Turin (Italy) (AFP)

One was greeted coldly, the other frankly pushed out. On Tuesday, however, Alvaro Morata and Gonzalo Higuain are expected to be in Torino for the Champions League match between Atlético Madrid and Juventus, two teams they have become indispensable fixtures.

The most unexpected rebound is perhaps that of Higuain. For exactly one year ago, the Argentinean wore the AC Milan jersey, missed a penalty kick and was sent off against Juventus, his club.

A few months earlier, Higuain had indeed been pushed to a loan in Lombardy to make room for his majesty Cristiano Ronaldo. Then began a season for nothing, first to Milan, where he was bad, then to Chelsea, where he was mediocre.

Under these conditions, no one expected much of his return to Turin and the question of his departure was raised again, the AS Roma trying to the end to attract him.

But the former player of Real Madrid has not yielded, sure of his qualities and convinced to be able to make a place in the eleven Maurizio Sarri. He was right.

Even though Ronaldo's return will leave only room for Higuain and Dybala on Tuesday, "Il Pipita" is again at the age of 31 a centerpiece of Juventus with five goals and six assists, mostly with complete striker, able to evolve as well with the fivefold Ballon d'Or as with the young Argentinian.

- Logical choice -

"I feel happy, not only for having made the choice to stay, but also for the way I was treated by the club and my teammates when I came in. My choice was clear and I wanted to show that I was right, "said the Argentinian on Monday.

"It's going well, but I'm not happy with it, I'm hoping to maintain this level until the end of the season, if I have to settle for something, it'll be in June, when the season is over and Juve will have won something important, "he added.

"If Higuain plays, it's not because he's one of my men of confidence, it's linked to training, it's a logical choice," declared Sarri , with Naples, had led him to the all-time record in one season of Serie A (36).

"The relationship of trust has nothing to do with it, in Chelsea at the end I did not play it anymore, it was Giroud playing, but I found the Higuain two or three times ago. years, "he added.

Atlético, for its part, found the Morata four or five years ago when, at Juventus, it seemed destined to become one of the best forwards on the planet.

But like Higuain, the Spaniard has struggled his departure from Turin and then lost a bit at Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Often zapped by Zinédine Zidane in major events like the Champions League, Morata had decided to leave his training club "to feel more important", and had joined Chelsea.

- Pre-training -

But injured and badly loved by the Blues (2017-2019), he lost confidence in England.

"I was very upset by the opinion of the English, I think I did not feel loved, supported enough by the club and the fans," said the striker to the Goal site in June.

On loan to Atlético since January, Morata, 27, has returned to the forefront in the "other" club of the Spanish capital.

The striker had yet been greeted freshly by some supporters, who criticized his past Merengue. Morata had responded with photos of him wearing the Colchoneros jersey and recalling his three years of pre-training at Atlético from 2005 to 2007.

Above all, he replied in the field. In full flurry after a mixed start to the season, the center forward Madrid is already eight goals in 14 games. A true renaissance.

"Here, the team and the employees of the club have changed my life," he said six months after his return to Spain.

© 2019 AFP