From the “bondiola sandwich” on the Costanera to the luxury of Qatar: the love story between Papu Gómez and Linda Raff

On the thermos that accompanies her to the gates of the Qatar desert, Linda Raff has a sticker attached with the silhouette of two boys eating a bondiola sandwich on the seafront. It is a good summary of her love story with Alejandro Gómez. And everything they’ve been through together. At the time they were in high school and Papu was a daring midfielder who was promising in the lower ranks of Arsenal de Sarandí. Seventeen years later, they take another photo. She, like in that image, is wearing a red T-shirt. She doesn’t have brown leather converse, nor does she want bread with pork, instead she wears an Argentina soccer team sweatshirt.

A lot of water from that river flowed under the bridge. Today he is an architect. And he, who some time after that photo would have been champion of the Copa Sudamericana with Arsenal de Sarandí, would have had a brief spell at San Lorenzo and would have jumped to Europe without stopping, is now part of the hard core of the national team. The famous Scaloneta, who overturned himself in Maracana after 28 years and today dreams of reaching the World Cup final in Qatar.

Last Saturday, Papu started in Argentina’s victory over Australia which gave them access to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. The Sevilla player withdrew 5 minutes into the second half due to ankle pain. And, from the stands, he was encouraged by his wife (the girl in the neighborhood he liked, the same one who had chosen him when there were only dreams ahead), even if now together with their three children: Bautista, Costanza and little Milo who walked through Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Saturday with his father’s statuette from the World Cup album.

This Sunday the players had the day off and, like Messi, Papu preferred to stay on the Qatar University field where he met his wife. True to his style, the former Arsenal and San Lorenzo player shared Linda’s visit online: “It won’t be the waterfront with a sanbuche bondiola but it’s not that bad either @linda.raff. Thank you for visiting my love.he dedicated to his wife, in obvious reference to the couple’s foundation photo.

Speaking of meat, Papu and Linda have a restaurant in Europe, more precisely in Bergamo, where the player left a big mark when he played for Atalanta. The rest is called Boedo, perhaps due to his passage in the Cyclone, before jumping the puddle, and has a very Argentinian imprint, with memories of Caminito, lots of tango and giant photos of Maradona raising the World Cup. The truth is that Papu gave him that name taking advantage of the popularity of Pope Francis in Italy, a fan of San Lorenzo and its surroundings.

“I have always had a dream with my wife of setting up an Argentinian grill in Bergamo since we arrived in Italy. He’s an architect and we already had everything, the blueprint, the people,” the footballer told ESPN.

Linda and Papu like to play and replicate that image of the couple on the Costanera. And there was no shortage of photos of both smiling on the inaugural day of their abduction. Memories always lead them to that bondiola.

But the pair open up the spectrum and continue to expand beyond their professional careers. After the Papu Dance explosion, where the footballer went viral because of the dances he showed on the net, In Italy, a cartoon about Alexander appeared called Hello, I’m Papu (Hello, I’m Papu). Also, they have a platform called Shirtum, through which soccer players sell sporting goods where you can see everything from jerseys to medals. For her part, in addition to being an architect, Linda is a fashion designer and has founded her own clothing brand.

Alejandro and Linda got married in 2012, when he lived in Catania where the footballer made his first step in Italy. From there, he moved to Metalist Kharkiv in the Ukrainian Premier League. He signed for four years, but the following season he decided to leave: first, because he dreamed of playing in the Champions League and UEFA banned the team from playing in Europe in 2008 due to match-fixing. climate that has already spread, has become dense, violent; the area was unstable, even ten years before the war.

Linda and Papu didn’t hesitate: they packed up and left. This, despite a €12m release clause.

It is there that Papu makes the definitive leap and arrives at Atalanta, the club where he shone and is an idol. He played 252 games, scored 59 goals and 72 assists, a season that made the fans fall in love with him. Even if his departure was abrupt: Gómez had problems with DT Gasperini who tried to hit him in the locker room and had an abrupt start towards Sevilla.

“Overnight, we had to go to Seville. Without a great woman by your side, it would be difficult,” says Papu, aware that his entire journey has been hand in hand with Linda.

On 10 July, when he emerged as champion of America with Argentina, the family already numbered five members, after the arrival of Bautista, Costanza and Milo. The same ones who now enjoy themselves in the luxurious stadiums of Qatar, a boat ride in the Mediterranean but never forget the “sanbuche de bondiola”, of course.

Some funny moments from Papu and Linda