Anzhi Makhachkala

It's one of the most incredible and bizarre transfers of all time.

Samuel Eto'o, four-time African Player of the Year and scorer of over 240 career goals, signed with Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala for a €27-30 million fee, reports have suggested.

The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan striker will apparently earn a cool €20m per season, which now makes him the highest-paid footballer in the world, eclipsing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi.

This ridiculous transfer has sent shockwaves across the footballing world and has left supporters and pundits scratching their heads over the Cameroonian's bewildering move.

Fans of the beautiful game will also be missing out on seeing one of the world's best strikers in action.

The live-wire forward scored over 100 goals during his five years at Barcelona, and despite a slow first season at Inter, came to life in his second, terrorising Serie A defences and netting 21 goals in the process.

Eto'o may score goals for fun in Russia, but it's clear for all to see that the African star had other motives for the move to Dagestan.

The standard of Russian football, though improving, is not even remotely close to what Eto'o experienced in La Liga and Serie A.

In spite of Anzhi bringing in some talented players in the past few months, including PSV's Balazs Dzsudzsak, Chelsea's Yuri Zhirkov and Anderlecht's Mbark Boussoufa, the club is currently sitting fourth in the table—nine points behind league leaders CSKA Moscow.

This is a shame as it is obvious that Eto'o has left Inter Milan for, let's face it, the money.

And if things stay the way they are, Anzhi Makhachkala will miss out on the biggest stage of all: next year's Champions League.

After finishing a disappointing 10th in last year's Russian Premier League, billionaire owner Suleiman Kerimov is determined for his cash-rich team to end the season in the highly-coveted European places—but with the likes of Spartak Moscow, Rubin Kazan and Kuban Krasnodar breathing down their necks, it's a big ask.

But even more disappointing for the casual football fan is that Russia's summer football season—aside from throwing Eto'o off kilter—is coming to a close.

Whilst the majority of European leagues are just getting started, the Cameroonian's new club only have nine games to go, which doesn't give football fans much time to see the new striker play in the yellow of Anzhi.

Inter Milan too are sure to suffer from the loss of Eto'o, as Gasperini's side now only have Goran Pandev and Giampaolo Pazzini as recognised strikers.

Massimo Moratti will be hard-pressed to find a replacement forward who can be as clinical as their previous marksman. 

All in all, I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that this is completely the wrong move for the Cameroonian star. The 30-year-old is at the peak of his career and still has at least another five years of his prime left.

But the way things stand, it looks like this is one talented goalscorer whom we won't be seeing much of in the near future.

However, despite all these concerns over the striker's career choice, I'm sure that Eto'o and his €20 million will not care one iota.

The football/soccer world is talking about the signing of Samuel Eto'o with Anzhi Makhachkala for the sum of $29 million per season. The deal appears to have a lot of positive factors for Russia and European football.

The deal will give Russia a positive spin when it comes to football especially when it will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I am ambivalent about the deal to the point that it could be terrible for European football and Eto'o.

The club Anzhi Makhachkala is located in the Dagestan province of Russia next to Chechnya. The owner of the club is Suleiman Kerimov, whose worth according to Forbes Magazine is $7.8 billion.

I wanted to present my reasons (albeit briefly) for the transfer being terrible for European football and Eto'o. I write it taking into account the presence of friends and family in Russia who have supported me in Bleacher Report.

Possible Violence In Region

The area of Makhachkala is suffering from the separatist violence that has affected Chechnya since the 1990s. The violence has not subsided and can present security problems for European football and Eto'o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22I0ALLWXj8

According to an article published in The Jerusalem Post, a female suicide bomber attempted to enter a police station at Gubden close to Makhachkala on February 14, 2011. The result was one death and six people wounded.

The Jerusalem Post also reported that another separatist was killed in a shootout with police forces in Makhachkala. The result was the wounding of the police involved in the shootout.

The possible violence in the region of Makhachkala is not only political, it can also be sports related.

Hooliganism

The match between Zenit St. Petersburg and Anzhi Makhachkala on July 24, 2011 does not need explanation. The video by Russia Today of the match between the two teams show police from Makhachkala imposing order after the match.

The result was the victory of Zenit St. Petersburg over Anzhi Makhachkala. Aleksander Kerzhakov scored the only goal in the 79th minute.

The result was a clash between the supporters of Zenit St. Petersburg and the Makhachkala police. I looked at the video in YouTube and felt that this bodes ill for Eto'o and European football.

Distance for Training

The players for Anzhi Makhachkala live in the outskirts of Moscow for the reasons that have been mentioned. They travel by airplane to the home games at Makhachkala and fly 1,250 miles or 15 times during a regular season.

Conclusion

It is hoped that I am wrong and that the transfer of Eto'o is a positive force for him and European football. It remains to be seen what will transpire but continued monitoring of this news is needed.

Samuel Eto’o is now officially a player for Anzhi Makhachkala.

Up until a few weeks ago, Anzhi was hardly noticeable on the map as a top world club.

But the Russian club and its owner, billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, have paid a large sum of money to Inter Milan and given the Cameroonian a contract that will make him the highest paid player in the world.

While Eto’o is getting ready for his new team, he shouldn’t plan on going to find a permanent residence in Makhachkala. The area is not as friendly as Barcelona or Milan are.

Certainly, a three-year deal at 20.5 million euros a season is hard to pass up and nobody can blame Eto’o for accepting this deal.

But Eto’o will soon find out that he will have lots of pressure to dominate right from the beginning.

He also will find out that his supporting cast is nowhere nearly as strong as the group he had with Inter.

Perhaps Eto’o should have spoken with former AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko, who several years ago signed a mega deal with Chelsea, but never enjoyed the same success as he did in Italy.

Having been with Barcelona and Inter, Eto’o has become accustomed to having teammates that are known by fans all over the world.

Now he will join 38-year-old Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos on a team that is hoping to enjoy success by building from the bottom up.

Anzhi has bought a few other quality players, but this is not a club that can contend for the UEFA Champions League title in a few years.

Eto’o may earn a lot more money by playing for Anzhi, but don’t be surprised if you run into him searching for a new home on the coast of Spain, France or Italy, where he figures to retire to when his career ends.