Player Profile: Javier Saviola

By: Daryl | April 28th, 2007

JavierSaviola Full Name: Javier Pedro Saviola
Born: December 11, 1981, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Position: Forward

First some stats. Saviola made his debut for River Plate aged 16. Argentina’s Apertura and Clausura are for men’s men, the defenders don’t mess about, so 16 year olds have to be pretty special to survive in it. Saviola not only survived, he scored 44 goals in 86 appearances. That’s better than one in two, and he was probably only shaving once a month. He showed pace, skills, a touch of class and was absolutely lethal in front of goal. In 2001, the then 19 year old helped Argentina win the World Youth Cup, being voted player of the tournament and scoring 11 goals in 7 appearances. So that summer a little Spanish club named Barcelona FC paid about $28 million to secure his services, and the future looked golden.

But…

Somehow it didn’t quite work out. Despite scoring 17 goals in 32 La Liga appearances (again, better than one in two) in 2001-2, when Frank Rijkaard replaced Louis van Gaal at Barca, the Dutchman didn’t take to Saviola. Rijkaard sent our boy on loan to Monaco for the 2004/5 season and then to Sevilla for 2005/6 (where he won the UEFA Cup, which could be worse).

Saviola’s struggles at Barca are hard to explain, especially as he holds a Spanish passport. Certainly the presence of stars like Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto’o and now Messi is a barrier, but many would argue that Saviola is in the same class. It could also be that the way Rijkaard likes to play demands a physical centre forward like Eto’o. For all Saviola’s talent, he’s not that type of player.

He’s continued to impress on the international stage, including a Gold Medal with Argentina at the 2004 Olympic Games. At time of writing he’s scored 11 goals in 36 appearance for his national team. That’s exactly 11 more than me.

Saviola is back at Barca for the 2006/7 season, and has been in and out of the team, trying to prove his worth. His contract is up at the end of the season, and Spanish gossip has it that he’s signed a pre-contract agreement to join none other than Real Madrid for next season. If that happens it’ll definitely make some headlines, but might not be a smart move for Saviola. There’s still time for the 25 year old to fulfil his early potential and be one of Europe’s dominant strikers, but he needs a season of stability and regular football. A Madrid team that’s already oversubscribed with strikers doesn’t seem the ideal place for that, but neither does another season in Eto’o’s shadow.