Rafas Etoo: More goals

June 24, 2010 - South Africa - Football - Cameroon v Holland FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 - Group E - Green Point Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa - 24/6/10..Cameroon's Jean Makoun helps Samuel Eto'o (R) with his captain's armband.

Samuel Etoo has won plenty of trophies, scored plenty of goals, and played in plenty of different systems. He has often played as a center-forward, finishing plays and scoring lots of goals, but for Inter Milan, under the orders of Jose Mourinho, Etoo wasnt used as a finisher, but maybe more as a supporter. Now Rafael Benitez has a new position for Etoo in mind, instead of sacrificing the player to provide defensive cover, Benitez wants his Etoo to score more goals.

Etoo used to be Barcelonas assassin, quick and precise with his runs towards goal, served by Xavi or Iniesta leaving him to provide the final touch for the goal. Etoo was Barcelonas adaptable striker in a 43-3, changing positions with Messi and Henry to help his teammates score goals of their own. Etoo was the perfect striker for Barcelona, providing goals and sacrificing himself for the team, a creative and intelligent player who always knew when to be where. The Cameroon striker was a key player in Barcelonas treble in the 2008-09 season, but when Barcelona decided to give Etoo away to receive Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they lost their hardworking goalscorer, and they got a relatively lazy center-forward.

When Etoo went to Inter Milan to play under Jose Mourinho, he was introduced to a whole new system: one which didnt revolve around his attacking movement, but one which required a lot more defensive work from him. While during the beginning of the season Etoo played in a 43-12 (next to Diego Milito supported by Sneijder), as the season! went on , Mourinho changed formation, slowly shifting Etoo wider and wider. This eventually became a 42-13 in attack, with Sneijder behind Pandev, Milito, and Etoo on the right, and a 42-31 in defense, with Milito left as a lone striker, and Pandev and Etoo playing defensively. In this system Inter Milan was a counter-attacking machine, but Etoo was used in a position which maybe isnt his best.

Etoo played almost as a full-back in certain matches, providing defensive support for the entire right wing, letting Maicon charge forward with his rampaging runs. This was especially evident during Champions League matches, for example when Inter Milan played Barcelona in the semi-final at the San Siro: Etoo had a much more passive and defensive role as Maicon went forward to score in the match that ended 31 for Inter Milan. Etoo sacrificed himself in this way many times, but he retained his goalscoring instinct with his 16 goals for Inter Milan, 12 in the Serie A, two in the Champions League, one in the Coppa Italia, and one in the Supercoppa Italia.

Now, Rafael Benitez has already talked to Etoo, and he has reassured the player that he will have a more attacking role in the upcoming season. Benitez doesnt want to change the system, he wants to improve it, a higher defensive line is the basis of the new Inter Milan. This will allow more possession, giving Inter a Spanish style, and it will allow for players like Etoo more freedom to push offensively, with no need to drop back into the full-back position. Rafael Benitez wants to change the 42-31 into something more similar to a 42-12-1, raising the two offensive wingers higher up, creating a system similar to a 43-3 or a 42-13.

This system would throw away Etoos vertical movement on the wing, and it would allow Etoo to cut inside the box, exchange with Milito and Sneijder, and be as dangerous as his Barcelona days. Benitez is trying to get the best out of the Barcelona player while at the same time using the other players like Sniejder and Pandev to sup! ply Etoo and Milito. And if Moratti were to buy Dirk Kuyt, there would be a new hardworker to provide defensive cover, allowing Etoo to play even more offensively and hopefully score more goals.