Most effective striker in Europe

Marc Guillén

Barça forward Samuel Eto'o is setting new personal and European standards for goal scoring.

His four strikes against Valladolid have extended the Cameroon player’s fantastic start to the season.

Personal best

Eto’o has scored 13 times in 10 League fixtures, giving him an average of 1.3 goals per game at a strike rate of one every 58.5 minutes. These are his best figures ever for this stage of the season.

In 2005/06, for instance, Eto'o was top scorer in Spain with 26 strikes in 34 matches to average 0.76 per game. However, he ‘only’ found the net 9 times in Barça’s first 10 fixtures.

Stand out in Europe

No other striker has scored as many goals as Eto'o in Europe’s top leagues, and only two even come close. AZ Alkmaar’s Mounir El Hamdaoui has notched 13 in 10 like Eto'o, but unlike the Cameroonian has no European goals as Alkmaar haven’t qualified for any of the competitions.

The other player close behind Eto'o is Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibisevic with 13 goals in the Bundesliga. However, his side has played 12 games, two more than Barça.