroon captain Samuel Eto’o has labelled Jose Mourinho a “fool” for question his age and said he could play at the 2018 World Cup in Qatar.The 33-year-old was rumoured to have fallen out with Mourinho after the Chelsea boss was filmed by a French television channel saying, “Eto’o is 32-years-old, maybe 35, who knows?”
Although Eto’o seemed to laugh off the comment with a comical “old man” celebration after scoring against Manchester United in January, it would seem the Cameroonian still has an issue with the Portuguese boss.
Speaking to reporters after touching down in Abidjan ahead of the Copa Coca Cola youth football tournament in Bouake, Eto’o said: “I am 33-years-old. And it is not because a fool called me an old man that you must believe it.
“And you may have noticed that the old man was better than the youngsters.”
Eto’o, now out of contract after a season with the Blues, also hinted that he will play for a European club next season rather than sign a lucrative deal in the Middle East.
“Some believe I am going to retire in the United States or in the Middle East, but I have regained the joy of the Champions League and I am going to carry on playing in the Champions League.
“Where? I am not going to tell you. But I am going to carry on playing because physically and mentally I feel great. So I am going to go to this World Cup and to the next one when I will be 37. Some did it at 42, so I can still play in two more World Cups.”
Eto’o’s former partner, Anna Barranca, claimed the striker is actually 39!
She told The Sun: “I think Samuel is not 35 he is more 39. Samuel was born in 1974 and so that makes him 39 now.
“It was evident Samuel was older than the age he said he was when he first came to Europe.”
United again and yearning for another deep run at the World Cup, Cameroon is looking recapture the good old days.
A disappointing display at the last World Cup – losses to the Netherlands, Japan and Denmark – are behind them. A positive outlook for Brazil is straight ahead.
“In South Africa, we completely veered off target,” Cameroon midfielder Jean II Makoun said. “But I think we have a better team now with better organization and the players are happy and united.”
Last month, the Indomitable Lions were routed by Portugal 5-1 in their first warm-up match for the tournament.
The setback betrayed flaws in almost every sector of coach Volker Finke’s 4-3-3 lineup.
“It was upsetting at this stage to see the team behave like that. Once you lose focus and control, the result is shocking,” said Finke, a German.
“However, it was an experimental game which we used to test new player combinations, to see what will work best in Brazil.” At least one former player doesn’t think Cameroon has much of a chance in Brazil.
“Cameroon can boast of world-class players but they will not go past the first round,” said Francois Omam Biyik, who scored the winner against Argentina in the opening match of the 1990 World Cup. They lack the kind of cohesion and patriotism that spurred us back then.
“They need a change of mentality and must give the country the kind of 100 percent commitment they give to their clubs. And (Samuel) Eto’o may be a sophisticated striker, he is very far from being a good leader.” — Mailonline/Fox.
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