Canna Coming Home and Other Transfer Rumours

By: Neil | October 8th, 2008

We all know it: Fabio Cannavaro is dying to come home. His contract with Real Madrid expires next June, and he has repeatedly expressed his desire to play alongside Paolo in a Napoli shirt. He has also stated that he wants to play for Napoli while he is still in good condition, and not washed up. BUT, his main goal at club level is to win the Champions League; it’s just about the only trophy he hasn’t won.

Here is my assessment of the situation. When Real Madrid signed Cannavaro, he had just captained Italy to the World Cup, and was the best player in the world. Three years later, does Real still hold him in the same regard? I don’t know. Fabio is my favourite player, so I have no idea how netural, unbiased soccer fans look at him. To some people he could be a 35 year old defender with a recent major injury, and not a player you’d want to build your defence around.

If Real come close to winning the Champions League this year, I think he’ll resign a one or two year deal. If Real win the Champions League, I think Canna will come home no matter what. But if Real struggle and don’t come close to winning anything this year, it leaves all kinds of possibilities open.

A lot also depends on Napoli. If January comes and the team is well placed in the standings, they might put in a bid for Canna, telling Real Madrid that he’ll leave for nothing at the end of the year so they might as well cash in and get something for him. This is very unlikely, especially since Real aren’t desperate for money, but it’s not out of the question. The most likely scenario is that Canna will finish up the year at Real Madrid, then evaluate all his options before doing anything.

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/oct8l.html

Ezequiel Lavezzi has also been rumoured to be going to Chelsea for $10 milllion Euros. Marino claims that no official offer has been made, but a lot of these rumours are created to unsettle the player and get him thinking of bigger clubs that can offer more money.

Luckily for us, Lavezzi is happy in the Campania sunshine. He must have figured out London is cool, damp, and rainy a lot of the time.

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=901922

Napoli legend Careca has also recommend Brazilian striker Nilmar to the club. The 24 year old Internacional (Porto Alegre) striker had a disappointing spell with Olympique Lyon in 2004-05 but has rediscovered his form in South America and is looking for a move back to Europe. His good performances not only at Internacional but Corinthians before that means his price will be high, but according to Careca it is a safe investment.

Finally, Napoli are also tracking 18 year old Lanus striker Eduardo Salvio. The Argentine media has compared him to Lavezzi, but Salvio has said he tries to model his game on Lavezzi’s Olympic teammate Lautaro Acosta.

At this point I should probably introduce myself to Napoli fans. There have been so many games to cover I haven’t had a chance to explain why I love the team and want to write blogs.

I’ve only been following Napoli since 2004. I’ve followed world and European soccer since USA 94, but I never had a favourite team. Around 2004 I was trying to do a better job of getting in touch with my Italian roots - my mom’s family is originally from Caserta, home of Gianluca Grava and Sopranos character Jennifer Melfi (notice who is more famous) - and with Napoli starting a new team it seemed like the perfect chance to follow them as they moved from C1 to Serie A, and now Europe.

I’ve also taken a journalism program at college, so I actually enjoy writing articles and I consider the Napoli blog a good way to support the team and keep my writing skills sharp. If there are any specific topics you want to me write on, for example player profiles, just let me know and I will try to make it happen.

For our Canadian readers, I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving this weekend, and I’ll be back next week with news about the Juve game. Already the Bianconeri will be missing Buffon, Camoranesi, and Sissoko. Should be an easy three points