Atletico de Madrid: Cementing our place in Europe

[bosox4283]

Due to a job switch, I never finished my original post about the team.

In short, this year's squad began the campaign with a big-name loss (Arda Turan to Barcelona) and the arrival of many newcomers. The team had a clear focus on young talent, signing 22-year-old winger Yannick Carrisco from Monaco and 21-year-old striker Luciano Vietto from Villarreal. The team also brought back Oliver Torres, the creative 21-year-old midfielder, from Oporto. Finally, Atletico retained Jose Maria Gimenez (20 years old, CB), Saul Niguez (21, midfielder), Angel Correa (20, forward), Jan Oblak (22, keeper), Griezmann (24, forward), and Koke (23, midfielder).

Simeone does fairly well in balancing the younger players with the older players, but Simeone truly depends on the older players to anchor the squad, especially defensively. To date, Atletico have allowed only six goals in 13 league matches. Godin, as always, has been imperial leading the backline. Perhaps most importantly, Gabi and Tiago have been fantastic as the defensive midfielders controlling the game and providing strong defensive support.

The timing of this thread is not a coincidence: Tiago just broke his leg this past weekend, and will be out for four months. Tiago, even at 34 years old, has been the team's best player. He is essential to the team's offense/defense balance, is good with the ball, knows how to position players, and is a fantastic passer.

The season now depends on Simeone's ability to find the right replacement for Tiago.

Atletico may look to the market. Another option is Kranevitter, the 22-year-old defensive midfielder from River Plate, who has already signed with Atletico but arrives in January. My feeling is that, given the high-level of physicality of Simeone's squad and the complex system Simeone employs, Kranevitter may be a pleasant surprise but should not be viewed as the solution.

I'm particularly partial to giving Saul a shot.

Fingers crossed.

 

[bosox4283]

And it's telling that I did not even mention Jackson Martinez in my report. Martinez does not yet seem comfortable in the system. Frankly, he and Torres have been disappointing. Atletico needs more goals from those two.

 

[bosox4283]

With the win over Benfica, Atleti has now won seven games in a row and has not lost in 13 matches. As the results suggest, the team is starting to play well together.

Carrasco may be the highlight of the season so far. He did not get off to a good start, but he's been a fixture in the starting line-up, taking a spot from Oliver Torres, Saul (before Tiago's injury), and Angel Correa. Carrasco has tremendous velocity, is a good passer, and has the ability to take guys on one-on-one.

 

[bosox4283]

I've only been an Atletico fan since 2006, when I lived in Spain for one year after graduation. At that point, Atleti had not won a title since 1995-96, the year of the historic "doblete", winning La Liga and Copa del Rey. More importantly, though, 2006 was only five years after Atletico's two-year stint in second division. To say the least, it was a test of patience to be a fan of the team during these years.

Fast forward to today, and I can say that I cannot truly appreciate how good we have it right now.

Adding to his list of achievements, Simeone has now led Atletico to the Round of 16 for the third straight year in the Champions League, a first-time accomplishment for Atletico. On top of that, Atletico has finished first in its group for the last three years. It's been an incredible run, and it's all because of Simeone.

 

[bosox4283]

A gutsy win over talented Athletic Bilbao marks Atletico's eighth win in a row. A beautiful goal by Antoine Griezmann gave Atleti the victory.

At this stage, I wonder: where does Griezmann rank for footballers under 25? He's in fantastic form, and I think he's only getting better.

 

[bosox4283]

For the first time in fifteen matches, Atletico loses. The streak was bound to end sometime. Even Golden State, who looked invincible, lost to a mediocre Bucks team.

So it was not the loss that bothered me but how Atletico played that was frustrating. Malaga, a sorry team this year, out Atletico'ed Atletico: Malaga were more intense, more physical, and demonstrated an undefinable yet noticeable in-game hunger -- they seemed to want it more.

Psychobabble aside, Atletico lost for two main reasons:

(1) Gabi is not Tiago. Gabi, the defensive midfielder who epitomizes Simeone's take-no-prisoner attitude on the pitch, has been asked to fill in for Tiago while the Portuguese midfielder recovers from a broken leg. In the first few matches, Gabi performed well enough. In this match, though, it was painfully clear that there will be moments when Tiago's skill at organizing the team on the pitch and superb passing will be missed. I'd like to see Gabi's passing performance -- my eyes told me he was poor. Interestingly, Gabi looked rushed...and he probably felt rushed. Gabi had to man the polls--Spain voted on Sunday--and had to catch the high-speed train to get to the game on time. I don't know how teams prepare for matches and it if really matters if a player arrives an early before the match or the night before kick-off. Either way, there was something symbolic about Gabi speeding to Madrid, then looking out of sorts during the game. My analysis is not entirely baseless: Gabi received two yellow cards in 10 minutes, leaving Atletico with 10 men.

