On January 15th, Beijing time, a strong confrontation took place in the 19th round of Serie A, with Atalanta and Juventus battling for 90 minutes, ending in a draw. Neither team scored in the first half, but in the second half, Juventus defender Kalulu demonstrated his goal-scoring abilities, giving Juventus the lead. However, Retegui came off the bench to save the day, resulting in a 1-1 draw between Atalanta and Juventus. Argentine fans are disheartened by the loss of Retegui. In 18 rounds, he has scored 13 goals! The 25-year-old discarded player from Argentina is shining in Serie A, while Scaloni's oversight led to the departure of a powerful center forward.
Last season, Atalanta won the Europa League title and finished as runners-up in the Coppa Italia. However, the team suffered losses to their lineup during the summer last year when Scamacca injured his knee ligaments in a warm-up match and was out for an extended period, while Kupmenas became a Juventus player. Scamacca scored 19 goals for Atalanta last season with 7 assists, while Kupmenas had 15 goals and 7 assists. Despite losing these two key players, Atalanta has remained competitive this season, ranking third in Serie A and currently only two points away from the top eight in the Champions League.
The 66-year-old head coach, Gasperini, is the soul of Atalanta. He has been coaching the team for 8.5 years, ensuring that Atalanta always maintains its competitiveness. Last summer transfer window, Atalanta signed Retegui for a transfer fee of 22 million euros, and under Gasperini's guidance, he has become a "Serie A sharpshooter."
In the match against Juventus, Retegui returned from injury. He came on as a substitute in the 65th minute and, 13 minutes later, received a header from Bellanova, leaping to head the ball into the net. This was Retegui's 13th goal in his 18th appearance in the Serie A league this season, adding to his three assists. Retegui tops the Serie A Golden Boot chart, while Argentine international Lautaro ranks 10th with six goals.
Retegui is a "rough diamond," and Argentine national team coach Scaloni did not include him in the squad, which was a significant oversight. Retegui had previously won the Golden Boot in the Argentine Super League and now has the potential to claim the top scorer award in the more competitive Serie A league. Argentina has center forwards like Lautaro and Alvarez, but Retegui's characteristics differ significantly from theirs.
As fellow frontline players, Lautaro can compete physically, and Alvarez often drops back to organize play, whereas Retegui is a purer poacher in the penalty area. His defensive capabilities may not be as good as Lautaro's, nor does he possess Alvarez's organizational skills, but Retegui has a better sense of timing for scoring opportunities. Especially noteworthy is Retegui's heading ability, which neither Lautaro nor Alvarez possess. Adding Retegui to the Argentine squad would mean having another attacking option, but due to Scaloni's neglect, Retegui has become Italy's number 9, having played 18 games for the Azzurri, scoring six goals and providing one assist.