Papu Gómez

Alejandro Darío "Papu" Gómez Villaverde (Spanish pronunciation: [aleˈxandɾo ðaˈɾi.o ˈɣomes]; born 15 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward, left winger or attacking midfielder for Italian Serie B club Padova.

Gómez started his club career in his native Argentina with Arsenal de Sarandí in 2005 before joining San Lorenzo in 2009. The following year, he was signed by Italian club Catania. In 2013, he joined Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv, where he remained for a single season, before returning to Italy to play for Atalanta. In 2019–20, Gómez set the Serie A record for most assists in a single season with sixteen, and was named to the Serie A Team of the Year.

Although he was born in Argentina, Gómez is a dual citizen of Argentina and Italy, having gained Italian citizenship on 14 May 2016. He made his senior international debut for Argentina in a friendly against Singapore in 2017, during which he also scored his first international goal. He later took part in Argentina's victorious 2021 Copa América and 2022 FIFA World Cup campaigns.

Club career

Arsenal de Sarandí

Gómez began his career playing with the youth squad of Argentine side Arsenal de Sarandí, 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.