FC Internazionale Milano striker Samuel Eto'o revealed that it felt strange facing his old team-mates in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, but that a point gleaned from a goalless draw with FC Barcelona was a satisfactory outcome.
Barça past
Eto'o joined Inter in the summer after five extremely successful years with Barcelona. Among an array of silverware the 28-year-old won while at the Camp Nou the two UEFA Champions League winners' medals perhaps feature most prominently – not least because he scored in both the 2006 and 2009 finals. Little wonder then that Eto'o, who scored 109 goals in 144 league appearances for the Blaugrana, had to check himself as he lined up against his former brothers in arms.
'Bizzarre'
"Playing against my old team-mates was bizarre at first because I was with them for a long time," the striker told uefa.com. "But I guess it's normal to feel that way initially. After three or four minutes I was fine, though, and fully focused on the match, which was tricky because we were up against the best team in Europe. It was very difficult but the most important thing was not to lose. We could have even won it but considering the way the match unfolded we're satisfied with the point."
Packed house
The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza was packed with 76,000 ardent Interisti, who played their part in keeping the European champions at bay and whose myriad banners added to the spectacle. "Playing in front of a packed San Siro was incredible," said Eto'o. "It would have been nice to have won in a stadium full to the rafters with tifosi but, never mind, hopefully we will win next time."
Messi praise
At least the Cameroonian will not have to worry about man of the match Lionel Messi again until Matchday 6. The Argentinian forward was a thorn in Inter's side throughout and came close to scoring on three occasions. "Messi is a truly great player," said his former team-mate. "I don't know what more I can say about him. He is unique – the Maradona of his day."
Ibrahimović chance
Moving in the opposite direction in the summer was Zlatan Ibrahimović, who received a torrid reception from the home fans on his return to the San Siro. The Sweden international might have silenced the crowd as early as the eighth minute, but after brilliantly chesting down Daniel Alves's floated pass, he fired over. "I think Barcelona played better than Inter, but they are also a great team, they have signed important players and have a great mentality," he said. "Personally I had a couple of good chances and with a bit of luck I could have scored. At the moment, however, the most important thing is to learn how this team moves and adapt to it."
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