Opinion: Samuel Eto’o is Greater Than George Weah
William Shakespeare, in one of his books, Twelfth Night, once said: “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” One could however argue that there is no footballer on the face of the earth that was born great, greatness in the round leather game is often achieved though constant hard work, dedication and sacrifice.
But then, there’s the school of thought that believes that footballers like the great Diego Maradona, Pele, Zinedine Zidane down to Lionel Messi were born to be great. Their talents have never been -and will never be – in doubt, they were born with it and have always been destined to be great.
Samuel Eto’o Fils – I dare to say – is Africa’s greatest player and an example of a footballer that has always been destined for greatness. The Cameroon legend is a perfect description of how talent and hard work earns you the desired results. You could make a good argument that the African continent has produced other great players and the argument would be valid. The obvious counter argument would be that of the current President of Liberia, George Manneh Oppong Weah who was the first, and remains the only African footballer to have won the prestigious FIFA World Player of the year and Ballon d’Or awards (1995). Add that to the African Player of the Year award that he won on three occassions (1989,1994,1995) and the podium finish (second position) in the 1996 edition of the FIFA World Player of The Year award along with several team titles won across Europe with some of the clubs that he played for, then you can begin to imagine just how great the Liberian was.
As great as Weah’s career was at club level, he was however unable to achieve anything with his national team. In the seventy five games or so that he played for the Liberia national team, he scored just eighteen goals. He appeared at the African Cup of Nations only two times and never made a World Cup appearance. At club level even, he amassed a career total of 184 goals in over 450 club games.
There is no doubt in my mind that George Weah was a fantastic footballer. There is also no doubt in my mind that regardless of the FIFA World Player and the Ballon d’Or awards, Samuel Eto’o Fils was a far greater player that George Weah was – Okay, maybe not so far, but two truths can exist at the same time. For instance, a person could believe that Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan team of the late eighties can be regarded as one of football’s greatest sides and at the same time feel that Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team of the late 2000s is the greatest football side to ever exist.
Samuel Eto’s was fantastic for both club and country. He does not only hold the record for most African Player of the Year award (4 – joint record with Yaya Toure), he also has a podium finish at the FIFA World Player of the Year award (Third position). He currently holds the all-time top scorer records for the African Cup of Nations, his country, Cameroon and Real Mallorca, the club where he spent his formative years and made a name for himself.
Statistically, Eto’o was great at club level. His 360 club goals in 720 club appearances are a testament to that fact. The indomitable lion also scored 56 goals in 118 appearcances for his country making him one of the most prolific African goal scorers of all time.
Apart from the individual accolades, Eto’o was also very successful as part of a collective unit. His league and cup title collection for Real Mallorca, Barcelona and Inter is one of the best by an African footballer and till date. His treble winning feat with two different clubs is unmatched by any footballer, past or present. Eto’o is also an Olympic gold medalist as well as a two-time African champion.
All things considered, when you compare the careers that both players have had, it’s a struggle to draw the conclusion that George Weah had a better career than Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroonian surpasses the Liberian in terms of records held, individual titles and team titles won and therefore should be regarded as the better player.
I’m open to reading a stronger, contrasting argument.
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