Papu Gomez is the star, but the Atalanta spectacle involves more
Author: Vitória Correa
Website: Medium
Papu Gomez is the star, but the Atalanta spectacle involves more
Captain and idol, the athlete is one step away from leaving the team under critical and disappointed eyes
After a few days away, I was able to watch Atalanta again, which I love so much. And, wow, what a performance! This Sunday, January 3rd, La Dea showed that he still crushes those he sees along the way with a beautiful 5-1 victory against Sassuolo. However, what caught my attention was a question raised during the game: "Papu Gomez or Gian Piero Gasperini: who to keep?" and as I already wanted to write about it, I thought I'd break down the answer.
PAPU GOMEZ
When you play in a big team, the difficulty to become recognized or an idol is greater. When playing in more modest teams, the love of the shirt and the love of the city often prevails above any skill or lack thereof. There are, then, those who justify any and all idolatry, as is the case of Papu Gomez.
Just like we see in the NBA, soccer teams also pick and hire a piece to build a winning team around them. It is true that this current work of Atalanta began at the base, right after a relegation in 2010, but it is important to talk about what was becoming the first team. Since 2014 at Atalanta, Papu arrived as an ordinary guy, costing just over four million euros, with no pretensions of the future and without imagining what the change of country would bring him good. Dea's number 10 then served as the pillar for a project that would only start in 2016, with the change of coach and mentality.
In six years in Bergamo, Papu Gomez has not accumulated any physical trophy. However, being a decisive piece for the formation of the team's competitiveness is one of the prizes that few athletes have the pleasure of feeling. During this period, he played in 252 matches, scored 59 goals and distributed 71 assists, went to the Champions League in two consecutive years, Atalanta's first two rounds in the competition, after achieving the best position in the history of the Dea in Serie A.
GIAN PIERO GASPERINI
Gian Piero Gasperini made Atalanta his home for a longer time than previous clubs. There are 208 games in charge of the team, which showed that confidence, strategy and knowledge have always been the three factors that defined his idea, his project.
Known (and named) as the best base in Italy by the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio, something that is headed by president Antonio Percassi, La Dea presented an idea to Gaspe and he already knew what he would do. Since arriving at the team, the coach, who is responsible for names like Diego Milito, has quickly and confidently incorporated the pieces of "Primavera" into the main squad, after all the "kids" had, at some point, given about 17 youth titles to the institution.
This situation went a little through the desire to "have it at home", but also the desire to solidify the entire team to take greater flights. If at Gênoa, his previous club, he had managed to get rid of relegation and reach a fourth place and possible qualification to the Champions League (which he lost in the tiebreakers), at Atalanta he wanted more and, let's face it, considering the history, the coach now had a better arsenal to work with.
No sooner said, than done. With the structure provided by Percassi after Atalanta's relegation in 2010 and return to Serie A the following year (with a title, by the way), with the Training Center and, later, the acquisition of the Atleti Azzurri d'Italia stadium, which in 2020 was renovated and became Gewiss Stadium (naming rights), Gasperini formed his base with Papu Gomez, Josip Ilicic, Robin Gosens, Mattia Caldara, Bryan Cristante, Pierluigui Gollini, among others, who are or are not in the current squad.
With a diversity of "lackluster" athletes, coming from the base or through observation in the market, the DEA's arsenal has been improving year after year. This work, with a variant and incisive system usually with 3-4-1-2, took the team to two Europa League and two Champions Leagues, having passed the group stage in both competitions, reaching the quarterfinals in the biggest European club tournament, losing to Paris Saint-Germain in 2019/2020. In the current season, qualified for the round of 16 again, it will have another strong opponent, Real Madrid.
ATALANTA
Having presented the pieces of the discussion, I bring the most important: Atalanta. How did a modest team from small Bergamo, using the colors of the already established Inter Milan, achieve everything it has achieved since 2010? Was it with the management? With Papu? With Gasperini? Was it the combination of everything? Was it a structured project that, with the correct and accredited parts, succeeded?
There is a phrase that fans like to say when a dear guy leaves the club, in a negative way, of course. Papu got into a fight with Gasperini on December 1 after qualifying for the Champions League round of 16: he posted a message on Instagram to fans, in discontent with the way the coach had been using him, which aimed to improve and enhance the captain after his stay with Argentina in November. From then on, the press popped up reasons and events, including versions of physical aggression between the two, setting the stage for Gomez's "revolt" while Gasperini softened everything based on the fan-phrase "No athlete is bigger than the club where he plays". And, that's right.
Papu Gomez was the first idea of growth for the team, the main athlete and the face of Atalanta from the beginning. However, just as he saw rotations, repairs and signings for the cast, perhaps he is the "victim" of the time. At 32 years old, being an athlete who has played in all spaces on the field, perhaps the vision that manages the team is not so positive.
Despite the disagreement with the coach and some away games, he returned to the team, playing normally in the place that gave him the rise to football. However, this return may last less than he imagines, since in the match against Sassuolo he was not even on the bench. It is somewhat scary to give up your main athlete in sad moments, let alone in happy and/or decisive moments, but it is unlikely that he will want to stay. Major League Soccer's FC Cincinnati is rumored to be willing to sign him.
With this, we imagine how athletes come and go, idols or not. Administrative management goes hand in hand with technical management, the latter being a little more complicated by situations like this, after all, no one is made of iron. Therefore, it is clear to me as a professional, but also as a fan, that the maintenance of the coach is fairer and more interesting for a team that is still developing, but that is already reaping the fruits of the space conquered in Europe.
—
Follow me on Twitter: @tlsvick
Postar um comentário