2023-09-26 21:43:00
Gustavo Gómez came to undergo a medical check-up to sign in Boca, but his pass fell at the last minute (REUTERS/Rodolfo Buhrer)
Gustavo Gómez, captain of Palmeiras who will face Boca Juniors in the semifinals of the current edition of the Copa Libertadores, was regarding to sign for Xeneize in 2018. At the express request of Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the coach who had coached him in Lanús, the defender who at that time belonged to Milan in Italy, traveled to Buenos Aires and did the medical examination, but… at the last minute, the signing fell through. In an interview with the FIFA site, the Paraguayan defender gave his version of the frustrated pass.
“Destiny wanted me to join Palmeiras! Everything was prepared, we were ready to sign, but when I went to sign the contract there were some little things that we didn’t like. It was still very close to happening, but thank God, destiny brought me to Palmeiras,” declared Gómez, who that same year was part of the matches in which the Brazilian club faced Boca in the Libertadores semi-finals.
In the article they recalled that the 30-year-old central defender had made statements for Argentine TV feeling reinforced by xeneize and that he had even agreed on a diet with the institution’s nutritionist. However, his representative looked at the fine print of the contract, there were details that were not finalized and he returned to Milan before arriving in Brazil to join Palmeiras.
Regarding the current Boca, Gustavo Gómez analyzed: “They have a very good coach (Jorge Almirón). I worked with him in Lanús. He has a really good style of play. Boca has great players who have had really good and important careers. I think that Boca, like Palmeiras, is a huge club, a very important club, with many titles and a lot of fans. It’s a clash of giants. It will be a very tough game, there is no doubt regarding that. I think the first leg will be key. We are very focused, working very hard to achieve a positive result in Buenos Aires. “Then we will try to fire them in front of our own fans.”
Gómez is betting big on this Libertadores: he wants to take revenge on Boca following the 2018 elimination (REUTERS/Diego Vara)
In this Thursday’s event at the Bombonera for the first leg of the Cup semi-finals (it will start at 9:30 p.m. and will be refereed by the Colombian Wilmar Roldán), Gómez will once once more come across a figure like Edinson Cavani, whom he already faced for South American Qualifiers: “It’s elite, everyone knows that. He is an excellent finisher, very good in the air. A very complete scorer.”
The footballer who emerged in Libertad, Paraguay, has won ten titles with the Palmeiras shirt, including the 2020 and 2021 Libertadores, but he is going for more: “We are motivated to fight for titles and winning titles year following year is not easy. It requires excellence, desire and perseverance. And, of course, an unusual type of coach. Here at Palmeiras, when we win an important title, we are obviously delighted, but never satisfied. We want the next title with the same intensity. These five years have been a dream, the best of my career. We have made history. And what makes me happiest is that we have managed to start a family here. The unit is amazing. I think that’s why we fight for titles every year.”
Gómez, who pointed out the Dutchman Virgil van Dijk as the best in his position, still has his thorn in his side for not having been able to defeat Chelsea in the 2021 Club World Cup: “They were the European champions. Palmeiras gave them a very tough game. It was very close but in the end it cost us the least. We arrived home very sad, but satisfied that we had given everything. We were also very grateful to the Palmeiras fans. The support we had was crazy. We know how much the Palmeiras fans want this second world title. I can guarantee you that we love him so much. Of course, you always have to focus on the next match, but I can’t tell you that I’m not thinking regarding the world title yet.”
And he concluded: “Manchester City is the best team in the world. They have one of the best coaches in the world and many of the best in the world. But a final is a final. Anything can happen. You have to get there first, and we know it will be very, very difficult. But a second world title is our great goal. We are not intimidated by Chelsea, we were very close to the title and if we have the opportunity to play once morest them, Manchester City will not intimidate us. Face Erling Haaland? What can I say… If it’s not enough to have the best coach and team, they have the best scorer in the world too. He has too much quality.”
1695767777
#Gustavo #Gómez #captain #Palmeiras #explained #move #Boca #fell #didnt
