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Alejandro Darío Gómez (; born 15 February 1988), known as Papu Gómez is an Argentine professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
, winger or
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for Spanish club
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
and the Argentina national team. Gómez started his club career in his home country with
Arsenal de Sarandí An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in 2005, before joining
San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...
in 2009. The following year, he was signed by Italian club Catania. In 2013, he joined Ukrainian side
Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 years ...
, where he remained for a single season, before returning to Italy to play for
Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...
. In 2019–20, Gómez set the
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
record for most assists in a single season with sixteen, and was named to the
Serie A Team of the Year The AIC Serie A Team of the Year (in Italian: ''Squadra dell’anno AIC'') is an annual award given to a set of eleven footballers in the top tier of Italian football, the Serie A, who are considered to have performed the best during the previous c ...
. Although he was born in Argentina, Gómez is a dual citizen of Argentina and Italy, having gained Italian citizenship on 14 May 2016, as his wife is an Italian citizen. He made his senior international debut for Argentina in a friendly against
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in 2017, during which he also scored his first international goal. He later took part in Argentina's victorious
2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to 10 July 2021. The to ...
and
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...
campaigns.


Club career


Arsenal de Sarandí

Gómez began his career playing with the youth squad of Argentine side
Arsenal de Sarandí An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, debuting for the team in 2003. Two years later, he was officially called up to the first team, but did not feature as a regular with the side until the 2006 Torneo Apertura, during which he scored 2 goals in 15 appearances, as Arsenal finished the season in 5th place. On 30 November 2007, Gómez scored the 2 most important goals up to that point of his career in the first leg of the
Copa Sudamericana Finals Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...
, away against favourites
Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football. ...
of Liga MX, giving Arsenal a valuable 3–2 lead going into the second leg. On 5 December, Arsenal lost the return leg 2–1, but won their first international title on the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
. The 2008–09 season was his breakout season, as he scored 8 goals in 18 appearances and got into the top scoring charts with braces against Independiente and Velez Sarsfield.


San Lorenzo

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, commonly known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or simply San Lorenzo (in English: ''Saint Lawrence''), is a sports club of Argentina in the Boedo district of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football tea ...
signed Gómez for a 2 million dollar transfer fee, half of his estimated market value, in time for the
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
Clausura tournament. His impressive play, including netting 8 times in 48 appearances for ''Los Santos'', attracted the attention of several high-profile scouts. This led to his transfer to Italian
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
Catania in July 2010, for €3 million.


Catania

Catania officially welcomed their new 22-year-old signing on 21 July 2010, and he made his first appearance with the club 9 days later in a 1–0 friendly win against
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
side Iraklis. Gómez was immediately inserted into the starting XI and soon became integral to his club's record-breaking renaissance over the next 3 seasons. ''El Papu'' contributed 4 goals and 5 assists in each of his first 2 seasons. His breakthrough campaign came during the 2012–13 season, when his playmaking and offensive prowess became the main catalyst of the team, propelling his side to club record highs for home and overall victories, and, for their 5th successive year, points. The ''Rossazzurri'' clinched an eighth-place finish in Serie A, equaling their historic best placement in the league for the first time since the 1964–65 season, but 5 points shy of earning their inaugural appearance in the
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
. The side that managed to achieve these record-breaking achievements was described as the best Catania side in the club's history. Gómez finished the year with a career high 8 goals in 36 appearances, making him the second highest on the team behind
Gonzalo Bergessio Gonzalo Rubén Bergessio (; born 20 July 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Club Atlético Platense. Club career Early career Born in Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Bergessio started his career in the lower ...
, as well as 7 assists, making him the club's joint highest assist provider, and the tenth best provider in Serie A. Catania, for reasons that were never clarified, sold Gómez during the summer and replaced him with the injury-prone and inconsistent
Sebastián Leto Sebastián Eduardo Leto (born 30 August 1986) is a former Argentine professional footballer who played as a winger or forward.He is now assistant manager at Al-Gharafa SC. Club career Lanús Born in Alejandro Korn, Leto began his career wit ...
, whom they acquired on a free transfer from Panathinaikos. Despite having four of their top six offensive players return, and later five of their six when
Francesco Lodi Francesco Lodi (born 23 March 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Catania. He usually plays as a deep lying playmaker, and is known for his passing qualities. Club career Empoli Lodi starte ...
was reacquired on loan from
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...
in January, Catania's performances declined heavily, which saw them fall to 18th position in the league, and as a result, they were ultimately relegated.


