Ajax does not seem to have to take Javier Pastore into account in the first match of the quarter finals of the Europa League against AS Roma next Thursday. Despite the Romans being plagued by an injury wave, the 31-year-old attacking midfielder is now so low in the pecking order that he has not played for a minute this season. Expectations were still high when he came to Rome – which cost a total of 33 million euros including salary – but after nearly three years of struggling with injuries, Pastore has slowly but surely become the symbol of the technical director’s failed transfer policy. Monchi.
By Chris Meijer
Just trying to provoke a reaction, Gianluca Fidene must have thought on Twitter two weeks ago. The Roma fan shared a tweet writing that there is a zero chance that Pastore will move to his old club Huracan in the short term, writing: “Mr. Pallotta, what do you think about this? Great deal from Monchi … ”Fidene should have known that Pallotta would bite. “One of the many terrible,” replied the former Roma president an hour and a half later. He then went a step further. “I wanted Ziyech, just like Franco Baldini (former director, ed.) And Alex Zecca (the former right-hand man of the president, ed.). That is a fact and is in black and white. ” In a later tweet, “Monchi didn’t take Ziyech because he didn’t like him playing well at the World Cup.”
One of many awful
– Jim Pallotta (@ jimpallotta13) March 24, 2021
Pastore has become the symbol of the failed marriage between Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo – Monchi for short – and Roma. The architect of the Europa Leagues contiguous Sevilla was brought to the Italian capital by Pallotta in April 2017 to pursue the lofty ambitions of i Giallorossi to realise. In the summer transfer window after his arrival, more than ninety million euros were already put on the table to bring in Rick Karsdorp, Cengiz Ünder, Aleksandar Kolarov, Héctor Moreno and Lorenzo Pellegrini, among others. A year later, Roma really pulled the wallet: for more than 160 million euros, Patrik Schick, Steven Nzonzi, Pastore and Justin Kluivert arrived. For Pastore, the Romans transferred 24.7 million euros to Paris Saint-Germain, which was considered quite a risk at the time.
During his time in Paris, Pastore had become very fragile. In the first years of his career, things went really well for him. After playing for Talleres and Huracán in Argentina, Palermo brought him to Europe. He spent two years in Sicily – where Edinson Cavani and Paulo Dybala, among others, launched their European careers – and was subsequently taken over by PSG for 42 million euros. “I loved him when he played for Palermo. But I was skeptical when Roma brought him in, as he was already known for his ongoing physical problems, ”says Renato Maisani, journalist for the Italian branch of Goal, On Football zone. In his first four seasons at PSG, Pastore was still reasonably free from injuries, but especially in his last three years he had to pass up the necessary games.
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In his last three seasons, Pastore played only 86 of his total 269 games on behalf of PSG. Knee, calf and other muscle injuries often kept him on the side and that must also have been a reason for the French top club to get rid of the 29-time Argentinian international. That while, for example, Neymar – who played with him for one season – is involved L’Équipe extremely enthusiastic about him. “He is of an exceptional category. At the moment he is the only player who can carry his team on his own. If the team is struggling, he can still dribble past five players and create a chance. ”
“Neymar wants to be number one and has the chance, because he trains hard. If he’s fit, he can win a match on his own. We talk about the level of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, he has the potential to achieve that. Whether I could have gotten more out of it? Yes I think so. Many people say it is. When I went to PSG I had a good year at Palermo. I was the leader on the field. When players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic came in, they took responsibility in the group and I stopped playing as the star. The idea was in my head, but I never thought I would be the best in the world ”, Pastore gave the nickname because of his stature. El Flaco (the thin) bears, knowing himself in an interview with TyC Sports. “I never had the mentality to be number one. I play football because I like it, to have fun. ”
Perhaps Pastore would not have immediately become the best football player in the world without the persistent injuries, but then he would probably have played more international matches for Argentina and he would normally have been a permanent fixture at PSG for longer. Or at least basic player at AS Roma. The balance after almost three years in Italy is quite disappointing: 32 games, 19 starting places, 4 goals and 3 assists. Pastore played less than a minute this season. Last summer, he had surgery on his hip, which put him out of circulation until the end of December. The recovery from the most serious injury in his career does not appear to be easy for Pastore.
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Trainer Paulo Fonseca brought Pastore back to the selection for the first time at the end of January, but has since kept him on the reserve bench for eleven games in a row. “Pastore has been out for a long time. It was important to me to have him close to the team, he is recovering calmly. I think he might be ready to come back, but it’s important to have him at least with the group, ”Fonseca explained a few weeks ago. However, the truth is that Pastore is fifth or sixth in the pecking order. In Fonseca’s 3-4-2-1 system, Stephan El Shaarawy, Pedro, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are usually used for the two attacking positions in midfield, although the latter cannot be used against Ajax due to a calf injury. The currently injured Nicolò Zaniolo is normally also higher in the pecking order than Pastore.
For the two defensive positions in his midfield, Fonseca normally selects Amadou Diawara, Jordan Veretout, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Bryan Cristante and Gonzalo Villar. Given his place in the pecking order, it seems plausible that Roma Pastore would like to discharge this summer, all the more because he will earn an annual salary of 3.5 million euros and is currently still fixed until mid-2023. His name was recently linked to several American clubs – including Atlanta United, FC Dallas, Los Angeles Galaxy and Inter Miami – a move to Qatar and a return to Huracán, although his agent estimated the odds of returning to Argentina at zero percent. . For the time being Roma and Pastore are still condemned to each other and he could just be of value to the Romans. Against Ajax? Maisani: “That seems unlikely to me.”