Barca Striker Eto'o Hits Out at Rijkaard, Ronaldinho

• Reuters, Wednesday, February 14, 2007 3:23 PM

You can believe Real Madrid was happy to see infighting at another club steal headlines on Tuesday, especially because that club was Spanish league leader and bitter rival Barcelona. An incensed Samuel Eto'o, who's missed most of the season through a knee injury, called Coach Franck Rijkaard "a bad person" for telling reporters he didn't want to play when called upon during for the last few minutes of Sunday's 2-0 victory over Racing Santander.

Eto'o didn't stop there, deflecting a comment made by Ronaldinho that Eto'o "should think about the team" back at the Brazilian star: "If a colleague comes out and says 'think about the team', then it should be him who should be thinking about the team."

Barca captain Carles Puyol on Wednesday was on PR cleanup duty for the Catalan giant, telling reporters that Ronaldinho's comments had been misinterpreted, and that Eto'o has resolved his problem Rijkaard. "People think that there is a time bomb in the dressing room, but that isn't true," said Puyol. "Rijkaard has got the team under control. Eto'o has a good relationship with the rest of the group and the atmosphere is good." Meanwhile Rijkaard and sporting director Txiki Begiristain are set to meet Wednesday evening to discuss the matter.

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