When a recently transferred footballer addresses the reasons behind his choice of club it is almost inevitably little more than a barrage of platitudes and pleasantries. The fans are great here, some say. I supported this club as a boy, say others. No such restraint from Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani. After getting off to a flying start on an initial loan at Napoli from Serie A rivals Palermo, Cavani claimed it was all down to the big man.
In an interview with El Pais, the Uruguayan said that he prayed after the World Cup and he thanks God that he was shown the way to Napoli. He’s been an instant hero at Stadio San Paolo and few had expected that his fortunes would have begun any other way. He scored on his debuts for both Palermo and Uruguay, so the only surprise about his goal for the Partenopei on the opening day of the 2010/11 Serie A season against Fiorentina was that it didn’t actually cross the line.
Although already well known to afficionados of Italian football, Cavani was thrust into the English football consciousness thanks to his part in Uruguay’s excellent World Cup campaign in South Africa. El Matador played in six of La Celeste’s seven matches, missing out on opening day against France but featuring for 179 out of the remaining 180 minutes in Group A. He played the full match against South Korea before being replaced late in regulation time by penalty hero Sebastian Abreu in the dramatic quarter-final win over Ghana.
Uruguay and Cavani were eventually knocked out in the last four by the Netherlands but there was still time for Cavani to score his first World Cup goal, sliding in the first equaliser in Uruguay’s 3-2 defeat to Germany in the 3rd/4th place playoff.
“We can leave with our heads held high, because we left everything on the pitch. Let’s not forget that nobody thought anything of this Uruguay side. However we reached the semi-finals and always wanted more and, even when it was our time to lose, we did it fighting until the last second.” - Edinson Cavani
It was a very decent showing overall by Cavani, but while it undoubtedly lifted his stock in the eyes of the biggest clubs in Italy and a handful of managers in the Premier League, they already knew all about him.
Having moved to Montevideo at a young age and been developed through the youth system at Danubio, where he broke into the first team in 2006 and scored regularly as part of La Franja’s Apertura winning side, he was quickly linked with big Italian clubs. In the January transfer window in 2007 Cavani followed in the footsteps of so many South Americans with Italian heritage and moved to the peninsula, joining Palermo and scoring on his debut, again against Fiorentina. He broke into the Uruguay squad and became a regular starter for his club in the 2008/09 season and was again among the goals, attracting the attention of West Ham United, who had apparently first looked at him in 2008 and reportedly revisited their interest in the summer of 2009.
The following season, 13 goals in Cavani’s 34 Serie A games helped guide the Rosaneri to fifth in the league and a Europa League playoff place. Inevitably, the big club links that have followed Cavani’s entire career returned this summer. Palermo chief Maurizio Zamparini claimed in May to have had contact from Manchester City and in June to have accepted a combined offer from Tottenham Hotspur for Cavani and defender Simon Kjaer. The bid was denied by Spurs and while Kjaer headed for the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, the chase for Cavani continued.
But it is the dream of playing for Inter Milan, not the influence of God, which probably best explains the 23-year-old’s move to Naples. Cavani is on record as saying that he wants to become “the Wayne Rooney of Inter” and it could be interest from the Nerazzurri that led to Cavani distancing himself from a move to England.
The transfer has certainly gone well for him so far. As well as scoring in each of his first three Serie A games, Cavani scored twice on his first competitive start for the club in the Europa League qualifier against Elfsborg. Supporters have already taken him to their heart in Naples and would dearly love him to stay at the club. If sporting director Riccardo Bigon is interested in making it happen, he’ll have a fight on his hands. The initial 4 million Euros loan deal then sees Napoli purchase Cavani for a reported 12 million Euros next summer but there may well be bids nonetheless.
The clubs sniffing around in 2010 were reportedly put off by Zamparini’s asking price for the Uruguayan this summer but Inter might well be battling for his signature with Liverpool. Cavani’s agent Claudio Anelucci has denied that there is a possible transfer to Merseyside in the offing, declaring that Naples is a destination rather than a stepping stone and that he does not think that Napoli should sell Cavani in January.
Napoli supporters love a hero, especially a South American, so they’ll be hoping Bigon takes Anelucci’s advice. Or praying, perhaps.
Tags: Edinson Cavani, Napoli, Palermo, Uruguay
Why in the world would Napoli let Cavani go at any time in the near future? With Quagliarella looking to be gone for good, Cavani is a MUST at the top of the lineup. This article is the first I’ve heard about Cavani’s feelings towards Inter, so that’s kind of scary.
Hi Nick.
One reason and one reason only: cashmoney. I hope, and indeed I am hopeful, that he’ll be at Napoli for a few years yet. Any move to Inter depends on (a) cash, (b) Cavani not falling in love with Napoli and (c) in my opinion, at least, Diego Milito moving on.
THere is no other reason for leaving one second-class Italian club to another second-class Italina club … except money. Cavani is a second-tier football player and will never play for Inter. He is not good enough. I smell … a … move to Sampdoria next. Or maybe Genoa.