(2) Atletico needs the best version of Jackson Martinez. Fernando Torres hasn't scored in three months, and he's just struggling. Check him out here at 1:40


Torres needs to finish this play with the ball in the net.

I'm incredibly optimistic about the team's youth contributing, but Jackson, who is a proven scorer, needs to come back from his injury and find his form ASAP. Atletico needs goals, and needs a player who can start to create problems for defenses.

I'm also a big fan of Oliver Torres, and would like to see him get more time on the pitch.

 

[bosox4283]

Normally as an Atleti fan, I get to feel indignant when some bigger club signs away our top talent. The list is long and well-known; departures include Kun Aguero, Torres, and Diego Costa.

In this mid-season window, Atletico was the team signing away top talent from a smaller club. As a result of Tiago's leg injury, Atletico has signed 29-year-old Argentinean midfielder Augusto Fernandez from Celta. Fernandez played at Celta for three and a half seasons, and was the captain on the squad. Celta, too, is currently fighting for a spot in Europe, and they look like a team that could finish top-6.

But, here comes Atletico, swooping in to take away a player essential to Celta. It kind of feels wrong, frankly, but I'm excited about the signing for this year and the next few years. Gabi and Tiago are getting older, and Augusto is a bit younger. If he can replicate their style and level of play, the team will not miss Gabi and Tiago as much whenever they finally hang up the spikes.

 

[bosox4283]

Atletico finishes the first leg of the season in first place (I know, Barcelona has played one fewer game).

I'm curious to know which English team is going to offer 40-50M Euros this summer for Griezmann.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Atletico finishes the first leg of the season in first place (I know, Barcelona has played one fewer game).

I'm curious to know which English team is going to offer 40-50M Euros this summer for Griezmann.

He's playing at an incredibly high level right now and really has been since last season. When I first saw him play, I thought he was too slight and wouldn't hack it, but he has been a revelation.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Atletico finishes the first leg of the season in first place (I know, Barcelona has played one fewer game).

I'm curious to know which English team is going to offer 40-50M Euros this summer for Griezmann.

Griezmann reportedly has a release clause of 80m euros (60m pounds currently) and I think both Manchester United and Chelsea will be willing to pay it. If Di Maria was worth that much, Griezmann is too.

 

[bosox4283]

While Griezmann continues to play inspired football and carries the team, no one else is stepping up for Atletico. This week's 0-0 draw against Celta in La Copa del Rey and 0-0 draw against Sevilla in La Liga show that when Griezmann is not scoring, the team has a massive weakness.

Fernando Torres is injured, but before his injury, he hadn't scored in almost there months.

Vietto, a talented young player, is just 21 years old. He's still developing and getting better, and he's not yet a guy who is going to carry a team.

Jackson Martinez has been a massive disappointment, and it seems that he's just not clicking with the team and in this style. Against Sevilla, Jackson played about 20 minutes but only managed to touch the ball once. If Jackson were playing at the level of Griezmann, I think Atletico would be considered the best team in Spain right not. But Jackson looks lost, and I'm not sure what Simoeone can do to find him.

Can Chelsea give us back Costa?

 

[bosox4283]

The Jackson Martinez mystery continues. Or, more accurately, the Jackson Martinez frustration continues. Atletico loses to Celta de Vigo en La Copa del Rey, and is eliminated from the tournament. Celta outplayed Atletico, so they were the fair winner. Celta scored one brilliant goal from 30 yards -- while Atletico lost a foolish ball that led to the goal, sometimes you just have to tip your cap when a player nails one from that distance.

So, Martinez. First, he doesn't start in a game when Atletico will most certainly need at least one goal to win after a zero-zero draw in the first leg at Celta. Second, he doesn't start in La Copa del Rey, the least important tournament for Atletico. Third, Jackson doesn't start even though he clearly needs to build confidence, especially with Atletico fighting to win La Liga and looking to advance in the Champions League. Fourth, Simeone doesn't even put him into the game after Atletico needed two goals to advance.

A guy I follow on Twitter posted: "Simeone's rebuild depended on Vietto and Jackson not being shit and, well, here we are." I mean, if Jackson were half the player he was at Porto...

It's baffling. Is it Simeone? Is it Jackson? Is it Spain?

The good news is that Correa, the young Argentine, is for real. I'd like to see Atletico play with this formation a bit more:

Oblak
Juanfran-Godin-Savic/Gimenez-Filipe Luis
Gabi (Tiago when he returns)
Saul-Koke-Correa
Vietto-Griezmann

First three substitutions: Carrasco, Thomas, Oliver Torres

Basically, in wanting this line-up, I'm ignoring Atletico's two winter signings, Augusto Fernandez and Matias Kranevitter, and not placing any confidence in Jackson Martinez and Torres. I want to see these young guys play together while shifting to a more dynamic offensive style. There is enough talent on defense and at keeper to prevent teams from scoring (Oblak is quietly becoming one of the top young keepers in the world), but this line-up also allows Atletico to take advantage of its emerging attacking style.

