“They’ll be really happy about this in Madrid,” Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain said after news Lionel Messi would miss this weekend’s “clasico” against Real because of a torn thigh muscle.
But I’ve got a suspicion that Real, although pleased Messi is out, would have been more thrilled if Samuel Eto’o had been missing for this Sunday’s Nou Camp clash.
Alongside new FIFA world player of the year Kaka, Messi is probably the most individually talented player in the European top flight and he single-handedly saved Barca from defeat against Real last season with a hat-trick. For many though, Eto’o is far more important to Barcelona as a team.
Without Eto’o, Barcelona are a really skilful side but lack that bite, that determination, that frightening electric pace that the former Mallorca and Real Madrid striker so often brings to their attacking play when he is not injured.
You only have to look at the way he races around pressuring the opposition back four, never letting them play the ball cleanly out of defence, to see the effect he has on the players around him. Rivals are immediately put on the back foot and Barca find it much easier to gain the upper hand in the battle for the control of midfield.
The team’s options in attack multiply exponentially as he stretches defenders across the pitch with his angled runs, lurks on the edge of the offside line and never turns down a chance to shoot at goal.
Messi will leave you open-mouthed with his magical close control and dribbling skills but he still tends to over-elaborate and is often so tied up in tying opponents in knots that he doesn’t always deliver the best pass.
Eto’o has scored three goals in three games since his return from injury, he looks really sharp considering he has been on the treatment table for over three months and added a new dimension to Barca when they dismantled Valencia at the weekend.
Given the form they are in this season, Real will fancy their chances on Sunday, but with Eto’o around Barca will be a much harder nut to crack.
Between Eto’o and Messi, who would you rather have?
Simon Baskett, Madrid
PHOTO: Barcelona’s Messi attends a training session at the Nou Camp, Dec 5 REUTERS/Albert Gea
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9 comments so far
Excellent post, Mr. Baskett. I completely agree.
Sure, Messi is the best individual player in Barcelona, but the frightening pace of Eto’o is what the team really needs to win consistently. Even Henry couldn’t fill the void Eto’o left up front, and it was good to see him remind us of that in the Mestalla.
- Posted by NSiderIt’s a tough call, but because it is Barca v Real I would rather have Eto’o in the side.
- Posted by MarkIf there is one team he loves do over it’s his former club Real after he felt they never really gave him a fair chance.
He never misses the opportunity to have a dig off the pitch, and famously led the Nou Camp in an anti-Real chant at the trophy presentation ceremony after they won the title in 2005.
On the pitch, it is the classic embarrassment factor of a player showing a former club what they are missing. His pace and aggression will be a constant thorn in Real’s back line.
It will be a fascinating clash with Real’s new centre back Pepe who has started to confound critics with some some strong performances, earning applause from the hard-to-please Bernabeu faithful last weekend.
Like Eto’o, Pepe looks to be a little hot-headed so what money on some tetchy moments between these two on Sunday!
It will be a fascinating contest.
Yeah, good post and I agree with the thrust of it. Messi is a great player, and might one day be up there with maradonas and Peles, but I think Barcelona are a better team with Eto’o in it. Super player, and he was the one I wanted Liverpool to do everything to sign for this season.
- Posted by LondonI think in this case Real would definitely rather be facing Messi than Eto’o (Messi’s hat-trick last time notwithstanding). Eto’o always comes out incredibly motivated when he plays Real, no doubt because he always felt so slighted by them when he was a Real player and they kept loaning him out. His record against Madrid when he was a Mallorca player was incredible, wasn’t it?
- Posted by kevOf course he can..
The differences between messi and eto’o is a killer instict on the front of goalkeeper. I dont have to explain it again..
- Posted by Andy GultomIn my football manager game, I bought Eto’o for Liverpool and he was my top scorer with 36 goals
Eto’o is a great striker virtually and in the real world. You need good strikers to convert those half-chances or to create a chance for themselves. Eto’o can do all that.
- Posted by Five Timeswell, i’d rather to have messi than eto’o. i know how good eto’o is, but messi’s individual skill is something special that eto’o doesn’t have. messi can also score eventhough he’s playing as winger. messi could also provide an element of surprise with his magical move. eto’o is fast, i know that, but messi can create his own chance. eto’o wouldn’t have a chance if his midfielder can’t provide one for him.
- Posted by European Football BlogWell, this is like asking someone to choose between being blind or being deaf, or between a cobra and a viper. Both are killers. I sure like Messi. His magical left foot is a wonder. However, in all honesty –and IMMO- Eto’o is a trademark strikng genius. Not many strikers can use both feet alike. Messi himself cannot use his right foot the way Eto’o uses his left foot. Eto’o can strike from any foot, and with almost the same supersonic speed and velocity. He did tha tSunday (first goal) vs. valencia. His teammate from Mexico recently recognized what yo ujust said, i.e, the team needs Eto’o badly because he is the one who constantly puts pressure on the opposing defense, thus creating more room in the mid-filed as his constant pressure allws Barca to dominate in tha tarea. I sure would have loved to have both Leo and Samuel. But when it comes to playing Real, Samuel poses more troubles tohis former team than does Messi.
Poppi (USA)
- Posted by PoppiAlthough it’s hardly been overlooked by all of those posting, I still have to come back to Messi’s hat-trick last year. I think that all of the points Mr. Baskett make regarding Eto’o are extremely valid, but the football world seems to be Eto’o crazy after his long absence, and in the process under-estimating the constant impact ‘The Flea’ has made on football games. When rating the Madrid defense against the Barce attack, it is Messi that makes me worry most. There’s no one in the Bernebeau squad that can control the little pip, and he will draw players then cough the ball through for anyone who cares to poach it (Iniesta, Bojan, etc.). In the end, I think Messi’s worth more goals in a game than Eto’o is without him.
- Posted by john