© EuroFootball.com
At the beginning of the week, Cameroonian Samuel Eto`o publicly criticized head coach Frank Rijkaard and was not included in the lineup for Sunday's match against . According to the coach, the decision was made by the striker himself.
"Eto`o told me that he still doesn't feel fully recovered from his injury and asked to stay in Barcelona, where he wants to train to regain his physical form," said F. Rijkaard at a press conference.
Midweek, the Cameroonian national team striker caused a stir with his comments about a crisis in the European champions' team, openly criticizing F. Rijkaard and team leader Ronaldinho.
S. Eto`o vented his anger to journalists after Sunday's match against Santander's "Racing." After the match, F. Rijkaard announced at a press conference that the Cameroonian refused to come out onto the field after being substituted. In response, the striker claimed that the Dutchman was lying.
Brazilian Ronaldinho also faced criticism following S. Eto`o's negative comments, stating that the Cameroonian should respect the team's interests rather than his own.
On Wednesday, at least publicly, the conflict seemed to have been resolved when S. Eto`o appeared in public with Ronaldinho, while F. Rijkaard and Barcelona decided not to punish the top scorer from the previous season.
S. Eto`o recently started training again after a cruciate ligament injury he suffered four months ago.