Metalist Kharkiv

Rebuffing offers from several big clubs, including Atletico Madrid,
Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
, and
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
, Gómez himself requested a transfer to little-known
Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 years ...
of the
Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...
, citing the Club's commitment to growth and the opportunity to play in the upcoming
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
as his reasons. On 2 August 2013, he signed four-year contract with the club, which included a €12 million release clause, following a €7 million transfer fee. However, things did not go well for him with the side from the beginning. UEFA upheld Metalist's ban from the Champions League two weeks later because of the club's involvement in match fixing in 2008. By the December winter break, failing to settle into his new surroundings due to a combination of the league's lack of visibility and quality, which he believed made playing in it a waste of time, as well as adverse environmental and linguistic issues in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
itself, which he saw as insurmountable, Gómez wanted out of his contract. He therefore requested a transfer back to Serie A as soon as possible, preferably to Fiorentina, and by January 2014, offered to accept a salary reduction in order to have this accomplished. This request went unfilled, however, and he ultimately played in 23 games, scoring 3 goals and setting up 4 others, helping the '' Hor'ky'' finish 3rd overall. Gómez refused to return to Ukraine the following season because of the volatile and violent political climate that emerged during his time there. He stated "It's an anguished situation, very unstable, as we are all sad and living in a state of panic...I have no intention of coming back...I will stay in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
...Until there can be guarantees of safety, I cannot expose my family to these dangers." Many players, especially foreign ones, also left the league for this same reason, including three of Gomez's teammates, and six from reigning league Champions
Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was ...
. As a result, the Ukrainian League saw its foreign player total reduced from 170 to 60 over the next two years.


Atalanta

Following
Giacomo Bonaventura Giacomo "Jack" Bonaventura (; (born 22 August 1989) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Italy national football team. Bonaventura started his senior career at Atalanta in the Serie ...
's departure to
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
on 1 September 2014,
Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...
acquired Gómez on the same day, signing him on a three-year deal in the last hours of the summer transfer window in Italy. Gómez had a decent first season, contributing 3 goals and 2 assists in 24 appearances to a poor, offensively-challenged ''Nerazzurri'' squad that struggled and narrowly avoided relegation, finishing fourth from the bottom, 3 points ahead of
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
-bound
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitan ...
. The following season, Gómez lead his club in both goals and assists, with 7 and 6 respectively, as he rekindled the form he had shown in his final season at Catania, and, despite the continued lack of attacking support, steered Atalanta to a respectable 13th-place finish in the league. His performances spurred the interest of several big clubs, which pushed the Bergamese side to extend his contract until June 2020, on 4 February 2016. During the 2016–17 season, Gómez managed to score an unprecedented total of 16 goals as his team finished in the fourth place contrary to the lower pre-season expectations. In 2017, following the departure and retirement of
Cristian Raimondi Cristian Raimondi (born 30 April 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a midfielder. Personal life On 30 October 2020 he tested positive for COVID-19. References External links * * 1981 births Living people Sportsp ...
, he became the team's captain. As captain, Gómez helped lead Atalanta to a historic third-place finish in the 2018–19
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
season, earning a spot in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, as well as reaching the
2019 Coppa Italia Final The 2019 Coppa Italia Final decided the winner of the 2018–19 Coppa Italia, the 72nd season of Italy's main football cup. It was played on 15 May 2019 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome between Atalanta and Lazio. This was the first-ever meeting be ...
. Gómez scored his first Champions League goal on 26 November 2019 with a brilliant piece of individual ability in a 2–0 home win against
Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinam ...
. During the 2019–20 season, Gómez set the
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
record for most assists in a single season with 16 assists. During half time of Atalanta's Champions League group stage match against
FC Midtjylland FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Su ...
on 1 December 2020, there was a heated exchange between Gómez and manager
Gian Piero Gasperini Gian Piero Gasperini (born 26 January 1958) is an Italian football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of Italian side Atalanta. Playing career Gasperini entered the Juventus youth system at the age of 9; during his stay ...
over his positioning on the pitch. Gómez did not re-enter the pitch at the start of the second half. After starting in Atalanta's final group stage match against
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
, the relationship between Gómez and Gasperini completely broke down. Despite amending his relationship with the president, Gómez stated that his relationship with Gasperini could not be fixed; he made his last appearance for the club in a Serie A match against
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
on 16 December. Gómez requested a transfer in the January transfer window, to which Atalanta agreed, stating however that they would not sell him to a Serie A rival.


Sevilla

On 26 January 2021,
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
club
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
announced the signing of Gómez on a deal running until June 2024. He made his debut for the club on 2 February, playing 60 minutes of Sevilla's 1–0 victory against
Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...
in the
Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
. Four days later, he scored his first Sevilla goal in a 3–0 win over
Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a fla ...
.


