“I missed the goal a lot.” For an attacker the goal is everything and Mateo knows it well Retegui but even more so his technician Alberto Gilardino, someone who knows about goals. So much so that just on the eve of the match with the Milan speaking of the Italian-Argentine striker, he explained how “he worked hard for the team by making himself available”, but that he was aware “how important and stimulating scoring was and the only advice I can give him is to stay focused on what good he is doing at this moment and that many are just episodes and when he has them in his favor he will return to scoring goals.”
Paradoxically, one of the episodes was the fever Gudmundsson which he brought Retegui to beat the penalty that gave Grifone the lead with the Milan, a perfect execution. But the performance against the Rossoneri of Retegui it cannot be reduced to just the goal of the initial advantage. He worked a lot for the team helping in defense and coming back on many occasions. Playing with his back to goal, but being ready when the time was right. Like in the final when on the cross of Thorsbyit should be underlined, if Thiaw had he not hit the ball, he would have done it and won the double.
In the end it didn’t arrive but the joy for the result and for having scored was certainly great. Retegui he rose to 7 goals, to which we must add 2 assists. A haul perhaps lower than expected but which is affected by the period of absence between October and November just when he had found continuity with 3 goals and an assist in the first 7 matchdays. The long stop, the test of strength for the team in the first half of the match against Salernitana and then again the knee problems affected a good part of the first round.
A situation that must be added to the endless season that the player is facing who started his championship in Argentina in January 2023 to reach the Genoa at the height of the season and make themselves available immediately. He has been playing continuously for almost a year and a half now, without having completed his training with the rossoblù team. And he certainly won’t stop now, at least in the first part of the summer, given that his return to the field as a protagonist has allowed him to conquer theItaly in view of Europeans. On the other hand, the roadmap with the blue shirt speaks of 4 goals in 6 games and the great respect he has for him Spalletti. A Retegui that the fans are now waiting for next season. It is unlikely that he will end up on the market after a season with so few goals and some ailments, especially due to the price given that Genoa, in addition to having paid him 12 million, will have to pay twenty percent on future resale in the event of a sale.
Certainly if there has to be a transfer, also due to the obligation to close the transfer session in a positive way, it will not come from the boy from San Fernando, who will actually have the opportunity next championship to start not only as a starter but finally rested and with the preparation together with his companions, not to mention the continuity represented by the confirmation of Gilardino, whose signature on the contract is now a matter of days. Rather, the impression we have had this season is that the player feels better tactically with a “real” second striker like Ekuban or Vitinha, rather than paired with Gudmundsson so much so that the team appeared more dangerous with the Icelandic player further back than the two strikers. A tactical problem that Gilardino risks not having in the next championship given the assault on Gudmundsson.
Meanwhile, today the team will resume training at Signorini in view of Sunday’s match against Sassuolo. The “I’ll take the shirt and come to you” campaign has started to invite all fans to go to the stadium wearing the team shirt Genoa. Tomorrow appointment at the Genoa Museum and Store with Martinez, Messias, Vitinha, Retegui and Vasquez. Meeting with fans starting at 5.30pm.
