Former Napoli striker Edinson Cavani says Napoli are ‘piece of my heart’ and believes they have it in them to go all the way to the Serie A title. The 35-year-old famously left Naples for Paris Saint-Germain but scored a phenomenal 104 goals in 138 appearances for the Partenopei. Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Urugyuan international recounted his time in Naples and his new adventure in Spain with Rino Gatusso’s Valencia:
Napoli are a piece of the heart. For so many reasons: the past, but also the present. My first two sons, Bautista and Lucas, were born there, they are 9 nd 11 years old, they play football and of course they cheer Napoli.
Let’s start with memories.
“All the teams where you play leave you something however Napoli has a special place in my memory, because those three years were the embryo that blossomed a career that then continued in Paris and Manchester. I am a reserved guy, not used to externalizing emotions. And the affection I received in Naples from the first moment moved me, and triggered something special inside me. As soon as I arrived in the city outside the hotel there were a lot of people. And at the stadium-incredible. President De Laurentiis wanted me to go around the San Paolo to greet them as if I were the pope, but I didn’t feel like it, I hadn’t played a single minute, I hadn’t done anything for those people who were welcoming me in that extraordinary way. Those faces, that affection, that participation, that energy-I was overwhelmed. I felt that I had to reciprocate somehow, and I gave my all to do it. That’s also why winning the Coppa Italia after so many years without a trophy, against that very strong Juve, was something magical and indelible. Maybe it wasn’t a great title, but it came at the end of a journey that we made united with the city, and the sharing of joy was total.”
What about today? Can Napoli make it to win the Scudetto?
“Today I am following them from afar, but with great participation and attention, and I am overjoyed at what they are doing. Here in Valencia they have an extra fan. I don’t know if they can do it to win the Serie A, but I really hope so, and it seems to me that all the necessary conditions are in place.”
Namely?
“A serious and organized club that knows how to plan and move well in the market, a great coach, interesting and hungry players, and the usual eternal, unburnable passion of the public. In football you never know, and in this strange season with the World Cup in the middle even less, Serie A is incredibly competitive, however, Napoli’s start has been exceptional. The month of January will be crucial.”
Let’s change to the Blues. What is Uruguay’s goal in this World Cup?
“Always the same: to go all the way. Maestro Tabarez laid a solid foundation, then we got into a negative dynamic of results and there was a change. Diego Alonso changed some things at the methodological level, but the base is the same: there are us veterans and there are very interesting young guys. Different generations, same idea of seeing soccer and life. We are aware of our strength, which comes from the unity of the group. That’s why we don’t set limits for ourselves, it’s not part of our mentality.”
Here, let’s talk about mentality. This is a recurring but ever-present question: how does a small country like Uruguay manage to be so competitive in soccer?
“Because we come from a country where you play everywhere, on every surface and in every climate, and it starts to give kids a desire and a sense of competition. When you get into formative football you are prepared and the coaches complete the process of competitive growth. We train that way, and we are able to maintain that essence that modern soccer does everything it can to take away.
Social networks and technology have caused the mentality of the football player to change. Before in a team the goal was the same for everyone, nowadays for different reasons, mainly because of fame issues, there are people with different goals, let’s say personal and not group goals. I come from the old school, the one in which they teach you that the most important thing, and the best that can happen to you, is team victory.
For me in football, there is no one guy who can win you games by himself. There is not and never will be.
There can be a player who makes magic, a golazo, but to defend that golazo you need teammates who run after the ball and a goalkeeper who gives security. Things that are often put aside to make room for the famous, the Ballon d’Or, the Pichichi, the one who makes fifty assists. These things divert the attention of a team from its common, shared goal. In our national team, but I would say also in our country, these kinds of people and gestures are not well seen. It is a cultural and social issue: we like the comrade who gives everything for the national team without thinking about what his name is, who he is, and how famous he is. In the ‘Selecciónì’ you come to give everything, we are all equal, we are here to defend the country, the flag and take it as high as possible. We all work for this and we are aware that no one alone can achieve it.”
You talk about the group having to prevail over individuals: in recent years, you have shared the locker room with Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo, players whose image has transcended the role of a footballer. What was your impression?
“Since I, in football, have never had the desire to be more than someone else I have always analyzed my teammates in depth, coming to the conclusion that often the more famous or recognized footballer stands out more than his teammates because he has the need to do so. Everyone has their own form of living and being, and there are soccer players who do things for which I feel a form of total rejection, I have seen things that have helped me grow as a person by making me realize that in my life the priorities are other and are far from social networks. That said, I have always been very professional and a perfectionist, and in those same teammates I saw things that made me think ‘This is the example’ to follow, behaviors and mindsets that are useful for any human being and not only for a footballer who wants to stay at certain levels.”
