Argentine footballer Alejandro 'Papu' Gómez played an official match for the first time in 776 days after completing his doping suspension on October 22, 2023.
The attacking midfielder, who won the World Cup with the Argentina national team in Qatar 2022, came on as a substitute in the 58th minute of a Serie B match. His team, Padova, lost 0-2 to Venezia, but the player was greeted with an ovation at the Stadio Comunale.
According to the Argentine News Agency (NA), the 36-year-old footballer had maintained his innocence from the first day. He explained that the terbutaline detected in his test came from a children's syrup he had mistakenly taken. Despite his explanation, the suspension remained in force for two years. During this period, the former Sevilla and Monza player trained with various clubs in Spain and Italy to stay in shape.
Gómez's debut for Padova, which he joined last month as a free agent, could have happened immediately after his suspension ended, but a muscle delay postponed his first appearance.
Although he couldn't help his team secure a win, his substitution marked the end of a difficult chapter and the start of a new opportunity in his career, while the club is going through a negative streak that began in mid-October.
The weekend also featured another notable comeback: Paul Pogba, the 2018 world champion, returned to the pitch after a 779-day doping suspension and was applauded in Monaco, despite a heavy 0-4 defeat to Rennes.
The two parallel stories, coincidental and contextual, marked a special chapter in European football with the return of two figures seeking to rebuild their professional paths.