Cavani transfer frenzy adds new edge to Boca - River Superclasico - 7M sport

Cavani transfer frenzy adds new edge to Boca - River Superclasico



Posted Saturday, March 13, 2021 by Goal.com

Cavani transfer frenzy adds new edge to Boca - River Superclasico

These are troubled times for Argentine football but a revelation from the Man Utd star's father has brought excitement ahead of Sunday's Superclasico

On Sunday Boca Juniors and River Plate take the field for the second Superclasico in little over two months.

Having not met for the entirety of 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic and a subsequent shake-up of the Argentine tournament structure, the derby games are now coming thick and fast.

The Buenos Aires giants played out a 2-2 draw at the Bombonera back in January when attentions were very much turned to their ultimately unsuccessful bids to make the Copa Libertadores final.

There is no such distraction this time round, but the mooted arrival of mega star Edinson Cavani to the blue and gold half of the capital has caused a stir - not just among Boca fans but in the nation as a whole.

It was none other than the Manchester United forward's father, Luis, who dropped this tantalising possibility speaking live on television with Argentine sports network TyC Sports.

"If I had to say a percentage, I'd say 60 per cent,” he explained when asked what chance Edinson had of joining Boca.

"He has been thinking for more than two years that he wants to be closer to his family, that is the reason why I firmly believe Edi will end up playing at a club here in South America, close to Uruguay.”

If such a move were to go through in June – and at this point it remains a big if – it would be a huge boost to Boca, who have won the last two domestic tournaments in Argentina but enter the Libertadores in 2021 desperate to break a drought that extends back to 2007.

At 34, Cavani remains one of the most deadly forwards in football and his performances with United to date suggests that he can still deliver at the highest level.

This would be no Daniele De Rossi situation, coaxed out of retirement for what ultimately amounted to an extended holiday trying Argentina's famed steaks and Malbec wine.

The Uruguayan would be the Liga Profesional's biggest coup since Carlos Tevez cut short his time at Juventus to return to the Bombonera. The prospect of Carlitos and Cavani lining up together in attack is one to strike fear into the hearts of defences the length and breadth of South America.

Cavani's supposed keenness to return back over the Atlantic has also served as a welcome distraction at what is a low point for the Argentine game generally.

While many Covid-19-linked restrictions nationwide have been lifted as cases have tailed off - the country averages around 7,000 new infections and 100 deaths a day, a number which has remained relatively stable since February - football stadiums remain closed to fans and indeed a large part of the press.

The Superclasico enjoys such a dazzling reputation worldwide thanks in part to the vociferous support Boca and River receive from the stands as they march out to do battle.

Behind closed doors, though, January's otherwise thrilling draw was played amid eerie, pained quiet, with only coaches Miguel Angel Russo and Marcelo Gallardo breaking the silence with the odd tactical instruction and frequent cursing picked up by the pitch-side mics.

While that much is unavoidable in the present context, the Argentine authorities have also done their part to make the current campaign as unwieldy and irrelevant as possible.

Two more teams, Sarmiento and Platense, were admitted to the top flight in January even though relegations were suspended, leaving no fewer than 26 sides among the country's elite. That will also hold for 2021, meaning that by December the Liga Profesional will be swollen to 28 participants.

Even more bizarrely, the competition in which Boca and River clash on Sunday is not a league season at all. The Argentine FA (AFA) and Liga Profesional determined that a second consecutive Copa Liga Profesional - the first being renamed for Diego Maradona halfway through - would be played instead.

That leaves Boca as the reigning league champions for at least another six months or so by virtue of their victory last March.

Consequently, the Argentine league, the second-oldest in the entire world and oldest to run continuously since inception, has suffered its first-ever interruption. Never since 1891 had the competition gone an entire year without playing a single game, a record that has now come to an end.

Cavani's proposed signing at this historic low point is thus a rare sliver of positive news amid the doom and gloom, although United have moved to downplay the significance of his father's words.

"From my bad Portuguese/Spanish and his better English, he’s very proud to play for Manchester United. He’s always going to give his best, if it’s beyond this season as well,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told reporters of his charge on Wednesday, the same day that Cavani posted on Instagram that he was “proud” to wear United's shirt.

"The decision hasn’t been made. As we’ve said, he’s made a great contribution so far. We’re just working on getting him back on the pitch and fit and we’ll convince him when the weather in Manchester improves.”

Former Uruguay team-mate Sebastian Abreu also doubts a move is possible, telling  Como te va  in typically colourful fashion: "Cavani won't want to leave United without playing, that beast will want to leave after winning things and scoring goals."

Regardless of those sentiments, judging by Cavani Sr.'s words, this past winter spent in Manchester under lockdown conditions has done little to soften the Uruguayan to England's charms and has added to the evident annoyance felt over a stiff punishment handed out for a social media exchange with a childhood friend.

And given that travel restrictions across the world show no sign of loosening any time soon, Cavani can be forgiven for his desire to move just a short hop over the Rio de la Plata from the family he has barely been able to see for the last year.

The news that the forward is even considering the Bombonera as his next destination has been greeted with joy at Boca, already over the moon following Sunday's 7-1 destruction of Velez Sarsfield that moved them up to fourth in Zone 2 of the labyrinthine Copa Liga Profesional.

More than that though, it is a shot in the arm for the troubled Argentine game itself, even as it battles this crisis that is partly a result of global pressures and partly self-inflicted.

Used to seeing a constant haemorrhage of its top talents to Europe year after year, seeing a star of such renown choose to come the other way to represent the Buenos Aires powerhouse would be a welcome reminder that there might just be hope for the future if the current malaise can be overcome.



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