Cristian David Pavón, born January 22nd of 1996 (22 years old), is currently a winger for Boca Juniors, Argentina but his future might hold some big European clubs. Pavón was easily Boca’s best player last season. He was awarded with the Superliga MVP Award and has a place in the Best XI. His exploits were not only seen on the local level, where he led the Superliga in assists, with 11, and created 49 total goal scoring opportunities, but also on the international stage in the famous Copa Libertadores, the Champions League of Latin-America. Pavón had 5 assists in the group stage including 4 in a game against Alianza Lima, a Libertadores record for most assists in a single game. Pavón also scored the winner against Junior, in a game that proved to be decisive in the outcome of the group.
His extraordinary level of play led him to be called up to Argentina’s national team, and earned him a spot in the World Cup squad where he played alongside the likes of Leo Messi, Sergio Agüero and many others. Messi himself was impressed by Pavón, describing him as “not only a speedster but furthermore a very smart player, that could be very important as to how far Argentina goes in the World Cup”.
Pavón style of play resembles that of Marcus Rashford, mixed with some Mesut Özil in him. He has blazing speed, easily outrunning center backs to get behind them, and in addition he is smart enough to understand where to run to find the open spaces and when to run in order to avoid being caught offsides. Another characteristic of Pavón is his dribbling and one on one ability. He is a game-changer with or without the ball at his feet. He can pile up defenders and leave them looking silly.
Take a look at his assist against Talleres de Cordoba, a decisive game for Boca in the search for their repeat as champions. Pavón received the ball near midfield, dribbled past an opponent, sprinted along the sideline where two defenders went to mark him, went past both of them displaying amazing footwork, entered the box, and broke the ankles of another defender before leaving a teammate alone against the goal to score. That play encapsules Pavóns’ worth to a team, he will leave many defenders behind, and also make the best decision in order to get his team the best goal scoring opportunity.
Another facet of Pavón’s game that is often overlooked is his long shot ability. He scored plenty of screamers for Boca Juniors, like the one against Gimnasia last season where he guided a rocket from 35 yards away into the top corner
Or his absolute free-kick golazo against Belgrano, where the ball hit the crossbar before hitting the net. Yet another extraordinary fact about Pavón is his fitness and durability. Last season he started 67 consecutive team games, something unheard of given his “Leave everything on the pitch” approach to playing.
Pavón has also benefitted greatly from being coached by Boca Juniors’ legend Guillermo Barros-Schellotto, who played in the same position as Cristian and won pretty much everything while playing at Boca. Schellotto saw Pavóns’ talent from the beginning and continued starting him, even though Cristians’ level during his first year at Boca was sometimes disappointing. Eventually, Pavón regained his form and became the star he is today.
Given the interest of many European clubs, like Arsenal, PSG, and now even Barcelona (where there is a rumor that Leo Messi is pushing for Barça to sign Pavón in this transfer period) Boca has signed Pavón to a new contract, with a release clause of 58 Million U$D. Still, if Pavón continues to showcase his talent in the Copa Libertadores and at the local stage, it will be nearly impossible for Boca to retain perhaps the best player from Latin-America in the moment.
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