PSG's Search for a Striker: Edinson Cavani vs. Carlos Bacca
Similar to the quest for the Holy Grail, it sometimes feels like a never-ending search to find a top-class goalscorer. Clubs will often take a chance, gambling on a youngster or a journeyman veteran, or like Paris Saint-Germain this season, sometimes you have to stick with what you’ve got.
After the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG made the decision that Edinson Cavani was their man and the Uruguayan would lead the club through the 2016/17 campaign.
It hasn’t stopped players being linked, though. Vincent Janssen, via L’Equipe (h/t TalkSport), and Alexandre Lacazette, also via L’Equipe (h/t Sport Witness), were reported targets in the summer.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told Le Parisien (h/t Goal) that El Matador would start as the club’s main No. 9 this season: "He [Ibrahimovic] was a scorer, a great scorer. [But] Cavani is one of the best in the world. Watch his goals throughout his career. Cavani is one of the best in this position, why look elsewhere?”
From the outside, his record looks great this season. Eight league goals in six appearances and two goals in two Champions League games. However, the jury is still out, and the Parisian club have been linked with a move for Colombia international Carlos Bacca in January, per George Boulton of the Sun.
PSG head coach Unai Emery worked with the striker at Sevilla, where—if you just count games in the league and Europe—he scored 45 goals in 99 matches, according to WhoScored.
He joined AC Milan in 2015 but was apparently close to leaving the Serie A club this summer after they finished outside the European spots, with West Ham United interested in taking him to the London Stadium, per Sky Sports. In the end he decided to stay, happy to work with new coach Vincenzo Montella.
After confirming his decision to remain, Bacca told Milan TV (h/t Fox Sports) in August:
"The truth is that I had not taken any decision. I'm happy here with the group, working and trying to prepare myself for the first game in the best way I can.
I'm very confident for the upcoming season, with a coach who likes to play with the ball and play with purpose. I like that, because this way I could get two or three chances a game.
"
“When the intermediary presented the offer, I consulted with my family and decided to stay,” the 30-year-old striker told Sky Sports Italia (h/t MailOnline). “It was the right thing for me to do. I wanted to remain because I promised I'd take Milan back into Europe.”
Bacca kicked off this campaign with a hat-trick against Torino but failed to find the back of the net against Napoli and Udinese. That led to Montella dropping the former Club Brugge forward to the bench for the tricky away game at Sampdoria.
That decision now looks like a masterstroke from the former AS Roma striker; it lit a fire under Bacca, and he came on for the last 26 minutes like a man possessed.
“Bacca spent the entire time of his warm up angrily staring at Montella, but when he came on for Lapadula, he started fighting like he never before for the Rossoneri,” Michele Pasquali explained in an article for SB Nation.
Working hard on defence to win the ball back, his intensity paid off, peeling off his marker to stab in the only goal in a tough 1-0 win. It would have been a familiar sight for PSG fans, accustomed to Cavani’s hard work and relentless effort when playing beside Ibrahimovic during their Champions League campaigns,
“All too often he looks a better full-back than a centre-forward,” French Football Weekly’s Richard Allen jokingly told Bleacher Report.
"Bacca? Everything was under control," Montella told Mediaset, via ESPN FC, following the win at Stadio Luigi Ferraris. "There was a normal rotation, we have three games in a week. Bacca came on with the right desire to help us win the match."
Perhaps happier after scoring, Bacca promised that rather than moaning, he would do his talking with his feet. "I always look to be on the pitch, but I am a professional and I respect the coach's decision," he said. "I work for this, to be on the pitch. I thank God that I came on and scored the goal. I need to do my talking on the pitch."
For PSG to be interested, there has to be a clear case that not only is he an exceptional striker, but he will add more to their game than Cavani does.
| Games | 134 | 45 |
| Shots | 394 | 92 |
| Shots in box | 293 | 68 |
| Goals | 76 | 24 |
| Minute per goal | 133 | 154 |
| Conversion % | 19.2 | 26 |
| Conversion in box % | 20.4 | 20 |
The above graphic shows their record for their current clubs in terms of shots on goal. What stands out is the Colombian’s more prolific ratio in terms of his overall conversion rate, but they both have similar numbers when opportunities are created inside the opposition penalty area.
| Napoli/Sevilla | CAVANI | BACCA |
| Games | 153 | 99 |
| Shots | 548 | 178 |
| Shots in box | 349 | 115 |
| Goals | 130 | 45 |
| Minute per goal | 121 | 143 |
| Conversion % | 18.7 | 25 |
| Conversion in box % | 20.6 | 20 |
Using their current clubs is too small of a sample size, but the numbers are similar when we look back at their time for Napoli and Sevilla, respectively. Cavani averages less minutes per goal, but Bacca’s conversation rate is better and takes a higher percentage of his shots from inside the penalty area.
The biggest test comes in European competition, but one problem comparing both strikers is that Bacca has never featured in the UEFA Champions League group stage. He won the UEFA Europa League twice with Sevilla, but it’s a different world when you step up to the next level.
| Games | 38 | 28 |
| Shots | 96 | 43 |
| Shots in box | 67 | 29 |
| Goals | 20 | 43 |
| Minute per goal | 154 | 146 |
| Conversion % | 20.8 | 25 |
| Conversion in box % | 23.8 | 27.5 |
Following the Sampdoria game, he started and scored in the 2-0 win over Lazio. He needed just one ask to finish on the break, the type of chance that Cavani would be lambasted for missing lately.
He then showed his vision and ability to pick a pass, holding the ball up, seeing the run from the right full-back before M’Baye Niang missed from close range.
Although he looks as quick as Cavani, Bacca seems to have more confidence in taking on his man and winning one-on-one situations.
During the 0-0 draw with Fiorentina, left frustrated that he couldn’t add to his tally, he showed great awareness and a mean first touch. He flashed in front of the centre-backs for one chance but failed to make any contact.
He then displayed great athleticism to create his own opportunity. Controlling the ball with his right foot, he would flick it into the air, taking the volley on the same side.
In an excellent article for SB Nation, Zito Madu summed up the striker perfectly.
"Bacca isn’t blessed with incredible technique. He’s not fast, noticeably strong, a great dribbler, or even a great passer. But he’s a deadly finisher. This is because he does the simple things well. He reads the game, makes the right runs, and when he’s in a good position to finish, he doesn’t fluff his chances. Even his celebrations are minimalist. He’s the Diogenes of strikers.
"
Not one to mask a forward’s failings too, he is not without his Cavani-esque moments. Against Sassuolo, Milan attacked down the left, Bacca delayed his run and hovered at the edge of the box. The ball fell beautifully to his right foot, but he smashed his shot well wide of the goal.
There is no doubt that Bacca is an excellent centre-forward, but with the Colombian already 30 years old and likely to cost PSG an eight-figure sum, it makes no sense to go out in January and spend big on a player who is similar to the man they already have.
Without Champions League experience, it would be a big ask to push Bacca into the spotlight, looking for him to fire PSG to European success.
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