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The Spaniards officially signed a four-year contract with the Italian striker. It is estimated that the club received about 8 million euros for one of their leaders.
The 27-year-old striker was linked with a move to Italian giants "Juventus", "Fiorentina", "Milan", and especially "Inter", a club which the player himself declared to like. However, the new Italian champions decided to acquire other players, and F. Tavano's compatriot and "Valencia" club's sports director Amedeo Carboni personally made an effort to lure the player away.
F. Tavano, who is compared to one of the most prolific Serie A strikers of all time Enrico Chiesa due to his style of play, started his career playing for Pisa and Rondinella, and in 2001 transferred to "Empoli". In this team, the striker scored 19 goals in each of the last two years - initially helping the team win "Serie B", and in the past season greatly contributing to their survival in "Serie A", finishing second only to "Fiorentina" striker Luca Toni in the top scorers list.
"Valencia" hasn't had much success with players from Italy lately - forwards Bernardo Corradi and Marco Di Vaio have already left the club, and last season the Italian defender Stefano Fiore, who had been on loan in Italy, will most likely also leave the team soon.
F. Tavano became the third most notable purchase by the Spanish club after Spanish national team players Fernando Morientes and Asier Del Horno. However, the Italian won't be able to help his new teammates in their quest for revenge in the Champions League third qualifying round against "Salzburg", as he was not registered for the first match, which "Valencia" lost 0-1.
