Fifa has paid tribute to Samuel Eto’o for his record-breaking Africa Cup of Nations goal.
Exactly 14 years ago at the Tamale Stadium in Ghana, the four-time African Player of the Year found the net twice as Cameroon subdued Sudan 3-0 in their last group game.
“On this day on 30 January 2008, Samuel Eto’o scored twice against Sudan to break the record as all-time leading scorer at the Afcon,” tweeted Fifa.
Needing a win against the Falcons of Jediane to advance, Eto’o put the Indomitable Lions ahead from the penalty spot before completing his brace in the 90th minute.
That feat saw him eclipse Laurent Pokou’s 14-goal mark in the biennial African football showpiece to become the highest goal scorer in the competition’s history.
Cameroon reached the final of the competition, but lost 1-0 to Egypt with Mohamed Aboutrika’s 76th-minute effort deciding the game at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra.
Eto’o consolation was winning the Golden Boot prize after scoring five goals, although surprisingly he was not named among the tournament’s best XI.
At Angola 2010, the striker scored twice to take his tally in the tournament to 18 goals from six tournament appearances – a record which stands to date.
Eto’o retired from football at the age of 38 since making his senior debut in 1997, scoring more than 350 goals across his club career, winning the Champions League twice with Barcelona and once with Inter Milan.
With two Afcon diadems and an Olympic gold medal to his name, he is an undisputed icon of African football and retired with 56 goals in 118 games for his country.
After spending his youth at the Kadje Sports Academy in Cameroon, Eto’o was signed by Real Madrid as a youngster but only made three league appearances for the club’s first team.
Following a successful loan spell in 2000, he signed for Mallorca, where a record of 54 goals in 133 league games earned him a move to Barcelona in the summer of 2004.
He shone immediately for the Catalan giants, scoring 25 league goals in his first season and 26 in his second as Barca won back-to-back Spanish titles – their first of the new millennium.
His brilliance saw him come third in the 2005 Fifa World Player of the Year award, behind Brazil’s Ronaldinho and England's Frank Lampard.
In 2021, the African football icon saw off interim boss Seidou Mbombo Njoya to become president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot).