His sheer zest for the game, electrifying pace, burning desire to succeed and killer instinct in front of goal combine to make Samuel Eto'o one of the most explosive players in world football.

The Cameroon international's 24 league goals for Barcelona last season fired the Catalans to their first title in six years and he is well on course to repeat the feat in the present campaign after notching up 13 strikes in 15 games.

Still only 2,4 Eto'o has already won the African Nations Cup twice, an Olympic gold medal, the King's Cup and the Spanish league title.

He was named African Footballer of the Year for the second time in succession last February and is strongly fancied to win the award for a record-equalling third time in 2005.

A nervous, fidgety figure on the pitch, Eto'o is capable of tormenting even the most well-drilled defences with his darting runs in search of the ball. When he does receive it, his devastating turn of pace makes him almost impossible to stop.

Many Real Madrid [Images] fans wonder why president Florentino Perez turned down the opportunity to buy a player the club already had a half share in and then sold him to their arch-rivals at the start of last season.

Spotted by a Real Madrid scout when he was 15 playing for Cameroon in a youth tournament in the Ivory Coast, the wiry centre forward was whisked away from his homeland to sign for the Spanish giants in 1996.

Real's oversight in forgetting to pick him up from Madrid airport when he arrived in the Spanish capital was the first in a series of tactless acts that have returned to haunt them.

Initially the prospect of allowing the young talent to sit on the bench as cover for Raul and Fernando Morientes persuaded Real to loan the striker to second division neighbours Leganes, then Espanyol and finally Real Mallorca.

The islanders were quick to realise his value, however, and despite severe cash-flow problems stumped up a club record $6.31 million to buy half his rights in 2001.

Renowned for his cool finishing, fiery temper and commitment to the cause, Eto'o quickly became a favourite with the Son Moix faithful despite his poor disciplinary record.

He even promised to buy 30,000 euros worth of tickets for fans to apologise for a sending-off against Barcelona that resulted in him being banned for four matches.

HERO STATUS

Eto'o was elevated to hero status when he steered Mallorca to victory in the 2003 King's Cup final, scoring two brilliant goals and winning the penalty that gave the club their first major title with a 3-0 victory over Recreativo Huelva.

His best performances, however, came against Real. He inspired Mallorca to a 4-0 win over the nine-times European champions in the Cup quarter-finals and tore them to shreds in the league spearheading a famous 5-1 win at the Bernabeu.

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Eto'o repeated the trick the following season, scoring another double in the islanders' 3-2 win at Real, a performance that brought him to the attention of Barcelona.

They persuaded Perez to go back on his promise that Eto'o would never play for Barcelona by paying 25 million euros ($29.95 million) to secure his services.

Nine months later there was not a Barca fan who would not have gladly paid double that sum for a player whose goals propelled the club to their first league title in six years.

An impulsive character who is no stranger to controversy, he got himself into hot water when he insulted his former club Real during Barca's victory celebrations.

He was wise enough to retract his comments the day after, although it did not stop the Spanish FA from handing him a 12,000-euro fine for his troubles.

But he has also made a name for himself for taking a stand against the outbreaks of racism in Spanish football grounds and for his hands-on involvement in development projects in his home country.

On the pitch, he has been in even better form this season than last and maintained his brilliant record against his former club Real Madrid with a stunning opening goal in his side's 3-0 destruction of the nine-times European champions at the Bernabeu last month.

Together with Ronaldinho [Images] he has inspired the team to a record-equalling 11-match winning streak and their exhilarating attacking play has helped make Barca the most exciting side to watch in Europe.

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