Cameroon star striker Samuel Eto’o admitted to being “pleasantly surprised” by the huge welcome he was given in Makhachkala.

Former four-time African footballer of the year Eto’o signed a three-year multi-million euro deal with the ambitious club from war-torn Dagestan after being lured from Italian giants Inter last month.

Eto’o, who yesterday extended his goal-scoring streak in the Russian Premier League with a goal in Anzhi’s 2-1 home win over Volga Nizhny Novgoro, reiterated earlier claims that he could not be more serious about what is being regarded as a surprise career move.

“I’m a citizen of the world,” said Eto’o.

“I left Cameroon with a unique dream: to become a footballer.

“Right now, the only thing that concerns me is being happy wherever I am, and with this kind of welcome how could I not be happy?

“I’ve never been here, but I want to say that I’m pleasantly surprised.”

Eto’o’s arrival has coincided with one of the worst sporting disasters in Russian history. Last week almost the entire squad of three-time Russian ice-hockey champions Lokomotiv Yaroslavl were among 43 fatalities of a plane crash.

The African was among those who respected a minute’s silence to the victims of the tragedy during an open training session at the weekend.