For professional footballers, transfers are a fact of life.It was bittersweet for Gabriel Paletta, who joined Liverpool from Atlético Banfield in the summer of 2006, leaving England after just one year.
The former Italy centre-back, who played only eight games for Anfield, reflected on his time with the Argentina Under-20s and revealed that although he knew what he was doing in his head, he was a little scared emotionally.
“After the (Under-20s) World Cup there was this possibility, Liverpool were watching me,”
“I was a bit hesitant, going from Argentina to England. It’s not that I wasn’t convinced but I was a bit scared.”
“River also wanted me, in Argentina. In the end, with the agent I had at the time, we chose Liverpool. It was an incredible change for me.”
“That Liverpool was a spectacular team, with Rafa Benitez. That year was very useful for me to understand the rules within a group. There were great people who told you what you had to do.”
“It was also useful on a tactical level, because in Argentina you don’t work a lot. That year, even though I played very few games, made me grow.”
“The first game I played (against Reading in the League Cup), I scored under the Kop. Very nice.”
“Then a memory that wasn’t very nice, but I remember the Champions League final in Athens against Milan… I was in the stands, I stayed off the bench but I was at the stadium.”
“We certainly prepared it as a final, but I don’t remember it being any different from other games. How did I feel after the match? Sad, for sure. But many had already won it.”
“They were certainly disappointed, but those who had already won it, I didn’t see them very sad. But it was definitely a revenge for Milan.”
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After leaving Liverpool, he joined Boca Juniors in his home country to get his career back on track, and from 2010 he played for Parma, AC Milan and Atalanta over an eight-year period.
After spells in China and without a club, he was with Italian side Monza from 2019 to 2023, before retiring in the same year.