BIOGRAPHY AND CAREEREdinson Roberto Cavani Gomez born February 14, 1987 in Salto is a Uruguayan football striker with Italian origins. He currently plays for S.S.C. Napoli.Cavani is nicknamed "El Matador" for his commanding presence.
Cavani moved to Montevideo when he was 12 years old, and came through the youth system at Danubio F.C. to make his debut for the first team in 2006. He was part of the Apertura 2006 championship winning squad, scoring nine goals in his debut season.
After his breakthrough at the 2007 South American Youth Championship, several big teams were reportedly interested in signing Cavani, including Juventus and AC Milan.However, on 29 January 2007, Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini announced the signing of the promising Uruguayan.The bid was officially confirmed on January 31.
Cavani made his debut on 11 March 2007 in a home league match against Fiorentina,coming on in the 55th minute with his team 0–1 down and scoring an impressive equaliser only fifteen minutes later, a goal reminiscent of Marco van Basten's strike in the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final.In his second season with the Rosanero, Cavani found himself fighting for a first team place with Fabrizio Miccoli and Amauri.
After Amauri's departure to Juventus in June 2008, Cavani cemented his place in the starting lineup, forming a striking partnership with Fabrizio Miccoli and scoring a total 14 goals in the 2008–09 season. He retained his place for the 2009–10 season under new boss Walter Zenga, and also under successor Delio Rossi, being instrumental in the team's successful run in Serie A which took Palermo to European qualification, and potential qualification to the UEFA Champions League with two games remaining. In April 2010, he penned a new contract with Palermo valid to June 2014.
In July 2010, Cavani signed a contract with Palermo's Serie A rivals Napoli, on loan. Cavani scored twice in his first start, as Napoli beat Elfsborg in the Europa League 2-0 and qualified for the main tournament. He then started his Napoli Serie A career in spectacular fashion, scoring a controversial goal on Fiorentina after just seven minutes, with replays showing the ball hardly crossing the line. Cavani also scored on his home debut against Bari, before adding a late winner against Sampdoria, meaning he had scored in his first four competitive matches with Napoli. On 26 September 2010, Cavani came on as a late replacement with 30 minutes left in a game against Cesena which Napoli were losing 1-0. After assisting the equalizing goal, he went on to score two more, with the final score 4-1. That meant Cavani shared the lead as top scorer for the entire series with Samuel Eto'o. On 15 December 2010, Cavani netted a 90+2 minute goal against FC Steaua Bucureşti to help his team to a 1-0 win and progress beyond the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. In the first match, which was held on Romanian soil, he had scored an equalizing goal in the 90+7 minute. On 09 January 2011, Cavani scored a hat-trick during a 3-0 win over Juventus, the third goal coming by way of a diving scorpion kick. On January 30, Cavani scored another hat-trick, this time in a 4-0 win over UC Sampdoria. Cavani continued his fine form scoring a brace against AS Roma, the final score was 2-0. On 20 March 2011, Cavani scored a brace against Cagliari, in a 2-1 win. This win kept them within three points of leaders A.C. Milan with eight games left.
In January 2007, Cavani was selected to join the Uruguay national football team Under-20 squad to play in the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay. Cavani finished the tournament as top scorer with seven goals in nine games, helping Uruguay to finish in 3rd place, earning them a place in the World Youth Championship.
On February 6, 2008, Cavani made his first senior appearance for the Uruguay national team, and immediately scored a goal in his debut with the Celeste, a 2–2 tie with Colombia. On 11 July 2010, he scored against Germany in the 3rd place match in the 2010 FIFA World Cup making the game 1-1, Germany went on to win 2-3. On July 27, 2010 he played in a friendly match against Angola in Lisboa. He scored a late goal in the match in a 2-0 win for Uruguay. On October 8, 2010 he scored his first career hat-trick in a friendly match against Indonesia.
EDINSON CAVANI PROFILE
Full name: Edinson Roberto Cavani Gomez
Date of birth: 14 February 1987
Place of birth: Salto, Uruguay
Height: 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position: Striker
Club information
Current club :Napoli (on loan from Palermo)
Number: 7
Youth career
2000–2006 Danubio
Senior career
2006–2007 Danubio 25 (9)
2007– Palermo 109 (34)
2010– → Napoli (loan) 30 (22)
National team
2006–2007 Uruguay U-20 14 (10)
2008– Uruguay 23 (8)
