Ibrahimovic Vs Eto'o II: Who Was The Bigger Disappointment?

In the days preceding the Champions League match between Spanish giants Barcelona and Italian heavyweights Inter, the headlines touted Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s and Samuel Eto’o’s reunions with their respective former teams as the mother of all main events, pitting the two strikers in a head-to-head duel to determine who was the better buy after the summer’s transfer shenanigans.

But after Wednesday’s tense encounter in the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, we are reminded that the sport of football is much bigger than the individuals who play the game, that it is not a star goalscorer that single-handedly beats the opposition, but teams; a collection of 11 players and the tactics they employ that determine the outcomes of matches.

Sure, a star player can tip the balance in his team’s favour, but more often than not, the sport does not rely solely on the brilliance of one individual, but the level of understanding achieved between all of a team’s components for success to arrive. In Wednesday’s clash, the match of the week in Champions League football, Eto’o and Ibra were relatively anonymous and virtually nonexistent if one takes into account the media-induced hype that surrounded the two players before the match, almost willing both the Swede and the Cameroonian to put on an exhibition of goals. Instead, a hard fought 0-0 draw in which neither striker would find the back of the net prevailed.

If one is to insist upon comparing the two number 9's, Eto’o was the more dynamic player, doing far more running than his counterpart and pursuing the ball with his typically urgent tenacity. He served in more of the second-striker role, a position that does not suit him because of his incredible sense of composure in front of goal, but one in which he performed to the best of his ability as he held the ball in midfield in a patient effort to spring a counterattack and occasionally fed balls through to strike partner Diego Milito.

Ibra, who did not produce a whole lot of ‘cadabra’ in this match, had the better scoring opportunities and did manage to threaten the Inter goal on a few occasions, but for long stretches of the match, was wholly overlooked by his team-mates and, despite his height, was not provided with many balls to latch onto in the area. He did manage to draw out a few reactions from the crowd as his infrequent touches on the ball were greeted with very familiar, very unfriendly whistles; how quickly one can go from hero to villain in this sport with nothing more than a flick of a pen.

Instead, the match was far more a duel between the cerebral coaches, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, who were yelling out orders across the pitch (at one point when Eto’o was fouled at the sideline near the manager’s box, Mourinho bent over to whisper a few words of advice into his striker’s ear) and furiously masterminding their team’s strategies in an effort to break the deadlock.

The difference between the tactics employed by Guardiola and Mourinho could not have been more at odds. “One can also play football without the ball” noted the Portuguese manager in his post-match press conference - a philosophy that Guardiola would not dream of entertaining and one that, had Mourinho been selected as the new Madrid coach this summer, would have seen 'The Special One' run right out of the Spanish capital.

Inter played well if “playing football” entails throwing nine men into the area to defend and close down passing lanes. The Italian side relied on dogged defending and the hope of catching Barca on a counterattack to score. But as the match progressed, one could hear the frustration in the San Siro crowd begin to build as Inter’s brief spells of possession were quickly wasted time and time again with a booming clearance in the direction of nothing but orange shirts.

Perhaps that's why the Catalans chose this colour as their second kit: a glaring, blaring neon orange that hypnotises opponents into gift-wrapping the ball to them. 

The Nerrazzuri did create a few chances to score, but for the most part Mourinho was satisfied trying to stifle Barcelona’s attack by throwing an army of blue shirts into his own box. For all intensive purposes, the Blaugrana should have won this match. The referee inexplicably kept his whistle silent after a clear penalty when a Dani Alves through ball struck Inter midfielder Dejan Stankovic on an outstretched arm - a call which Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes said he could have made from his vantage point all the way on the other end of the pitch.

Barca, as they always do these days, dominated possession of the ball, comfortably holding it for a whopping 64% of the match, an incredible feat given the fact that they were playing an away match against one of the best sides in Europe and a statistic that is clearly indicative of the style of football that Guardiola strives for his side to play.

As Andres Iniesta said somewhat euphemistically in his post-match commentary, “Barca and Inter have two very distinct interpretations of football”. And while Guardiola’s high-pressure style deserved at least one goal, the reality of the result shows that Mourinho’s tactics also have their merit. One must remember that had this been a Champions League final match, Mourinho’s tactics would have sent the contest into extra time and perhaps even beyond.

Perhaps 'The Special One' has conceded that the only way to beat an historic Blaugrana side is through the game of chance that is the penalty shootout. Perhaps at that time a direct comparison between Eto’o and Ibrahimovic would then be relevant.