Protagonist, Scarpa rejected doubling salary for redemption at Palmeiras

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Gustavo Scarpa had good reasons to leave Palmeiras in August 2020.

The team’s top scorer the previous year, with 13 goals, the midfielder had participated in only two games as a starter of the 22 played so far in the season, already partially compromised by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Away in January due to a negotiation with Almería – which ended up frustrated –, he lived in disrepute with the then coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo when he received a new proposal from Atlético-MG.

The solution seemed encouraging: change Palmeiras for the leader of the Brazilian Championship at the time and practically double the salary.

Scarpa preferred the improbable: trying to get back on his feet in his own club.

Known for a collection of unusual habits in football –skating, wakeboarding, Rubik’s Cube and literature–, he made an out-of-the-way decision that led him to turn around at Palmeiras.

A little more than two years later, he lifts the last of eight cups won at the club – the fifth after the rejected proposal.

Agreed with Nottingham Forest to play in the Premier League from January, he has a very different farewell to what could have happened years before: with consolidated redemption and as a protagonist.

Scarpa has become a fundamental piece since the arrival of Abel Ferreira, in October 2020. Open exchanges of praise between the Portuguese coach and the pupil are not rare. The athlete mainly praises the tactical clarity and the way the boss made him see the game.

With Abel, Scarpa even played on the left side, with an unusual appeal from the coach to Tite. “What I mean is that if Tite listens to me, and it’s good that he does, he’s very good in that position,” said the Portuguese in November 2020, a month after his arrival.

Efficient quick fix on the side, he became absolute on the right side in the most offensive line of the team and, more recently, main thinking head after Raphael Veiga left the team, due to injury.

Only had no direct participation in goals in two of the last ten games. Of the 20 goals scored in the period, he scored three and even distributed six assists to his teammates.

According to SofaScore statistics website, Scarpa is still the overall leader in assists of the competition, alongside Arrascaeta, with participation in ten goals. He scored, however, six goals in the Brazilian, against only three for the Flamengo midfielder.

The player is also the one who hits the most crosses and decisive passes and the one who most risks kicks from outside the area.

“I believe that I have matured a lot, both naturally due to age and the experiences I have had at Palmeiras. I have played more defensive roles for the team, which is the most important thing. I believe I have evolved a lot as a player”, he analyzed after the match against Cuiabá. , in July.

The very arrival at the São Paulo club, in 2018, was one of the toughest barriers. He was unable to perform for three months due to a long legal battle.

At the time, Scarpa filed a lawsuit to disassociate himself from Fluminense, pointing out a series of late payments, and agreed to a five-year contract with Palmeiras. To put an end to the imbroglio, he had to give up values ​​and convince the new club to pay almost R$24 million to the old team.

The relationship went beyond a comeback on the field. Scarpa embodied the soul of Palmeiras. A video of the player suffering went viral on social media while following the penalty shootout won by the team against Atlético-MG, in the quarterfinals of the Libertadores. Expelled, he watched the tiebreaker on a TV in the locker room.

With more than 50 assists for Palmeiras, eight titles and a job well done, Scarpa is now ready to say goodbye. In his terms.

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