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09.11.2006
Eto`o big in Brazil
By Tim Vickery
In Rio the supporters of Flamengo have a chant in praise of their centre forward. The Maracana reverberates to the sound of `Obina is better than Eto`o.`
It has become so popular that you can buy a t-shirt with the slogan emblazoned on the front.
In a way, the chant is in fact complementing Samuel Eto`o. It is acknowledging the importance of the Barcelona number nine.
An African player has become a reference point for fans in South America.
This, of course, is a consequence of the global market in footballers, which congregates the outstanding talents in the game in a handful of high profile European clubs.
If Obina really wants to show that he is better than Eto`o, then there is only one course of action ahead of him - just as Eto`o has done, he must join a European giant and make an impact in the Champions League.
What he does there will be visible to the entire world.
It was not always thus. Until comparatively recently it was possible to stay local and still be a great player.
Bar a couple of years` missionary work in the USA, Pelé played his entire career with Santos, who despite their glorious tradition are a small city club.
It was the World Cups of 1958 and 1970 that did most to make his global reputation.
But what of those great players who were not fortunate enough to play in a World Cup?
Their profile all over the planet may not be as high, but they should still be remembered.
To the best of my knowledge, there are no terrace songs in South America about George Best, nor European chants about Alberto Spencer.
But nobody can doubt that, in their different ways, these were truly great players.
Obina has a long way to go before reaching the heights of Spencer
Spencer, who died on Friday at the age of 68, was born in Ecuador, and spent most of his career in Uruguay. He played international football for both countries, but is most remembered for his feats at club level.
He is the top scorer in the history of the Copa Libertadores, South America`s equivalent of the Champions League.
He was an out and out goalscorer, a deadly finisher with either foot whose prodigious leap made him especially lethal in the air. And he came up strong on the big occasions.
His Uruguayan club Penarol won the Libertadores in 1960, 1961 and 1966. Each time Spencer scored decisive goals in the final.
In all he scored 54 goals in the 87 Libertadores games he played. It is a record that may never be beaten.
Nowadays a player with that kind of talent would quickly find himself on his way to Europe.
So would the likes of Rocha, Abberdie and Joya, his Peñarol team-mates who, as Spencer was always quick to acknowledge, laid on so many goals for him.
Obina`s chance to make a dent in Spencer`s record comes next year.
Flamengo have qualified for the 2007 Copa Libertadores. But if he shows a fraction of the ability of the great Ecuadorian he is unlikely to be around for the 2008 version.
He will be in Europe, trying to live up to the comparison with Eto`o.
"To the best of my knowledge, there are no terrace songs in South America about George Best, nor European chants about Alberto Spencer "
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