FCBARCELONA.CAT

07.05.2007 14:37

“If we win the league, we’ll enjoy it all the more”

Roger Bogunyà

Samuel Eto'o believes there’s more satisfaction to be gained by winning the league after a tough fight than walking away with the title by a large margin of points: “The fans will enjoy it more”.

Asked at Monday’s press conference about the close battle at the top of the Spanish league with just five games to go, Eto’o told us: “If we win the league, we’ll enjoy it all the more”. He believes that the difficulties encountered this season will make victory taste even sweeter: “The fans will enjoy it more. When you suffer, you value what you’ve got even more”.

Closest for years

With just four points separating the top four teams, the Spanish league is closer than it’s been for years. Eto’o explained: “The league is exciting and all of us who love football are happy to see the way the Spanish league is right now”.

A great champion

Eto’o believes a great champion like Barça needs this level of competition: “A great champion needs strong opponents and Madrid are strong at the moment”. However, he remains convinced that Barça are the favourites for the title: “We still have it in our own hands and the teams behind us are waiting for us to slip-up. If we keep on winning we have nothing to worry about”.

A carefully thought out celebration

Eto'o celebrated his goal against Real Sociedad on Saturday by running to the other end of the pitch to embrace Valdés. He revealed: “Before going out on the pitch, I already had it all thought out in my head, because he always puts his arms up by himself while the rest of us are celebrating together”. He also dismissed any other kind of explanation: “That’s looking for problems where there aren’t any”.

After embracing Valdés, Eto’o went straight for Ronaldinho: “I went to look for Ronaldinho because the goal was his. He set it up and all I had to do was push the ball in”.

His level of fitness

Finally, Eto'o had a few words to add about his level of fitness: “I’m still not as fit as in other years [but] I’m happy when I see my matches and what I’ve given to the team. It’s harder for me than the rest because I haven’t got the same muscle tone and when I play it seems like someone’s been hitting me the night before”.