Eduardo Acevedo: "Maxi Gómez will return from his injury stronger"

Four years ago, Maxi Gómez had one of the most successful goalscoring appearances of his career to date, putting four past El Tanque Sisley in a 5-6 victory for Defensor Sporting Club. The striker had scored a hat trick previously, but the quartet of goals was a highpoint of his time in his homeland.

The Uruguayan opened his account in the game with a header, followed by a second goal struck with his right foot off a rebound. Before half time he had made it three, thanks to a powerful hit. Rounding off the scoring, he made a run down the left wing, slamming the ball into the net as the goalkeeper came out to close the angle.

"The attack was brutally effective in that match, and Maxi Gomez had a sensational game. He was great, with power and a change of pace that the opposition couldn't stop," recalls Eduardo Acevedo, his coach at the time. "It was a memorable game in terms of the attack. Maxi Gomez was completely inspired."

Acevedo says that what stood out about Gomez was "His will to win. Sometimes after training we would do a 'crossbar challenge' from outside the area. He would have to be the first to do it. That characteristic is going to make him succeed fully. In drills in which theplayers had to score, I put him on teams that were favourable for him, because if he lost then he would get angry."

"Maxi is exhuberant, superlative and you could see that he was going to be a player for the national team," continues Acevedo. "There is Luis Suárez and Cavani, but Maxi is there too and is going to take their place in the future."

“He has adapted to a different way of working at Valencia CF to at Celta Vigo, but I have no doubt that Maxi Gomez is going to succeed wherever he wants, because of his character, personality and obsession. He's a good kid, genuine and with a huge heart. He's scored goals, and after his injury he is going to come back even stronger. His obsession is goals, but his main obsession is that the team win."