Barca tension as Eto'o lashes out at Rijkaard, Ronaldinho
MADRID: Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o has lashed out at coach Frank Rijkaard for saying he did not want to play for the club and criticized teammate Ronaldinho for saying he should be more of a team player.
The Cameroon player's comments come after Rijkaard accused him of not wanting to take to the pitch as a replacement during Barcelona's 2-0 win over Racing Santander on Sunday.
"To go into the press room and say that I didn't want to play is dishonest," Eto'o said on Tuesday, saying that he found himself "in a war between two people."
In a thinly-veiled attack on his coach, the Cameroon forward added he felt that Rijkaard was criticising him behind his back.
Samuel Eto'o reacts during a training session with his teammates at the Nou Camp on February 1. Reuters |
"It's also being a bad person when they come out in a press conference and say that Samuel Eto'o has refused to play. What they need to think is that Samuel Eto'o has always trained with his colleagues, be it injured or carrying knocks."
He then took aim at Ronaldinho for suggesting after Sunday's match that he should think more about the team.
"If a teammate says that you must think of the team, it's up to him to think of the team. Personally I always think first about the group and then money. That is what hurt me most," he said.
Eto'o, top scorer in La Liga in 2005-06, was sidelined for four months this season due to an injured right knee but refused to explain why he'd refused to play Sunday having turned out the previous weekend in the 0-0 draw against Osasuna.
"I'm not going to give an explanation to anyone. I'll only explain to my club if they ask me."
And he took a swipe at the internal politics of the Nou Camp.
"There are two groups at Barcelona, one which supports the president (Joan Laporta) and the other linked to another person (believed to be a reference to former vice-president Sandro Rosell)."
Rosell gave his reaction later, telling local radio station RAC 1 that Eto'o's outburst was down to stress.
"Eto'o's coming back from injury, he's experiencing a difficult time. He's stressed and this is a way for him to get rid of the tension."
Barcelona, who carried a full page of the account by Eto'o of his complaints, said that Rijkaard was to meet technical director Txiki Begiristain yesterday to discuss the spat.
"It's an issue affecting the whole dressing room," said communications director Jordi Badia.
The tension comes with Barcelona back on top of the league after Ronaldinho's goals brought victory over Santander at the weekend, and facing Liverpoool in a crucial Champions League round of last 16 match next week.
The verbal fireworks also come in the week that legendary former player and coach Johan Cruyff opined that it was time for the Catalan club to shake up its squad as he believed that a "cycle" which began with Rijkaard's appointment four years ago and culminated in Champions League success last May has come to an end.
AFP
(China Daily 02/15/2007 page24)