Atalanta, now the Papu (not summoned) is on the market

by our correspondent Andrea Elefante

December 20th
– ZINGONIA (BG)

The truce is over, he will not leave in peace. Because much, even more than before, suggests that Papu Gómez will leave Atalanta at this point. Juventus-Atalanta on that Wednesday could have been their last game with the Nerazzurri shirt. Of course? Today that would be the will of the Argentine, more or less expressed in recent days in Zingonia: yesterday’s exclusion of those available for the game against Roma is an effect, not the cause. The consequence of days spent with words (public and not) and jobs that the company, at least as much as the coach, considered inconsistent: with the diplomatic armistice attempt that had been agreed to ignore the “Gaspapu case”, arriving without startles. in the Christmas park. Putting Atalanta ahead of all, his highest interests, the tranquility, compactness and impermeability (media included) of his dressing room.

NO INTERNAL SHADOWS

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Any failure to call in a player is a technical choice, but Gasperini’s was “shared with the club,” the short Nerazzurri press release reads. The coach has chosen the team for a long time, but without denying Gómez: otherwise he would not have made him play against Juve and he would not have had problems to continue like this (at least) until January, if Papu had tuned in with his eventual use ( and performance) in the field; The Atalanta club, starting with President Antonio Percassi, has chosen to support the coach. He did not purge the player, he did not certify his off-squad status (will he train tomorrow?), But he did not like certain attitudes of the last ten days: after the game in Amsterdam and also in the face-to-face later with the coaches . Who then on Friday agreed with the coach yesterday’s exclusion, despite the delicacy of the match against Roma. “We need to extend the run of positive results,” Gasperini said yesterday. But precisely because it was so important, the coach needed to play it without internal shadows.

THE THREE CAPTAINS

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The clues about the absence of Gómez, an officer in the middle of the afternoon, had already spread yesterday at lunchtime: from three clear references to Gasperini at the press conference. The first, there was talk of a band to wear on the arm: “A captain is chosen based on seniority, membership, number of appearances: Toloi, Freuler and De Roon for me are three captains, it is essential that more players can be a reference between dressing room, club and coach “. The second, we talk about the social presence of the players: “In private they are free, here I emphasize a lot. But when they have the Atalanta uniform, the rules are those of the club, applied by the coach: everyone must have the same behavior and attitudes “. And here the reference to Gómez’s post on Monday (“When I go you will know the truth”) is evident, but also to what happened in Turin: he hummed the Juventus anthem, but also the obvious thing, the lack of joy at him Freuler’s goal. That some team members wouldn’t like it either.

SOON A SUMMIT

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But it is Gasperini’s third reference that draws attention to the true heart of the story: “The market? For January I only ask people who are happy to be here.” If neither party softens its position between now and then, and a drastic change would be needed, parting would become, even in practice, inevitable. Gomez’s agent and the property will talk about it shortly: The agreement was to postpone everything until after the last games of the year, so the summit will be immediately before or immediately after Christmas. And on that occasion it will also be inevitable to address the economic issue. The clubs with the radar already on the Papu can be many: certainly Milan, under certain conditions perhaps Inter, Naples and Rome, perhaps PSG, in addition to several clubs abroad. However, any attempt at understanding needs, first, certainty about the reciprocal intentions and then about the prices on which to discuss and establish agreements. And history says that Atalanta hardly discounts, especially if the approach to the negotiation is not calm.