re: UEFA CL Qfinals 2nd leg DAY TWO (4/10 Matchday thread) 1:45 CST

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Michael Cox has a really good article on Lavezzi and his role at PSG... How his role (and Zlatan's) differs in Ligue 1 compared to CL... he excels in CL (Zlatan in both, cause he can play as a target man or a playmaker)

LINK

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Lavezzi isn't a bad player -- in fact, he can be a very good player. But it's an alarming illustration of the importance of money in modern day football: Lavezzi is basically a disciplined, energetic attacker who plays as a permanent decoy, and yet he cost nearly £30 million.

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Thanks for the link, going to read that now.

It seems a good point about Lavezzi and money. I argued with some people last summer that selling him didn't mean a step back for Napoli and their attack wouldn't miss a beat replacing him with Insigne and Pandev and not because Lavezzi isn't a very good player.

Agree with the premise about him being a decoy but he is a pretty effective one on the counter because he does one thing exceptionally well: draw defenders out of position because he can get a good touch and run past the first man in space.

(On a sidenote: This is where Alexis Sanchez playing for Barca wastes probably his best asset as he's incredible on the counter. He may well be another Eto'o / Ibra example of an elite player just not fitting that well into the rigidity of their style)


I guess Lavezzi also has that Arjen Robben move --from the opposite side-- and occasionally curls one into the far post. However, I've often thought you really only commit a second defender toward that so you don't look stupid the few times a season it goes in for Lavezzi.