Edinson Cavani ahead of the World Cup: “Maybe, I don’t fully fit with modern football” | OneFootball

Valencia and Uruguay star Edinson Cavani has stated his belief regarding the fact that he’s not fit for modern football and the thought processes around it.

Cavani has impressed for Valencia since joining the club on a free transfer in the summer and it came after a good spell with Manchester United. The striker has been called up for the Uruguayan national team and he will be a key player for them in the FIFA World Cup.

Ahead of the start of the tournament, Cavani spoke to Sid Lowe from The Guardian about life in football, the world and the essence of the direction in which the game is going.

The striker spoke about the competitiveness in Uruguay and how that is translated onto the pitch: “Because pitches exist, everywhere. In every neighbourhood, every place, however deprived. Wherever there’s space to kick a ball, there’s a game. That competitiveness demanded as a professional is already there: you’ve been doing it all your life, every day, in the rain, any surface, playing barefoot, breaking a toe, wrapping it up and carrying on. I always say that in football it’s not the same to play as to compete.”

Further on, Cavani gave his views about how Uruguayans have kept the essence of football alive but modern-day football has not: “We’ve kept that essence. Look at modern football, which is losing that essence. Maybe I come from that old school. Maybe I don’t fully fit with modern football, in terms of attitudes, what it means to players. That doesn’t mean you can’t say how you feel, does it? I see it constantly: modernism, social media, how the world is, how technology has advanced, got into football. That changes mentalities. Before, everyone in a team had the same objective. These days, in certain teams for various reasons – fame, what people and press make players feel – that’s not always the case.”

Uruguay’s group in the World Cup is tricky and it includes Portugal, Ghana and the Korea Republic. Cavani’s side start their World Cup campaign against Korea Republic next Thursday.

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