He’s my kind of centre forward.
Lanky, explosive, fast, brave, scores spectacular goals.
Cavani can head the ball and volley it and score with rocket shots across the keeper.
He’s 25 and Uruguayan and he’s scored 15 goals in Serie A this season and four in the Champions League.
Napoli are a proud club and their team has more firepower than the Udinese side who impressed me against Arsenal in August.
Napoli can do what Udinese can’t do often enough : they can finish. They can break away and connect the run to the pass and connect with the cross and score exciting goals. They can improvise to make the pattern work if it’s stuttering.
In a defensive football culture, finishing has to be lethal.
Udinese have pace and energy but Napoli have precision as well. Edinson Cavani is a top, top goalscorer.
Chelsea trained in the rain in Naples yesterday.
Ashley Cole is fit, JT still doubtful.
Villas-Boas said, “With full confidence from the owner, I’ll continue to do my job. And my job is this year and the next two.”
That chimes with what I’ve been told and what I’ve written here already. Andre has been told : Rip up this team as soon as you like.
That’s why he’s saying : Tonight’s result doesn’t define my season.
Chelsea’s form is awful. They have only 4 wins in their last 13 games. Quite often, during some of those games, it’s looked as if they’re playing to get their manager the sack.
I don’t think that’s gonna work.
Could be wrong. Been wrong many times before. We’ll see.
I’m convinced that Napoli v Chelsea will be a dramatic spectacle and I’m really up for it. Been looking forward to this one for weeks because I’m stale, bored, needing an exciting game to galvanise me again.
Petr Cech will have to make world class saves tonight.
Long-term, I think AVB is a good manager for Ramires, Romeu, Luiz, Mata and Cahill. If he could swap Torres for Falcao at Athletico Madrid, he’d have 70% of a new team.