Atletico de Madrid, 2022/23: Out with the old, in with the old

bosox4283

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Mar 2, 2004
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After a disappointing season, even though Atletico finished 3rd and, therefore, qualified for Champions League football, Atletico seems on the verge of doing just about nothing this summer. Hector Herrera and Luis Suarez have moved on -- I think Herrera had maybe one more high-quality season in him while it was time to let Suarez go given that he was aging as fast as ice cream melts in the summer. At the moment, it seems that Saul will return from his loan at Chelsea to replace Herrera and Morata will return from Juventus to replace Suarez -- so, two guys that Simeone doesn't really want will replace two guys who were fighting Father Time.

Out with the old, in with the old.

Apparently, Atletico has a restriction on what they can spend this offseason per La Liga's guidelines. I have no desire to attempt to understand La Liga's byzantine system. If I had more time, it would be more important to understand why Atletico -- a club with a 10-straight years of Champions League football, a new stadium, and an improved international reputation -- has such a horrid balance sheet and seems stuck.

Alas, the team does and it is hard to see any signings without a few sales. Lemar is a candidate to be sold, but I view Oblak as the surprise answer. Even though he dipped in form last year, Oblak is one of the best in the world and could give Atletico some cash to invest in more needed positions, like a RB, CB, or pace-dictating midfielder (Koke is not that person and De Paul needs to play more up the pitch).
 
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SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
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Apr 15, 2006
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I've seen the dust-up over the new kits. I don't blame the fans- Nike generating stupid concepts just for the sake of putting their stamp on a club is getting old, considering their preferred alternative is making a single template and vomiting it all over their partners. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.
 

Royal Reader

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Sep 21, 2005
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I've seen the dust-up over the new kits. I don't blame the fans- Nike generating stupid concepts just for the sake of putting their stamp on a club is getting old, considering their preferred alternative is making a single template and vomiting it all over their partners. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.
Less bothered by the wavy lines and more by the sponsorship from a pyramid scheme. Slightly worse than a gambling site and slightly better than an autocratic regime, but I guess that's just the price of sitting at the top table these days.
 

bosox4283

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Two weeks later, and it seems like the only move that Atletico is making is bringing in Axel Witsel in on a free transfer. I don't understand at all how and why Atletico is so broke. I know the pandemic was hard and caused major financial disruptions, but it is hard to see how things went so poorly.
 

bosox4283

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After two matches, it is unclear if which Atletico we'll get this year -- the Atleti from the first match against Getafe with a high press, quick movement up the pitch, and creative play, or the Atleti from the second match against Villarreal when Atletico look disjointed on defense, unsure of how to link play, and struggling to find an offensive flow.

Granted, Villarreal is a very good club with a strong squad and a very good coach, but I found the performance troubling. The problems in this match are the same ones that Atletico had last year, and while the season is early, I hope that Simeone does not fall into the habit of trying to make a mediocre plan work.

One important note from that match is that Nahuel Molina got a red card and two-game suspension, which leaves Simeone with no natural RB for the next two matches. We could see Simeone once again try Marcos Llorente or look to the young player Diaz (I think that's his name). Either way, the club does not have enough defensive depth -- which forces Simeone to play players out of position.
 

bosox4283

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Atletico lost 2-1 against Real Madrid this week in a disappointing fashion. First, a segment of Atletico fans changed racist things directed at Vinicius outside the stadium before the match. While I suppose there will always be people who suck, the lack of a strong response from the team is frustrating and pathetic. For that matter, La Liga is also useless in taking a strong, unequivocal stance against racism.

On the pitch, Atletico was crap. I mean, Real Madrid is really good and is so well organized -- Modric and Kroos continue to be outstanding, and the new signings have fit really well. But Real Madrid's excellent form does not mean Atletico needs to be lost on the pitch. Sure, Felipe and Hermoso are liabilities, but their awfulness does not mean that Simeone cannot find a way for the offensive to flow better. Joao Felix becomes nonexistent in these matches, mostly because he's just an island -- the team's movements and structure and system do just about nothing to involve him. It's maddening.

Atletico will likely be fine and find a way to limp to a top four finish this year. But something is wrong. Either the team needs to give Simeone the players he wants*, or Simeone needs to go.

*With that said, Simeone did ask for Griezmann and DePaul -- one player who is aging, costs a fortunate, and has weird limits on his minutes, and another that has been a total bust in my view.
 
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rguilmar

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Jul 16, 2005
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Atletico lost 2-1 against Real Madrid this week in a disappointing fashion. First, a segment of Atletico fans changed racist things directed at Vinicius outside the stadium before the match. While I suppose there will always be people who suck, the lack of a strong response from the team is frustrating and pathetic. For that matter, La Liga is also useless in taking a strong, unequivocal stance against racism.

On the pitch, Atletico was crap. I mean, Real Madrid is really good and is so well organized -- Modric and Kroos continue to be outstanding, and the new signings have fit really well. But Real Madrid's excellent form does not mean Atletico needs to be lost on the pitch. Sure, Felipe and Hermoso are liabilities, but their awfulness does not mean that Simeone cannot find a way for the offensive to flow better. Joao Felix becomes nonexistent in these matches, mostly because he's just an island -- the team's movements and structure and system do just about nothing to involve him. It's maddening.

Atletico will likely be fine and find a way to limp to a top four finish this year. But something is wrong. Either the team needs to give Simeone the players he wants*, or Simeone needs to go.

*With that said, Simeone did ask for Griezmann and DePaul -- one player who is aging, costs a fortunate, and has weird limits on his minutes, and another that has been a total bust in my view.
La Liga’s response to any and all incidents of racism has been severely lacking. I expect a “tsk tsk” and move on. The spark was a “dance gate” comment by an agent official about Vini’s goal celebrations saying he shouldn’t “play the monkey”. I feel like Atletico’s president came out with a statement defending the dancing. Obviously the more extreme elements of the Atleti fan base ran with the comment though, and this isn’t to excuse their behavior but La Liga will just want this to go away.

I thought the announcer brought up a good point about Atlético this season- we haven’t seen them snarl yet. My worry for them though is the wildness of the fixtures this season. A bunch of their players are off to play during this international break and the same will be true of the World Cup. Meanwhile, Betis, Villarreal, Athletic Club and others will have the time to heal up. They snuck into the top four last time, but they really need to get into gear to beat out these challengers.
 

Verryfunny2

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*With that said, Simeone did ask for Griezmann and DePaul -- one player who is aging, costs a fortunate, and has weird limits on his minutes, and another that has been a total bust in my view.
Griezmann minutes are connected to his rental contract. If he plays too many minutes then they have to pay the 40 million buyout. They played him loads in his first rental season so they can use him after 60 minutes each game now. Barca is threatening a lawsuit over this.

Looking back the bosman arrest was good for the players but the question remains has it been good for soccer as a whole.