Following Sampdoria’s 1–1 draw at home to Palermo the crowd stayed behind after the final whistle and waited to glimpse at Samuel Eto’o for the first time in his Blucerchiati gear. Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero took to the field alongside his new signings Eto’o and Luis Muriel, and took a selfie in his own inimitable style.
Amidst all the excitement and singing of Eto’o’s name the Gradinata Sud chanted for Ferrero to bring them European football. Samp fans will hope Eto’o is the big name forward who can do just that.
Eto’o is a proven talent and will presumably be on good wages, but despite his pedigree, he still runs the risk of being a vanity signing on Ferrero’s part.
Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihaljovic is rightly keeping his feet on the ground and said that he for one is not particularly captivated by his arrival. The stoic Serbian was publicly sceptical about the scenes of euphoria that greeted Eto’o’s arrival in Liguria.
Despite the sense of excitement in Genoa at the big-name capture, the Cameroonian striker isn’t necessarily what Sampdoria need in order to build on their impressive first-half to the season.
Sampdoria have had success relying young players such as Alfred Duncan, Luca Rizzo, Alessio Romagnoli and Roberto Soriano. The 33-year-old will have to hit the ground running or risk jeopardising that youth project. He will have to find the net straight away whereas the likes of the 23-year-old Luis Muriel should be afforded more patience, as the Colombian is not yet the finished article and possesses untapped potential compared to the short-term nature of the Eto’o signing.
The Cameroonian is undoubtedly a great player but it is hard to see what he brings to Sampdoria and what the Ligurian side offers him. His performances have been inconsistent since his career saw him earn huge wages at Anzhi Makhachkala, before returning to European competition at Chelsea, followed by a slightly toothless and disappointing spell with Everton. It is hard to see the signing as a great coup considering the Toffees were happy to release him and send him gift-wrapped to the Marassi.
Eto’o was something of a strange presence as Everton struggled for form in the first half of the 2014-15 English Premier League season. He wasn’t a flop given his four goals and two assists from 18 appearances. He made many influential contributions from the bench but he hardly set the world on fire.
He still scores goals and will presumably take chances and make the most of space freed up by Stefano Okaka if he were to partner the Italian forward, but Sampdoria’s typical 4-3-3 formation requires a forward who can do more than simply finish.
Former Anzhi Makhachkala teammate Roberto Carlos warnds that Samuel Eto’o could become disruptive to the dressing room
Eto’o’s former colleague at Anzhi Roberto Carlos warned that the striker can also be a disruptive influence in the dressing room, and reports of bust-ups on international duty with Cameroon seem to corroborate those claims. Sampdoria have for the most part, barring a few indiscretions from Stefano Okaka, been a hungry, young and united group. There is a real danger Eto’o could come in and disrupt that.
The 33-year-old may feel he is slumming it a bit in Genoa and will likely expect that things go his way, but Mihaljlovic is a brave enough coach to not use him. Sampdoria now have four strikers to keep happy in Okaka, Muriel, Eto’o and Gonzalo Bergessio, although the Argentine might be heading to Lazio.
So what have Sampdoria got?
Eto’o will either prove to be an experienced, Serie A goalscorer or a washed-up has-been with a tendency to sow disharmony and who has only moved to the Marassi because he failed at Everton.
His career is slowly approaching its conclusion and Sampdoria will hope that they can host his glorious swansong. Whatever happens, this bold initiative must not be allowed to jeopardise a season in which the Blucerchiati have made great strides forward with a young squad.
Follow Luca Gunby on Twitter at: @Gunbyzono
