After 10 years as a fringe player at Juventus, Marcelo Zalayeta has finally been given the chance to spread his wings in Serie A with Napoli. The forward moved south in the summer on a co-ownership deal and seems to have immediately found his feet at the Stadio San Paolo.
However, it is for losing his footing that the Uruguayan has been making the most headlines. In Napoli’s grudge match against Juventus – a battle of the newly-promoted sides which saw Zalayeta lining up against his old teammates – Juve accused him of diving to win a penalty.
After the Disciplinary Commission viewed video evidence he was given a two-match ban, but then absolved of any wrongdoing when footage was examined from another angle. In just three crazy days he had gone from a Bianconeri cult hero to Turin’s public enemy No 1, but he has brushed himself down and quietly got on with the task at hand.
While his chances of returning to the Old Lady on good terms may have decreased rapidly he still seems to have a number of fans around Serie A, as shown by the huge outpouring of support for the Montevideo native during that recent saga, with the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Mancini, Luciano Spalletti and Pierluigi Collina jumping to his defence.
“I consider it an injustice to ban the Napoli player, irrelevant of whether it was a penalty or not,” insisted Inter boss Mancio. “I don’t believe he simulated, because a player who is running at top speed in a situation like that has to jump or he risks really hurting the goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who is also his friend.”
Zalayeta himself refused to comment on the developments, despite his name being cleared, preferring to ignore the Press furore around Italy. That trait has served him well in the past and looks set to continue to do so. During his time with Juve he was universally liked by the fans as he stayed loyal and never rocked the boat, despite spending several frustrating seasons loaned out or being used out of position when he did feature for the Bianconeri.
The Uruguayan international lets his actions speak for him and they have certainly been shouting loudly so far this term. His big man-little man combination with Ezequiel Lavezzi has been one of the revelations of the season and Napoli Coach Edy Reja is reaping the benefits of using Zalayeta in his favoured role as a striker rather than playing him out wide where he can become isolated. The link-up between the two South Americans has been excellent, with both happy to finish the move or supply goals for his strike partner.
The 28-year-old’s strength and aerial ability have been particularly key for the Partenopei, allowing them an easy escape route from defence by both holding up play and flicking the ball on to make full use of Lavezzi’s explosive pace. Without Zalayeta’s presence it is doubtful that the Azzurri would be so high up in the League table and dreaming of European qualification, while Juve must be cursing their decision to let him leave, regardless of any penalties he is awarded.
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