Edinson Cavani will be 33 years old this Friday, between two trips, to Dijon (Wednesday in the Coupe de France) and Amiens (Saturday in Ligue 1). But the one he aims to start is the meeting in Dortmund on February 18 in the knockout stages of the Champions League. The Uruguayan stayed at PSG because Atlético de Madrid could not meet the financial requirements of the capital's club. But the sports management, Leonardo and Thomas Tuchel, always wanted a substantial workforce in a team historically amputated when the European summits arrived.
This time, no attacking player has suffered an injury a week from Dortmund. Evil is elsewhere. Mauro Icardi is going through a period of scarcity with a goal in eight appearances and a goal he scored without expressly (in Nantes last week). Thomas Tuchel said he was "worried" about it, Saturday before Lyon and again after, Sunday evening. The coach did not have to tell the truth.
His return to the eleven is no longer taboo…
It seeks to sting the Argentinian and perhaps also to alert him of a possible change. At the same time, the German coach says, speaking of Cavani: "He is stronger in training because things are clear now that the transfer window is over. Keeping him in good shape is the best thing for us. The return of the club's top scorer (199 goals) to the starting lineup is no longer taboo.
To overtake Icardi, the former Neapolitan must dribble through a triple difficulty. The first is athletic. He has not started a meeting since January 5, against Linas-Montlhéry (6-0) at the end of his Christmas vacation. He then settled for crumbs (4 minutes against Monaco, 21 against Montpellier) and his aborted transfer, without counting a groin pain, deprived him of four games.
Two games, if he contests the two - he should be the starting player in Dijon this Wednesday - is this enough to sustain the intensity of a Champions League match in Dortmund? Time seems to be running out and Paris is already hoping to align two elements which will be short of rhythm because they will not resume competition this week: Thiago Silva and Marquinhos. Should we add a third?
… But his status has not changed
Second pitfall: if Icardi plays, in addition to its qualities and its express adaptation to Paris, it is also because the stars of the locker room have dubbed it. Neymar and Kylian Mbappé love to evolve alongside him, appreciating his technique and the natural bond they developed in his company. The complementarity of the MCN has never been overlooked, Cavani is not really comfortable in the little game, discounts, combinations.
The last difficulty relates to the choice of Thomas Tuchel. If the coach's speech changes, his actions indicate otherwise. There were two outings last week, Cavani only played 14 minutes out of 180 possible, even if he scored against OL (4-2). Its retention in Paris has not changed its status in the spirit of Tuchel, which has just launched a new competitor in the legs of the Matador by transforming Pablo Sarabia into the center. With a diverse fortune but the Spaniard has as much credit as Cavani to play in the Ruhr alongside Mbappé in front if Icardi, still in pole position, should be ejected from the typical team.