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| [photo by Jimmy Baikovicius] |
- by Adam Huntington, writing from Dundee, Scotland
After impressing at the 2007 South American Youth Championships, Cavani moved from Uruguayan club Danubio, to Palermo in early 2007, apparently ignoring advances from much bigger teams. Scoring an incredible Van Basten-esque volley on his debut against Fiorentina, he found himself featuring in seven games in his debut half-season. He continued to play well for the Sicilian club, cementing his place in the first team in 2008 and was instrumental in the 09-10 season, which seen the club gain European football. Cavani joined Napoli last summer after 34 goals in 109 appearances for Palermo. The deal was initially a loan, but much to the delight of the Partenopei, Cavani signed a permanent deal which will keep him playing at the San Paolo until 2016.
It was at Napoli where he really came to my attention, fitting in seamlessly with crowd favourites Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi to form a very proficient attacking trio. All three were an obvious reason for Napoli's final position; Lavezzi recorded 12 assists and Hamsik chipped in with an impressive 11 goals, but it was Cavani's 26 league goals that's seen him steal most of the plaudits. Watching his goals back again, it's refreshing to see that they were all so different, each one highlighting either his clever movement, impressive power or his brilliant technique. The boy's got talent in abundance. His authoritative presence, which was very apparent in both performances against Roma in the Derby del Sole, earned him the nickname "El Matador", running the oppositions defence ragged.
Cavani is, in my opinion, one of the most complete strikers I've ever seen. Comparable to the wonderful Batistuta, Cavani's comfortable using either foot, technically gifted but not afraid to be tackled and doesn't look out of place aerially. He's not yet as established as Batigol was, but with 26 goals this term, Cavani has already equalled the Argentinian's highest number of league goals in a single season. Still only 24, he's got a couple of years until he hits the supposed "peak" striker age of 28, despite the fact that his run of form this year was nothing short of amazing. Coupled with this skill, Cavani is a very fair player, only picking up five yellows throughout the season. Four of these came in the closing weeks though, possibly showing a very small lapse in concentration or a rise in frustration. That said, his rash sending off against Lecce landed him a three match suspension which, given that the eventual top scorer Antonio Di Natale only had two more goals than him, could disappointingly have been the reason he didn't become the Capocannoniere.
Napoli find themselves in an interesting position; with the current pool of players they have, and the promise of European football next season, they should be able to lure in some quality players. There's already been talk of the out of favour Winston Palacios arriving from Spurs in the summer for around £7 million to add a bit of muscle to their flair. The real task for Napoli however, is keeping ahold of their current players. Rumours a short while back were hinting toward a Hamsik and Cavani exit, possibly landing on English shores. Lavezzi was also name dropped, but these whispers were circulating before Napoli sealed European football for the second season running. Since then, Cavani's signed a new deal which has stopped his name frequenting Man City fan forums, and even Hamsik has dropped off the radar, specifically with Milan as their owner Silvio Berlusconi insisted that there's no interest for him. Come the start of next season, if Cavani still lines up shoulder to shoulder with Hamsik and Lavezzi, Napoli have a very good chance of improving on this year's third place finish.
