Chelsea: Meireles, Cuadrado and Tiago among notable one-season players
By Nate Hofmann
2. Samuel Eto’o, 2013/14: 35 appearances, 12 goals, 7 assists
Despite his famous “old man” celebration against Tottenham, Eto’o was still a spritely 32 when he joined Chelsea in 2013. As a somewhat last-minute signing for Jose Mourinho’s first season back at the club, Eto’o arrived on a free transfer from Anzhi, following his teammate Willian to London.
Would he have been better if he’d shown up at the beginning of Mourinho’s first spell in charge in 2004? Probably, but the version Chelsea got was still useful.
While the numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, Eto’o had some fantastic moments over the course of the season. His goals against Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United – a hat trick – were the perfect way to ingratiate himself to his teammates and new fans.
Eto’o’s tenure at Chelsea was always destined to be short-lived, but he acquitted himself about as well as one could hope. That season’s striker triumvirate of Eto’o, Demba Ba and Fernando Torres will live long in the memory as one of the weirdest to ever exist at Chelsea, but there’s no question that Eto’o was the most memorable contributor in that particular campaign.