BOOT UP: ETO’O ON THE PITCH IN A “REAL LIVE” RUSSIAN REPUBLIC

In the rugged Caucus mountains, at the edge of the Caspian Sea, lays one of the most violent of Russian territories where a soccer great will play out the last years of his career. Samuel Eto’o, who won three UEFA Championships with Barcelona and Inter Milan, was recruited (lured) to the tiny club of Anzhi by billionaire Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. Kerimov, made his billions in the mad scramble for control of the natural resources after the fall of the Soviet Union, and reportedly paid Eto’o $30 million to play for his hometown squad, Anzhi, over 3 years. Anzhi is based in the Dagestan capital of Makhachkala, one of the most violent and culturally tumultuous of Russian Republics. Surrounded by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Caspian Sea, Dagestan is marked by separatist movements, Islamic insurgencies, ethnic tensions, and according to the New York times no less than 100 police officers were killed last year alone. For safety Eto’o will fly into the mountainous area for each game and fly out each night back to Moscow where he and his family live. Eto’o played his first game for the tiny club on Sunday where he scored one of the squad’s two goals lifting them past rival Volga. With Russian Oligarchs like Kerimov flexing their money and snatching up football squads like yachts on the Mediterranean, we are likely to see more big names packing their snow boots to go play in tiny stadiums for big bucks in increasingly dangerous areas of the world.

by Lennon Bergland

via NYT