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A Chat with Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon and Inter Milan

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PUMAFootball: You've played in Spain, now Italy, what does it mean to come back to Africa and hear the fans cheer for you?

ETO'O: It is an honor for me to play all the time in African stadia. I believe that my dearest - dearest dream is always to return. Every time I go away, I tell myself Samuel, when will you come back?? And every time I come back, I really enjoy it. Yesterday, despite the fact we lost, you can see that, here, where I live in Africa, people are proud to see me again. I can use the occasion to tell the spectators that I have to thank them for their welcome yesterday in the stadium. And, yesterday, I couldn't score, I tried to do my best but that depends on how you see it; I hope we will be luckier on Sunday. I hope I'll score and I hope that I'll be able to put my teammates in better positions so that they can score.

PUMAFootball: How does the captaincy affect the way you play the game?

ETO’O: For a few years now, I’ve been captain of this team. Now, the coach just wants me to wear the armband during the match, but I used to be captain and I see the match in the same way: I am always positive and I try to do my best for my team-mates so that we are all the best, because life is like that, football, is an education. And we have the opportunity to pass things on to the younger ones so that they can do the same tomorrow.

PUMAFootball: You're wearing the Africa Unity kit. How important is a United Africa?

ETO’O: By wearing this shirt, we are all united, we are all African, before we are from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana etc. And I hope that this spirit will continue into the World Cup, because in our World Cup an African country needs to progress as far as possible, to be able to win the cup or Africa. I would like it to be Cameroon; it could be another African country, because I am African before I am Cameroonian.

PUMAFootball: How would you describe your relationship with José Mourinho?

ETO’O : Yesterday I saw, before the start of the match he was encouraging me and I sent him a text to tell him that I knew that he watches matches, even in the Eighth Division. We have a very, very good relationship and I really need that after all the problems I have had, as regards to my departure from Barcelona. I’ve found someone: a big brother, a coach and a friend… We talk, we exchange views and there you are.

PUMAFootball: How important is his inside knowledge about Chelsea going to be?

ETO’O : I can’t say!

PUMAFootball: You’ve played in Spain; you've played in Italy, have you considered coming to play in the Premiere League?

ETO’O: I had the opportunity to sign for an English club in the summer, but I preferred to go to Italy and especially to Inter, because they had the coach I wanted and a President who really wanted me, although the English club, the chairman wanted me and the coach, I never dreamed of it and what’s more, I really like it at Inter but the future is sometimes full of surprises.

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