International career

In 2007 Gómez was picked to represent the Argentina Under-20 team at the
2007 South American Youth Championship The 2007 South American Youth Championship (Sudamericano Sub-20) was the 23rd edition of the competition. It was played in Paraguay between 7 and 28 January 2007, and was contested by all ten U-20 national football teams of CONMEBOL. This was th ...
in Paraguay. Later that year he was part of the Argentina squad that won the
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the score ...
in Canada. Having only played internationally for Argentina at youth level, dual citizenship was widely believed to have qualified him for selection to the senior
Italian national team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIG ...
, for whom he had expressed interest in playing. FIFA has since ruled him ineligible to switch his football nationality, however, because he did not have a dual passport when he first represented Argentina at that level, and does not have Italian lineage, which would have allowed him to override this requirement. On 19 May 2017, Gómez received his first senior call-up by newly appointed coach
Jorge Sampaoli Jorge Luis Sampaoli Moya (; born 13 March 1960) is an Argentine football coach who is currently manager for Sevilla of La Liga. Sampaoli started out as a youth player and eventually switched to management after a severe injury. Sampaoli star ...
for
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
's friendlies against
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in June. He made his senior international debut in the match against Singapore on 13 June, helping Argentina to a 6–0 away win, and also marked his debut by scoring his first international goal, while also setting up a goal for
Federico Fazio Federico Julián Fazio (born 17 March 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Italian club Salernitana. He began his career at Ferro Carril Oeste, signing for Sevilla in 2007. He made 201 official appear ...
during the same match. He went to make three more international appearances that year. In June 2021, Gómez was included in Argentina's squad for the
2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to 10 July 2021. The to ...
in Brazil. On 21 June, he scored the only goal of the match in Argentina's third group match against
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
; the result allowed his side to progress to the quarter-finals. A week later, he scored again in a 4–1 win against
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
in his team's final group stage match, also helping to win a penalty, which was converted by
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
. He was included in Argentina's final 26-man squad for the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...
, starting his nations's opening game as they went all the way to win a third world title after defeating France on penalties in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
.


Style of play

A talented, diminutive player, with quick feet, explosive acceleration, and a low centre of gravity, Gómez is a creative, technically gifted, and dynamic footballer, who is renowned for his pace, dribbling skills, and high work-rate. Possessing good movement and a powerful and accurate long range shot with either foot, he is known for his eye for goal from midfield, although he is also capable of creating goalscoring opportunities for teammates. A versatile
attacker In some team sports, an attacker is a specific type of player, usually involved in aggressive play. Heavy attackers are, usually, placed up front: their goal is to score the most possible points for the team. In association football Assoc ...
, he is capable of playing in several offensive positions, and has even been deployed as a main striker on occasion, or as a
false 9 Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, although he usually plays as a
second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, in a central playmaking role as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, or as a winger, usually on the left flank, a position which enables him to take on defenders in one on one situations, cut into the centre onto his stronger right foot, and attempt a
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
shot at goal, although he was often used on the right wing earlier in his career. Due to his stamina and work-ethic, he has also been deployed in a box-to-box role on occasion. In recent seasons, he has often operated in a free attacking role in the centre, behind another striker, which enables him to link-up with his teammates, roam the pitch at will, change positions with other forwards, lose his markers by dropping off onto the flanks, or find space in the box with his runs and finish off chances; Gómez has described this role as a "false second striker". He is also an accurate
free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an off ...
taker, and often takes
penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * P ...
for his team. In addition to his playing ability, Gómez is also known for his leadership qualities, having served as Atalanta's
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
.


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gómez goal.''


Personal life

Gómez's uncle is former
Club Atlético Independiente Club Atlético Independiente () is an Argentine professional sports club, which has its headquarters and stadium in the city of Avellaneda in Greater Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera Divisi� ...
defender
Hugo Villaverde Hugo Eduardo Villaverde (born 27 January 1954 in Santa Fe) is a retired Argentine football defender who played most of his career for Club Atlético Independiente. He holds the record in Argentina for most first division matches without scoring ...
, who is his mother's brother. Gómez is married to Linda Raff, with whom he has three children. Gómez is a dual citizen of Argentina and Italy due to his wife being an Italian citizen.


Honours

Arsenal de Sarandí *
Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American fo ...
:
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
*
Suruga Bank Championship The J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship was an annual intercontinental football match held in Japan, contested by the reigning champions of the J.League Cup and the Copa Sudamericana. The tournament was previously officially called t ...
:
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
Argentina U20 *
FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when ...
:
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
Argentina *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...
:
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...
*
Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...
:
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
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CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions The CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, previously known officially as the European/South American Nations Cup and commonly as the Artemio Franchi Cup, is an official intercontinental football match organised by CONMEBOL and UEFA and contested ...
:
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...
Individual *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
top assist provider: 2018–19, 2019–20 *
Serie A Player of the Month The Serie A Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best player each month in Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. The winner is chosen by an online public vote, in which voters choose fr ...
: June 2020, September 2020 *Serie A Best Midfielder: 2019–20 *
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
Squad of the Season: 2019–20 *
Serie A Team of the Year The AIC Serie A Team of the Year (in Italian: ''Squadra dell’anno AIC'') is an annual award given to a set of eleven footballers in the top tier of Italian football, the Serie A, who are considered to have performed the best during the previous c ...
: 2019–20


Notes


References


External links


Video: Alejandro Papu Gomez's goals in Arsenal Futbol Club Of Sarandi (Argentina)

Alejandro Darío Gómez – Argentine Primera statistics
at Fútbol XXI
Alejandro Gómez at Football Lineups
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Papu 1988 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine footballers Association football midfielders Arsenal de Sarandí footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Catania S.S.D. players FC Metalist Kharkiv players Atalanta B.C. players Sevilla FC players Argentine Primera División players Serie A players Ukrainian Premier League players La Liga players Argentina under-20 international footballers Argentina international footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Naturalised citizens of Italy 2021 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Copa América-winning players FIFA World Cup-winning players