Ezequiel Lavezzi is setting Serie A alight but, asks Gabriele Marcotti, can the striker do the same with his country?
IT'S NOT his fault if he looks like the young, unthickened Diego. Don't blame him if he plays in Diego's house, in front of Diego's fans and occasionally does what Diego did. And you can't hold him accountable if those who built shrines and murals to Diego in the back alleyways of central Naples, who named their sons (and sometimes their daughters) Diego, who truly believe that life - not just football - in the city was better 20 years ago simply because Diego was among them now look to him as the Second Coming.
When you're beleaguered, you need a messiah and, if He doesn't show up, you're bound to create your own.
Ezequiel Lavezzi understands all this, not least because he's heard it from the age of 10, when he first joined Boca Juniors, Diego Maradona's old club. Even then, the search for the heir apparent was on, with successors crowned and then forgotten. Being another of the "new Maradonas' to have come out of Argentina isn't that big a deal. What is a big deal is that Maradona's departure left a 17-year gash in Neapolitan hearts, a void which Lavezzi is beginning to fill.
On Wednesday night, when Argentina - now led by, of all people, Maradona - visit Hampden, Scotland will get a taste of whether Lavezzi justifies even a bit of the hype. He himself doesn't think so.
"No, not in any way should I be compared to Maradona," he says. "I am just one of many who has had the honour of wearing the Napoli shirt after him. And if you're talking in technical terms, I'm probably more similar as a player to Carlos Tevez, although I have a ways to go before I reach his level."
He's probably right. Lavezzi's reputation thus far is, after all, built on flashes, rather than steady production. Yet you get the sense that, at age 23, he is continually progressing, coming closer and closer to unleashing his fearsome potential. Last season, his first at Napoli, he propelled his newly-promoted side into a Uefa Cup spot. This year, going into the weekend's fixtures, they were a single point off the top of the table.
Lavezzi operates as a second striker, with the freedom to roam either wing. He's a solid crosser who can also finish, but his speciality act is as simple as it is effective. He receives the ball, usually in space, beats a man, sucks a bunch of opponents towards him and then, one of three things happens: he either wins a free-kick, bursts through a knot of defenders or lays the ball off to a now unmarked teammate, because the opposition is entirely preoccupied with him.
"The threat of what Lavezzi might do is often greater than what Lavezzi actually does," says Catania manager Walter Zenga. "That's what makes him so dangerous. He makes his opponents worry."
For a long time though, many felt Lavezzi lacked the mental strength to make it at the highest level. At least, that was the opinion, ultimately, of Boca Juniors' academy, where he developed from the age of 10 to 17. Lavezzi was seen as a problem child, a kid who would alternate between kicking out violently and long periods of sulking whenever he wasn't the star. Throw in temper tantrums, and agent disputes, and it is understandable what prompted the club to conclude that maybe Lavezzi wasn't worth the trouble. But it happened that, at the age of 17, Lavezzi simply walked out.
And he didn't just walk out on Boca. He walked out on football altogether. He joined his brother as an apprentice electrician: not a glamorous job, but one which could provide a steady wage, far from the pressures of what had become a joyless game. But his hiatus lasted less than a year. The lure of the game was too strong and he returned at Estudiantes Buenos Aires, a third division side. He was an instant hit, notching 17 goals and immediately getting snapped up by an ambitious Genoa side, who loaned him to top-flight San Lorenzo for a season. The following summer he was supposed to rejoin Genoa, but the club were caught match-fixing and demoted to Serie C1. So he stayed at San Lorenzo, until Napoli came calling in 2007.
The initial impact was traumatic. When the club and press made the inevitable comparisons with Maradona before his arrival, he was greeted at the training ground by 1200 fans on the day of his unveiling. They jeered him chanting "there's only one Maradona". As if Lavezzi didn't know that: so much so that he ditched the number 10 shirt he had long worn (which, of course, had been Diego's at Napoli) in favour of the less weighty number seven.
The first few months were bumpy on and off the pitch. He showed up overweight and developed a reputation for indiscipline, a legacy of his rough-and-tumble youth. "El Loco" one of his earlier nicknames seemed appropriate when, a few months into his stay, he and his girlfriend bumped another car on a Neapolitan street. When the owners of the car asked to exchange insurance details, Lavezzi and his girlfriend lost their tempers. Punches were thrown, a car window was smashed and his girlfriend became an overnight sensation for removing her belt and using it to whip one of the two men in the other car (he was later hospitalised).
As it happened, the incident remained a blip. Even as the naysayers suggested he was a bit too "Loco" even for Naples, he proved them wrong becoming an integral part of the side which has brought big-time football back to the San Paolo. Indeed, as is the custom with Neapolitan heroes, many have taken to putting Lavezzi figurines into their Christmas Nativity scenes (an honour previously reserved for you-know-who and few others). On Wednesday, he'll get a chance to earn his third cap, along with his Napoli team-mate German Denis, the club's top scorer after arriving in the summer. Some have said the Denis-Lavezzi combination could one day emulate Jorge Valdano and Maradona "Again with this story?" he sighs. "When are you going to start comparing others to Lavezzi instead of comparing me to others?"
Good question. As soon as he fulfils his potential. Which might just be on Wednesday.
