Ready And Abel

By: LorenzoRosanero | August 1st, 2010

Abel Hernandez #9

In the few friendlies that Palermo have played so far this preseason, Abel Hernandez leads all goalscorers by a pretty wide margin with 18 goals. Granted, 10 of those 18 remarkably came in one game, yet Abel’s scintillating form this preseason is quite an encouraging sign to all Palermo fans.

The young Uruguayan joined Palermo during the winter mercato in 2009 – an 18 year old nobody that most people had never heard of. He managed to make his debut with the senior team in March but spent most of the rest of the season with the Primavera – helping them win the Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti (league title).

Last season, Abel scored his first Serie A goal against Inter in a match many remember. Yet, that was about all the playing time he managed in the first half of the season. In fact, he came thisclose to being loaned out during the winter mercato due to his desire for more minutes. Luckily, for us all, Delio Rossi saw potential in the kid and made it a point to keep him. From there, Abel took off, coming on as a super sub and scoring seemingly almost every time he made an appearance. The showings were so impressive that towards the end of last season, he found himself stealing spots in the starting lineup while fellow Uruguayan, Edinson Cavani, rode the bench.

Fast forward to now. Cavani was sold to Napoli. Palermo made some moves in the transfer market by acquiring Serie A Security known as Massimo Maccarone and Serie B Star Mauricio Pinilla to bolster their attack. The moves were seen as necessary to ease the eventual sale of Cavani and provide Miccoli with some cover while he tries to come back from his knee injury.

Regardless of the purchases of Maccarone and Pinilla, I believe that Palermo saw the potential bursting from Abel. The sale of Cavani was more a tribute to the faith they have in La Joya than letting Cavani leave to a rival side. It wouldn’t surprise me to think that Cavani also felt the pressure that younger co-national was placing on him. Where Cavani was tireless, Abel was lightning quick; where Cavani was wasteful, Abel was deadly. It would’ve been harder and harder to justify Abel’s exclusion from the lineup even despite his youth. For these reasons, Cavani’s departure never seemed so shocking to Palermo fans as it did the rest of Serie A.

Based on form alone, Abel Hernandez has all but etched his name into the starting lineup for 2010. His blistering pace and killer instinct in front of goal make him one of the potential breakouts in Serie A this year. Abel has experience under his belt from the previous season and must now be ready to shoulder a lot more responsibility. With Cavani gone and Miccoli out, it’ll be up to Abel and his partner (most likely Big Mac) to bolster the squad.

The soon-to-be 20 year old has plenty to give to a team and fan base that is ready for him to explode.