ACTUALITE |
13.02.2007
Angry Eto`o hits out at Rijkaard
Cameroon striker Samuel Eto`o has hit out at Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard for saying he refused to play in Sunday`s 2-0 win over Racing Santander.
Rijkaard claimed the 25-year-old "didn`t want to" come on as a second-half substitute.
But Eto`o said: "Telling a news conference I didn`t want to play is the behaviour of a bad person.
"I`ve always thought about the group first. If anybody has balls, they should tell it to me face-to-face."
Rijkaard had asked Eto`o, who recently returned to action after four months out with a knee injury, to come on in the closing minutes at the Nou Camp but the striker apparently rejected the request.
"Eto`o warmed up but afterwards told (assistant coach) Eusebio he did not want to come on," said Rijkaard after the game.
"I think it`s a shame because every minute, every moment, can be important... I haven`t spoken with him but I`m always prepared to talk to the players."
Ronaldinho was also critical of Eto`o after the game, suggesting the striker had been inconsiderate to his team-mates.
But Eto`o responded: "If a team-mate says that you must think of the team, it`s up to him to think of the team. Personally I always think first about the group and then money."
Barcelona`s victory over Racing Santander, thanks to two goals from Ronaldinho, saw them open up a three-point lead at the top of La Liga.
They are also through to face Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League, with Rijkard`s side hosting the first leg on 21 February.
However, Eto`o, last season`s top scorer in La Liga, said a major rift had developed at the Catalan giants.
"There`s a division in the changing room between two clans: one is the president`s and the other is someone else`s," he said.
"This is not my war, this is a war. I`m in the middle of a war between two people and I`m the one who is taking all the punishment. But I will return and return to play."
Reports suggest the rift is between supporters of president Joan Laporta and those of former vice-president Sandro Rosell, who left the club after a disagreement with Laporta.
Laporta earlier spoke out in support of Eto`o, denying the striker had refused to play on Sunday.
"His knee needs time to warm up and he didn`t have enough time. He preferred to be careful," Laporta told Spanish newspaper Marca.
"He didn`t do anything inappropriate or wrong. There is no way it can be deduced that Eto`o refused to play soccer for Barcelona."
Eto`o did not attend training on Monday, choosing instead to work in the gym - apparently because of a painful knee.
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Hits: 1 | Source:BBC | |
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