Doha Diary: Eto’o leaves lasting legacy as Ronaldo joins Samba party
LASTING LEGACY: Former Cameroonian international footballer Samuel Eto'o. Pic: KARIM JAAFAR / AFP
Samuel Eto’o, unfortunately for one overzealous man with a phone, still has his striking boots on.
The former Inter Milan striker and now President of the Cameroon FA was filmed in a shocking physical altercation with a fan outside Stadium 974 on Monday night.
Eto’o had been taking selfies with a group of fans but took exception to something one of them said and, while initially kept apart, took a running kick or knee to the face of the fan, knocking them to the ground.
Initial reports suggested Eto’o’s rage may have been sparked by a comment around match-fixing, which has been thrown at Cameroon by Algerian fans since the sides met in a playoff for a place here.
Eto’o is in Doha as a Qatar 2022 Legacy Ambassador. He’s sure leaving a hell of a legacy.
No World Cup has gone this long without a break and now we get two days in a row off to catch our breath.
Frankly, it’ll be hard to know what to do with ourselves. Thankfully the host nation has organised plenty of events for fans and tired media men alike. Thursday night’s highlight comes at Doha Golf Club where Robbie Williams will finally be making his first appearance of this World Cup.
Having opened Russia’s tournament four years ago, there had been rumours Robbie would do likewise here. Instead he’s crooning for the golf crowd.
Tickets are a snip at $125 for the cheap seats but we have our eye on a VIP lounge for $6050 for 10 people. It includes $600 drinks credit which we assume will be the barrels of leftover Budweiser.
Having made it through 15 straight days of football without losing our minds, we finally broke on Monday night. We somehow contrived to leave our MacBook charging block in a plug socket at the Media Centre at Stadium 974 after Brazil’s masterclass against Korea.
No problem! FIFA have a central lost and found desk for forgetful types. But when we enquired on Tuesday morning about retrieving the charger, the signs were ominous. FIFA staff winced “Stadium 974? It’s no longer operational sir.” It appears neither was the help section of the help desk as they told us to email a random inbox and essentially hope for the best.
Wherever Qatar eventually ships its shipping container stadium to next, it seems a little piece of ourselves will be with it.
To hell with Keano and Didi and the curmudgeons. Let the Brazilians dance. And if Tite, who has spent a lifetime being the most professorial of sidelines presences, wants to join in, let him have at it.
How else are we going to end up with the kind of gems we got on Monday night when FIFA released a post-match video of Richarlison teaching Ronaldo Fenômeno his ‘pombo’ pigeon dance. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour. The reverence this Brazilian generation have for their iconic former No.9 is a joy in itself.
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