http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/Kind=4/newsId=308256.html http://tinyurl.com/byz6x Samuel Eto'o's goals gave Barcelona the Spanish title (Getty Images) Eto'o infinity and beyond Friday, 10 June 2005 By Andy Hall For FC Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o the 2004/05 season was "one not to be forgotten" - his 24 goals for the Catalans contributed to the club's first Primera Division title in six years but agonisingly, he fell just one goal short of winning the ESM Golden Shoe award. African honour Back in February, the Cameroonian international was named the CAF African Player of the Year for the second year running. And last month, he added a Primera Division winners' medal to the UEFA Champions League and European/South American Cup ones he won at Real Madrid CF. 'Great year' "It's been a great year when you consider that Barca have also had to deal with several players out injured," Eto'o told uefa.com. "But that has been the only negative point during the whole season. The atmosphere at this club is amazing - I had no idea that it was going to be like this. Being crowned champions, living it and experiencing it, is the kind of thing that you only dream about." Great achievement Eto'o contributed more than a third of the 73 goals registered in the Blaugranas' campaign - a statistic that even takes the player aback. "Before the season started I knew that I would score plenty of goals but I never imagined that I would be in the running to be the maximum scorer in La Primera - bearing in mind all the great strikers that are playing in this country," he said. Phantom goal In Spain, some sources have recorded Eto'o as striking 25 goals but one of those goals - against RCD Mallorca on 19 February has been discounted and registered as the work of Deco, whose shot was deflected in by Eto'o. "I have no complaints," the striker continued. "The Golden Shoe is a prize and one worth fighting for but if it was not to be this year then I will have to try again next season." Best moment When asked which of his 25 goals stand out, Eto'o is in no doubt. "I'll stick with the one I scored against Levante [UD] at home, just before Christmas and the one I scored in the 1-1 draw, also against Levante, that handed us the league. Both of those goals gave us breathing space during difficult moments when the team was working hard to take the game forward." Champions run Also difficult to forget were Barca's UEFA Champions League meetings with eventual finalists AC Milan and semi-finalists Chelsea FC. Eto'o continued: "We had the confidence and good fortune to go quite far in the competition. But we slipped up, against a great side, who knew how to take advantage of our mistakes and beat us. We managed to turn the tables after going behind but what we didn't know how to do was kill the match off." Learning curve He added: "For me, both games against AC Milan, at San Siro and at home, were spectacular with an incredible tension and there were a lot of frayed nerves about. I think any footballer would be proud to have taken part in either of those games. Barca were eliminated but we have to learn from it and look ahead with excitement to next year with all the experience we have gained. Valuable lesson "To become a great side, you have to know what it is like to lose, then learn something from it," he concluded. Having learned that tiny bit of humility this season, Eto'o and his team-mates could yet be hogging podiums across Europe in 2005/06. -- ██████████████████ --

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