FCBARCELONA.CAT

18.03.2008 10:07

Eto’o: “We have to play to the death against Valencia”

David Puig

Samuel Eto’o played his 100th game for Barça against Almeria and celebrated the occasion with his 72nd league goal and hopes to continue his goalscoring form in the cup game at Mestalla.

Only Mariano Martín, with 90 goals and the legendary Ladislao Kubala, with 84, have scored more goals than Eto’o in 100 league games. In an interview with Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat, Eto’o said how honoured he is to form part of the club’s history and thanked his colleagues for helping him to achieve what he has done: “It is an honour to play with these players and is also a recognition for the team as a whole. I only have words of thanks for my colleagues and without them I could not have scored so many goals in these 100 games. Thanks to God I have scored a lot of goals, but most of all I hope to make it to 200 games for Barça and win lots of titles with my club”

“We have to play to the death against Valencia”

The next challenge for Eto’o is helping his side into the final of the Copa del Rey. Barça need to win or draw by more than one goal to make up for the home draw, 1-1, at the Camp Nou. “Our life is at stake in Valencia”, said Eto’o. “It is a very important game of the season for us because we are so close to the dream of lifting the Copa del Rey. We will be humble going to Valencia and ready to die on the pitch. If we go out, it will be because Valencia have played much better than us. I am sure we will know how to suffer as it will be very difficult for us to qualify for the final”.

Happy hunting ground for Eto’o

Eto’o’s last trip to Mestalla bears hope. The Cameroonian scored twice against Valencia earlier this season as Barça cruised to a 3-0 win. Eto’o is hoping that history can repeat itself: “Mestalla is a good ground for me but I would rather say that it is a good ground for Barça. If I score two goals but we don’t qualify, my scoring run at Valencia will have served for nothing”.

Learning from Getafe

Last year Barça suffered a serious reverse when crashing out of the cup at this stage to Getafe. Eto’o knows the situation is different this time, but hopes they have learned from past mistakes: “Against Valencia we need a positive result, to win or draw by more than one goal. In the game against Getafe, we had to defend a favourable result and in situations like that sometimes you don’t know whether to attack or defend. We learned our lesson and I hope that experience will help us qualify for the final”.