18 - Inter Xmas Advent Calendar: Samuel Eto'o

"I could have played for AC Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea or Manchester United. But no. I picked Inter. I don't want to pretend that I always knew how it would play out but I had positive feelings from the very start."

Endless running, a spirit of sacrifice, great success: just some of the ways to describe someone who won everything thanks to his sheer determination. He never stopped looking forward, from the moment he joined Inter on 27 July 2009. He’d decided to go for a new but difficult challenge, a fantastic opportunity, after two Champions League triumphs with Barcelona. He had everything in his locker to be a success: a winning mentality, a desire to help the team and positive feelings that would translate into trophies.

He had an eye for goal and an inclination to sacrifice himself for the team, a perfect combination that made anything possible, including a goal in the Club World Cup final won by the Nerazzurri on 18 December 2010, nine years ago today: “I believe that the most important thing is the sacrifice you can make for a teammate, this is worth more than scoring. This is my attitude in everyday life too.”