Edinson Cavani has simply continued where he left off last season in Serie A. Once more, the striker has taken on the mantle of the main man, the key figure in front of goal, the talisman and quite possibly the player the Neopolitans have been crying out for since the days of a certain little Argentine.
Cavani has had yet another scintillating start to the season and his form is genuinely begging the question – is Cavani the best striker in the world? Already this year he has hit a devastating hatrick against reigning champions Milan, almost single-handedly downing the best team in the country. He hit trebles on no less than three occasions last season in important victories over Sampdoria, Juventus and Lazio and deservedly ended the season as the club’s top scorer ever in a single Serie A season with 25 goals.
‘El Matador’ would likely have hit more to finish the campaign as Capocannoniere were it not for a suspension towards the end of the season for his sarcastic applause after being sent off which allowed Udinese marksman Antonio Di Natale to surpass him but the world had sat up to take notice of the tall Uruguayan striker after a truly phenomenal season. One man who will have been both embarrassed and shocked at the form shown by Cavani will be the fiery Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini. He allowed the striker to move on loan to Naples and then make the move official for a fee of just 17 million euros.
Cavani, whose sublime scoring has even earned him his own pizza in his adopted city (which interestingly he does not like as it “contains too many toppings”), has repaid that investment every weekend since. He can rightly hold a claim to being the world’s best. There are of course the obvious contenders and outstanding talents like Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo who many consider to be untouchable. Their goalscoring records speak for themselves but so too does that of the Napoli striker. So far his record in Serie A for Napoli shows that he has played 39 games for the Partenopei and has hit the back of the net 29 times in this period of time. Absolutely outstanding.
Why should Cavani not be considered as the best? The answer would seem to lie in the media. Serie A does not benefit from the overall coverage and exposure that the players like Messi and Ronaldo’s La Liga does or Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney’s English Premier League enjoys. Players are not given the same praise and treatment if they play in Serie A and although most would recognise Cavani as possibly a ‘decent goalscorer’, few would acknowledge him as being one the best as the hardcore followers of the Italian championship would.
He came to the attention of those in England though last month when Manchester City took on Napoli at home in the Champions League expecting to easily dispose of their opponents. Edinson Cavani had other ideas though with his well-taken strike making him Napoli’s first ever goalscorer in the Champions League and earning his side an important draw.
He also managed to score a number of crucial goals in European games last season for the Azzurri on their Europa League adventure and it seems that the bigger the occasion, the better the performance from Cavani. That, perhaps more than any other quality, is the mark of a truly potent and top class striker. Most good strikers can score against the ‘lesser’ sides they come up against but the Matador does so when the chips are down and his team need him to step up. His many strikes against the likes of Milan, Roma, Lazio and Juventus are evidence of this.
Cavani is absolutely clinical for the San Paolo side and when he is on the ball you can genuinely feel the excitement and expectation rise around the stadium. Also, Cavani has that other masterful technique which sets him apart from a great deal of the rest and that is his lethal ability to score goals from anywhere. He can score with both feet, with his head, from the penalty spot, from the six yard box and from 30 yards. He is a genuinely special player and is deserving of every plaudit that comes his way.
What about the striker himself though? Would he agree with this assessment on himself that most fans of calcio now have? True to his humble and modest nature Cavani shrugs it off and would much rather concentrate on the team as a whole and securing the Scudetto. “I enjoy scoring and playing for these fans,” the Uruguayan said, “but I dream of the Scudetto. All I want is the title.” If Napoli are to fight for the Scudetto it will be his goals and his performances that decide the outcome.
As things stand and with his terrific performances over the past year or so for both club and country, you could not discount him as another great striker anymore. Cavani has deserved to now be spoken of alongside the best. When talking of the best strikers in the world he should be mentioned alongside Messi, Ronaldo and Aguero. His goals alone have earned him that right. Whether or not he should be spoken of as being better than these players, well you can make your own mind up on that.
Follow Padraig Whelan on Twitter: @PWhelan88
For all the latest Serie A club news don’t forget to check out the Clubs section of Forza Italian Football.
Join Forza Italian Football on Twitter and Facebook.
