Edi and his father, Luis.
As a boy, he formed a strong attachment to his father. Edi would go on to say that he learned mostly everything he needed to know from him. His mother was more concerned about him doing well in school…but it was his father that took more of an active role teaching him discipline, humility, respect, fairness, being gracious to others. Sadly enough, Luis and Berta would end up divorcing.
Anyway, as a child, Edi and his father were inseparable. His most early memories are of him and his father. When he was 2, 3 years old, his father would take him to his games, and later to the after parties. He remembers being scared being such a little boy surrounded by large, burly men. He remembers his father partying after a victory and him finding a corner to fall asleep when he got bored or tired. He remembers being awaken and taken into his father’s arms to go back home.
In his autobiography, he goes on to tell one story about a trip he took with his father when he was 12 years old, and how in an urgency to make his father proud, he made a mistake which cost his father to lose his prized fishing boat. He recounts it with such simplicity and he focuses most importantly on how his father responded. With just one look, Luis understood and forgave him for his mistake. It was probably the most singular act of unconditional love he had experienced…failing his father, being imperfect and admitting to a costly mistake and yet being loved with just one look, a gentle stroke of the face to confirm that he loved him despite being upset…and forgiving his son’s mistake.
Edi admits to being beaten, but quickly states that most of the time, it was well deserved for being out of line. He chooses to focus on the instances where he wasn’t physically punished. The instances where his father would take him aside and explain to him what he did wrong instead of beating him were memories he held on to with great affection.
One guilty pleasure they would enjoy is drinking a coca cola. The Cavanis were a working/middle class family, but nonetheless, a poor family. Even something simple like going to the kiosk to buy a coke was something they could not afford to do. It was always a pleasure when they would have these father-son moments. Luis Cavani would state that he would reward his son with a coca cola or an ice cream if he made goals as a kid…and he would yell at his coach to take him off the pitch after scoring 5 goals once because his pocket had a limit.
The Cavanis moved around a lot. They got by renting a place for a couple of years, and then when the contract would expire, they would move. Not having a place to call their own seems to be something that affected Edi. He went on to tell his father that if he ever became a professional footballer…he would build a paradise for his father. And he kept his word. The ranch house with the expansive backyard Edi had built for his father is now the dwelling place of Luis Cavani and his partner. They call this place paradise, and this is where Edi comes to spend a few days to vacation. Those of us that follow Edi know he is passionate about birds…he’s loved them ever since he was a child. His “paradise” includes a bird sanctuary and he loves nothing more than feeding and playing with his birds. To top it off, he made sure to purchase a boat, as both he and Luis enjoy fishing as a pastime.
When Edi signed to Palermo and left Uruguay, he had it very rough. Soledad would call the Palermo days some of their worst. They left everything behind, language, family, friends, culture, privacy and to top things off, they could barely make ends meet. Sole got pregnant but had a miscarriage and their marriage got shaken a little bit. Edi doesn’t speak much about those days but he chooses to focus on a friendship he formed with an older man, who would become like a grandfather he never had. He would get this man tickets or drive him to watch the team practice knowing it gave him so much joy. His friend would eventually die in a car accident, and losing this man, the closest semblance he had of a father figure would break his heart. It was his faith, his belief in God that would carry him in moments where things looked hopeless. He and the Bible would become inseparable. He knew he had God the father’s love if he obeyed his commandments and lived a holy life. His conversion to Evangelical Christianity would affect him, and it was his hope that he could bring his family to Jesus as well. But he knew to convince people, he needed to lead by example.
Understanding just how much Luis Cavani means to Edi, and how much he loves him makes it easy to understand why he was disturbed and depressed when his father went to trial and was issued a prison sentence (which he carried out) for killing a young man driving Edi’s truck while intoxicated. After being eliminated from the Copa America 2015, Edi would relocate just to live close to the penitentiary where his father was being held so he could visit him often. Before competing, his father told Edi to clear his mind and focus on the tournament. Tabarez would give Edi the liberty to choose to play or not given how profoundly this affected him. You could see that he was not himself, and that this weighed on him heavily. In an interview with Luis, he would share how this situation was exploited to try to get Edi to lose his focus and composure. He’s had to deal with some very cruel, denigrating comments for something that was not his son’s fault…but his own.
And there you have it…a summary of Edi’s relationship with his father.
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