The Camp Nou crisis was not provoked by Eto'o's recent outburst but by his absence and it is his return that most gives Barcelona hope at Anfield tonight. Ronaldinho may provide the fantasy but it is Eto'o who provides victory. The Cameroonian is Barca's most effective player.

With Eto'o in the team Barcelona won last year's league title by 12 points. With the player missing the bulk of this season they currently lie second. After 25 games last season Barcelona had won 18 and lost three, scoring 60 goals; at the same stage this season they have won 14 and lost four, scoring 10 fewer. Four of those 14 wins and 13 of those 50 goals came with Eto'o starting.

Likewise in the Champions League six wins and a draw have become three wins, two defeats and two draws. With Eto'o in the side Barca have collected 86.6 per cent of the available points; without him that figure drops to 63.1 per cent.

The forward, who has played just one match since September 27th when he suffered a knee-ligament injury against Werder Bremen, was bound to be missed after scoring 51 league goals in the last two seasons. And yet it is not just the number of goals that has been missed. It is his all-round contribution and his ability to rise to the biggest occasions. His 68 goals in all competitions for Barcelona before this season have been spread over 54 games, this season's five have come in as many starts. But it is not just Eto'o's goals that Barca miss; his all-round contribution has proven vital, too.

Anyone who doubted as much, need only witness Eto'o's only start in 2007. Barca won 3-0 and played their best football of the year against Athletic Bilbao. Eto'o had a part in all three goals: he forced the error for the first, provided the second and scored the third. Barca, it seemed, were back.

"We played the way we want to play every game," Frank Rijkaard said afterwards. "Samuel's presence attracts the defenders in, not just the two centre-backs but the full-backs as well, thus generating lots of spaces. It's a consequence of his character - for him every single play is a challenge."

Ronaldinho describes him as the "perfect partner, a reference point". "We understand each other with a glance," he says.

That may sound like a cliché but it is not: Ronaldinho connects with Eto'o in a move that leads to a goal every 39 minutes, with Gudjohnsen that figure drops to 94 minutes and with Saviola it falls further to 172 minutes. Barcelona, quite simply, are a far, far better side with the Cameroonian.