More than 38 000 fans packed into the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday to watch second place Napoli take on Cagliari, annual dwellers of mid-table in Serie A.
It was supposed to be an easy home win for the Partenopei as they inch closer to Champions League qualification for the second time in three seasons. Instead, it was anything but that, as Cagliari took the lead through Victor Ibarbo in the 18th minute.
The remainder of the first half was taken over by Napoli’s Edinson Cavani who tried to pick the team up on his shoulders and carry them to victory. The Napoli faithful watched on as their talisman missed chance after chance, and was the reason a Marek Hamsik goal was ruled out for offside.
Napoli would level on an own goal from Davide Astori. A second goal would come shortly after through Cavani as he stole the glory from Christian Maggio, who could have easily slotted home himself had El Matador not taken the ball from him.
Although Cagliari would equalize with a brilliant curling effort from Marco Sau, Napoli would eventually earn three points through home-grown boy Lorenzo Insigne who netted the winner at the death. The San Paolo erupted, and Insigne celebrated in front of his fellow Neapolitans.
Cavani on the other hand was off by himself, picking himself up off the turf, taken down as the ball entered the goal giving Napoli a 3-2 victory. It left me wondering what is going on with Cavani?
I started to ponder where this selfishness could be stemming from, and it may be that the Uruguay forward has decided his future lies elsewhere, as this type of play from the 26-year-old has been going on for two months.
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Napoli was neck and neck with Juventus in the title race until the end of January. Then Cavani went more than 700 minutes without a goal through February and March. It was in this stretch that Napoli had only one win in six Serie A matches, and they were also punted from the Europa League losing 5-0 on aggregate to Viktoria Plzen.
There’s no doubt that Napoli is a better team with Cavani, but no one ever seemed to think they were Cavani-dependant. This is why Napoli should sell the young South American. A 63 million euro release clause is what stands in the way of Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid of getting to him. But if that can be arranged, Cavani should be sold.
Yes, Cavani is a world class striker, and even though he has 23 goals this season, and is on the verge of eclipsing Diego Maradona as Napoli’s all-time leading scorer, at some point as a club you have to decide if it is time to move on. There is no questioning Cavani’s talent, but he is also a player that depends on the service of teammates to truly flourish. In each of Cavani’s three seasons in Naples, one Patrenopei player has finished in the top five of assists. This year it is Hamsik who leads all Serie A players with 14.
With Chelsea and Manchester City having disappointing seasons, there is no doubt that those two clubs will be splurging on transfers this summer. So if you’re Napoli, why not take this opportunity to cash in? Why wait for someone to kick that release clause in? With the implementation of Financial Fair Play by UEFA it will be very difficult for any club to balance the books after a transfer of that magnitude. It is up to Napoli to decide what the right price is, and to have a plan in place for when that money comes in.
The sale of Zinedine Zidane will always be remembered by Juventus fans. It was one of the hardest things the club had to do, but when Real Madrid came calling with a €75 million offer, it became impossible to turn down. With the proceeds of that sale, Gianluigi Buffon, Pavel Nedved and Lillian Thuram were brought in, and Juventus would go on to be crowned Serie A champions for the next two seasons. They were trophy-less for the three seasons prior to the sale of Zidane.
It is not imperative that Napoli sell Cavani to improve, but it should be looked at even if the release clause is not met.
The missed penalties and the squandered chances are mounting, and it has hurt the southern club down the season stretch, and it makes one wonder just how much the dollar signs have gotten into his head. Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurenitis clearly planned for this, or else he would not have put the release clause in Cavani’s new contract last year.
The time has come, the plan is in place, and it is time to move on from El Matador.
Dan Riccio is the host of the European Football Weekly podcast on Sportsnet 590 The FAN. Listen to the podcast HERE and follow Dan on Twitter.