Papu Gómez, the word that was missing from the national team: the day Scaloni got angry and other unpublished anecdotes from Qatar

Alejandro Papu Gómez watches the great present of the Argentine national team from the outside. After winning the World Cup in Qatar, the midfielder was removed from the squad and the reason was not clear. Added to this was the anti-doping sanction that appeared in mid-2023, leading to a suspension that he continues to serve today. After a period away from social networks and the media, the one who left Arsenal de Sarandí began to reappear and this week he gave an interview to the Italian program ‘Cronache Di Spogliatoio’ in which He saw those beautiful moments with the Albiceleste again.

The celebration for the qualification to the quarterfinals against the Netherlands was not only in the post match, but also revealed that in the previous match the commitment between Croatia and Brazil was still being followed, which exploded in the locker room with the elimination of Canarinha .

“Scaloni came and insulted us. He said ‘What the f… are you doing? We’re focused, we have to go and play’. According to him, the celebration was due to the difficulty of playing against his classic South American rival.

Regarding the final against France and Dibu Martínez’s “heroic” save at the end of the match, he commented: “It was completely crazy. When I saw the ball go past Otamendi I thought: ‘It’s over.’

Finally, he laughingly recalled the funny moment during the title celebration at the Lusail stadium, where the players waited with their families on the playing field to take a photo with the trophy, but there were many intruders who prevented it, such as example the famous chef Nusret Gökçe, nicknamed Salt Bae, famous for the way he adds salt to food and for taking the cup.

Since October 20, 2023, Papu Gómez has been living a nightmare with a two-year ban for doping. The player underwent a test in November 2022 during training with the Spanish side Sevilla, before the World Cup in Qatar and it was positive.

The substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was Terbutaline. According to Gómez, the drug was present in a pediatric cough syrup prescribed to his son and from which he sipped without considering the consequences when he was still a player for the Andalusian club.