Cameroon striker Eto’o still strikes fear

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho may have doubted the age of Samuel Eto’o but Cameroon coach Volker Finke has 100 percent confidence in the veteran striker.

“Samuel is coming back to his best level at Chelsea,” the German gleefully told reporters at a gathering of national coaches ahead of the World Cup next month.

“He is the best Cameroon footballer and can make a big difference come June,” said the 66-year-old handler.

With hosts Brazil overwhelming favourites to top Group A, a three-way fight between Cameroon, Croatia and Mexico is looming for second place and a knockout-stage ticket.

Mourinho was furious when a tape of him cast doubt on the age of the record four-time African Footballer of the Year Eto’o was leaked.

Noone, however, can doubt the credentials of a player who scored more than 100 goals and won two Champions League titles in five seasons with Barcelona, before claiming a third in his first season with Inter Milan in 2010.

Mourinho made headlines when he suggested in a private conversation that the Cameroonian may be older than he claims.

“The problem with Chelsea is we lack a striker. I have one (Eto’o), but he’s 32. Maybe 35. Who knows?,” Mourinho told a Swiss businessman before the Cameroonian celebrated his 33rd birthday in March.

Eto’o took the revelation in his stride, mimicking an old man as he limped to a corner flag after scoring against Tottenham Hotspur.

While it is widely accepted that Eto’o is past his prime, Manchester United might beg to differ.

He scored a hat-trick against them at Stamford Bridge and there have been other spectacular performances in the English Premier League and the Champions League.

It is a great boost for Cameroon, who rely heavily on the former Mallorca, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Anzhi Makhachkala star.

Possessing a goalmouth predator like Eto’o is a blessing, but the late Cameroon star Theophile ‘Doctor’ Abega felt it was also a curse.

“There is a tactical problem with the disparity of talent between Eto’o and his teammates,” said the 1984 African Footballer of the Year before his death two years ago.

“Every other Cameroonian rushes to give the ball to Samuel irrespective of whether he is in a good position or not.”

How ironic that Eto’o complained before a World Cup play-off in Tunisia last October that fellow ‘Indomitable Lions’ were deliberately not passing the ball to him.

The extraordinary claim followed reports of pro and anti-Eto’o factions in the national squad with appreciation of his talent severely diluted by alleged egoism.

Few Brazil-bound stars will be more desperate to impress than the Cameroon skipper after he was heavily criticised for a disastrous 2010 campaign.

Eto’o scored twice in South Africa but could not prevent losses to Japan, Denmark and the Netherlands.

A clique-riddled squad was blamed for the debacle with some players backing Eto’o and others supporting deposed captain Rigobert Song.

Eto’o is a close companion of national team controversy, including several false ‘retirements’ and a ban for inciting a bonus-related boycott of a friendly in Algeria.

But he is also the best bet for Cameroon goals in Brazil and a place in the knockout stage for the first time since Roger Milla inspired the 1990 ‘Lions’.