ALGERIA: Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o won '2006 Exceptionnal African Player' award

International soccer start Samuel Eto'o received on Monday evening (November 20) the award for the '2006 exceptional African player' in a ceremony organised by the African Football Players Union. According to local news agency, Eto'o was selected among 800 African players evolving in Europe. Other contestants included Didier Drogba, the attacker from Ivory Coast currently playing with Chelsea. During the evening, some awards were also given to some of the best ''African players in the century'', among them Laurent Pokou, from Ivory Coast, and Mustapha El-Haddaoui from Morocco. Born in Nkon, Cameroon, in 1981, Eto'o is currently playing for FC Barcelona, in the first Spanish division. According to FC Barcelona's website, Eto'o made the leap to European football at the age of just 16 when Real Madrid signed him up and loaned him out to second division Leganés. At 17, he became the youngest player in the 1998 World Cup in France. Eto'o was in Algiers with his wife, and Joan Boix, the vice president of FC Barcelona. During his visit to Algiers, he also met with schoolchildren and young footballers.

ITN Source | November 25, 2006

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