9th March, 2014
Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o made fun of manager Jose Mourinho’s doubts about his age with an ‘old man’ celebration during his side’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Mourinho sparked controversy last month when footage of him suggesting that Eto’o may be older than he claims — 32 — was broadcast by a French television channel.
After putting Chelsea ahead in the 56th minute, Eto’o raced to the corner flag, but abruptly slowed down, putting his left hand on his back and stooping to mimic old age.
The celebration met with a flurry of approval on Twitter, with one picture quickly garnering more than 1,000 retweets on the micro-blogging site.
Mourinho claimed to have enjoyed Eto’o’s celebration, telling Sky Sports: “It was fantastic. We knew it, because he was preparing something.
“I think he’s amazing. The way he copes with the situation in the last couple of weeks, I think he’s fantastic. And today I told him before the game: ‘You are going to score for sure.'”
In the clip broadcast on French television, which showed Mourinho in conversation with a Swiss businessman during a commercial event in Switzerland, the Portuguese said: “The problem with Chelsea is we lack a striker. I have one (Eto’o), but he’s 32. Maybe 35. Who knows?”
Mourinho subsequently rebuked the channel for showing the footage, claiming that it showed a “private conversation” not intended for public consumption.
Eto’o, who laughed off the affair, has a birthday on Monday and when Mourinho was asked on Saturday which milestone the striker will celebrate, he replied: “I think now he’s 33.”