Federico Gomes Gerth, the sparring goalkeeper of the champion team in Qatar: "Dibu Martínez is a cute madman, he has a different, unique personality"

Who is the tall blonde who appeared on the field at the celebrations of the Argentine national team players at the end of the games? Tall and with the appearance of a footballer, but difficult to identify for a large majority. He seemed like another player, but he wasn't. He had the clothes of the selection. The questions were logical and referred to goalkeeper Federico Gomes Gerth, who is 1.93 meters tall. He was the 27th player of the selection. That he was not on the list and could not even enter the locker room, but that he accompanied Lionel Scaloni's team as a sparring partner.

Gómes Gerth, Tigre's youth goalkeeper, is a young man who has a long career in the youth teams. He is now working with the Under 20 team led by Javier Mascherano and will participate in the South American in Colombia from January 19, qualifying for the World Cup in Indonesia. He was under the command of Pablo Aimar and had already been called up by Scaloni for the knockout window in November 2021, when Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Brazil. On that occasion he was not even on the substitute bench, but his life turned upside down with the call. "When I saw my name on the list, I started crying," he said after that meeting.

Scaloni, on that occasion, incorporated several young people for the first time, including Matías Soule (Juventus), Exequiel Zeballos and Cristian Medina (Boca), Enzo Fernández and Santiago Simón (River), and Thiago Almada (Vélez). . Two of them, Fernández and Almada, made it to the World Cup.

Back in the country with the delegation, Gomes Gerth, in an interview with the website of the Professional Soccer League, recounted his feelings: “I haven't fallen yet, I'm not aware of what I was able to experience. When the months pass, perhaps the years, I will realize what I lived through. The experience I went through is the best of my life. It was very useful, I was able to learn a lot. I am very happy to have been part of the group and to have made the most of it”.

The day to day with the squad was catching him: “With Emi (Martínez), Gero (Rulli) and Franco (Armani), plus the goalkeeper coaches, a nice working group was formed, very united. As soon as I arrived, I realized that everyone was going in the same direction. There was a lot of camaraderie and joy. I am grateful because they included me in that group. They always asked me how I was, if I needed anything. I felt part of it, even though I wasn't on the bench during the games. He looked at them from the outside like one more fan. It was possible to win the title because of the group that was there and the quality of the people”.

Training and supporting the three goalkeepers was an accelerated course for Gomes Gerth, who had one more mention for Emiliano Martínez: “Dibu is a cute madman. He has a distinct, unique personality. He is very strong in the head. Just as he looks on the court, in training he is super professional. In leisure time we had a great time. I take many lessons from the time I shared with him.

Among so many unforgettable memories, the title penalty occupies a prominent place for the goalkeeper: “It was an immense joy when Cachete Montiel scored the last penalty. Being able to experience it and being there was the most tense moment of my life. When the ball came in I started crying with Mono Herrera, who is the other goalkeeper coach with whom I was watching it”.

He highlighted Lionel Messi as “the leader, the best in the world. He showed it throughout the games. He was decisive at all times ”. The other impact was the accompaniment that the team had: “The Argentine fan in Qatar was something impressive. That there have been more than 40,000 shows that the Argentine fan is crazy, he leaves everything to encourage the team. At stadiums he felt breath. From Qatar we saw how people in Argentina got in each game; I think that gave the group a lot of energy to face all the challenges”.

The end of the film for Gomes Gerth was the return to the country: “We couldn't believe how many people were in Ezeiza when we arrived at dawn. I think it took us two hours to get to the AFA premises, when normally we don't take more than 10 minutes. They showed us all their affection. And the festivities in the caravan on Tuesday were even more incredible. Very exciting. We all ended up sunburned from being in the sun for so long, but it was worth it because we were able to return the love. It is a joy for the 42 million Argentines to enjoy because we are all world champions”.

Who is the tall blonde who appeared on the field at the celebrations of the Argentine national team players at the end of the games?