In a sense Tuesday's Champions League clash between Chelsea and Internazionale at Stamford Bridge was a contest between Africa's best two players, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o. In the end only one of the duo was left standing... and standing really tall.
Eto'o proved why he has won titles with every club he has played for from Mallorca to Milan, when on 78 minutes he scored a spectacular winner for the Italian champions.
The Cameroon skipper controlled a sublime long pass from the flying Dutchman Wesley Sneijder, left Branislav Ivanovic for dead, and side footed past Ross Thurnbull to ensure a double victory for Mourinho over his former club.
Eto'o and Drogba, to be fair, had a night beneath their exceptional standards. The Ivorian skipper was no where near his unplayable self, while Eto'o missed a good few chances to put the game to bed early on.
However while Eto'o again reestablished his big game credentials, the ghosts of the past came back to hunt the Blues top scorer who got sent off, following two yellow cards, in yet another crucial game for Chelsea.
For many African fans Eto'o's winner would energise a debate of a different kind. Last week Drogba was controversially voted the 2009 Africa Football of the Year, a decision not a few found curious, believing Eto'o who was an integral part of the all-conquering Barcelona, to be the better choice. I'd imagine the Cameroonian's feat yesterday would have a few CAF officials scratching their heads over their roles in the unpopular decision.
Mourinho would be happy he did the summer swap that saw him get Eto'o plus a cool 48m Euros for his former top striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic who headed for Barcelona. At the time the Portuguese said he got the best deal of the summer as his new striker wasn't worth a dime less than Ibrahimovic. He even considered the big game achievements of Eto'o an edge over the Swede who is notorious for disappearing when the heat is on.
Eto'o promised to do all within his famed powers to bring European success to the Nerazzurris and last night, despite having struggled all season to adapt to Inter's style of play he delivered to some degree on his word.
There are still three rounds to go before Eto'o can tie AC Milan's Clarence Seedorf as the only man to be European champion with three different clubs, but if any player in the game today can do it, the Indomitable Lion Samuel Eto'o Fils is that man.
credit: Africaplays
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