 

[bosox4283]

I woke up this morning a bit annoyed still. Then, I remembered: at least we had a better Cup than Real Madrid.

 

[bosox4283]

Atletico loses a beyond-frustrating game to Barcelona. The loss can be attributed to:

1. Two Atletico expulsions. Filipe Luis and Diego Godin, two of Atletico's most reliable defenders, both picked up red cards. Luis received his for a nasty spikes-up challenge against Messi, driving his foot into Messi's knee. Even though Luis grazed the ball, it was a foolish challenge and merited the red. Godin, in very characteristic fashion, committed two fouls and received two yellows. Already down 2-1 at the time, it's hard to score a goal short-handed against Barca.

2. Bravo's foot. Even down a man, Atletico had the tie. Griezmann somehow missed...or Bravo somehow saved the shot. Either way, Atletico was about two inches away from leaving with a point.

3. Luis Suarez. What a goal.

 

[bosox4283]

Griezmann miss starts at 1:50. The music is as terrible as Bravo's save.

 

[bosox4283]

I should be careful what I wish for. In Atletico's sloppy 1-0 win against Getafe, Carrasco, probably Atletico's break-out player of the year and a great offensive talent, went down with an ankle injury that will keep him out probably two to three weeks. As a result, Carrasco will miss the Real Madrid, PSV (Champions League), and Villarreal matches.

I wished for more playing time for Oliver Torres, the young and creative midfielder. With Carrasco joining Tiago and Augusto Fernandez, the defensive midfielders, on the injured list, Simeone will have to be a bit creative in these very important next four games.

I could envision a situation with:

Oblak
Juanfran-Godin-Savic/Gimendez-Filipe Luis
Gabi
Saul-Griezmann-Oliver-Koke
Torres

or maybe

Oblak
Juanfran-Godin-Savic/Gimendez-Filipe Luis
Saul-Gabi-Koke
Oliver
Griezmann-Torres

In either case, I struggle to see Correa playing in the midfield: he's a bit too offensive and perhaps not able to provide the defense Simeone will seek. Vietto is also playing well, but I find him more likely to play for Torres, not Oliver. Thomas, the young defensive midfielder, could see more playing time, though I wonder if Thomas is ready for primetime. Lastly, the young winter signing, Kranevitter, could see more minutes, especially if Simeone is not pleased with what he's seeing from Thomas and Oliver.

 

[bosox4283]

For the third year in a row, Atletico has reached the quarterfinals in the Champions League. This accomplishment is amazing, and I believe the first time a Spanish time other than Real Madrid and Barcelona have done so. The team barely did it this year and last, only advancing by penalty kicks, but what matters is moving on and Atletico has done it.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

8 out of 8 penalties is pretty amazing. And they needed every one of them!

 

[bosox4283]

Yuck. Atletico loses 2-1 to Sporting de Gijon, and the blame is Simeone's. Cholo didn't play Thomas, who was physically fresh, and left Oliver at home, another player with fresh legs. In the end, the team needed this spark, but instead Cholo put in Juanfran and Gabi, who played the full match against PSV. In addition, this strategy led to Kranevitter, the young Argentine DM, playing too much and he committed a few mistakes.

I had no belief that Atletico would catch Barcelona, but I'm more disappointed with Simeone's defensive and bizarrely cowardly line-up.

Most worryingly, Atletico's CB, Gimenez, pulled up with a leg injury. Godin is out two weeks, Savic is injured, and now we'll see what happens with Gimenez. Simeone's poor tactics definitely meant Gimenez had to play too hard for too long.

 

[bosox4283]

So Atletico has Barcelona in two weeks, and it looks like Godin, the team's top CB and most important player, and Gimenez, either the second or third CB option depending on your preference, are doubtful to get healthy in time. Godin was a fluke, but I'm still ticked about the Gimenez injury because it was a result of Simeone's poor planning. And playing Barcelona with a weakened defensive line is not the way you want to go. Here's to a miraculous recovery.

 

[bosox4283]

My first post touched on this team's youth, and the young players have been a joy to watch this year. In the victory against Barcelona, Atletico had the following on the pitch:

Keeper: Oblak (23)
Defense: Savic (25), Lucas Herndandez (20)
Midfield: Saul (21), Koke (24), Thomas Partey (22)
Attack: Griezmann (25), Correa (21), Carrasco (22)

That's 9 of 14 players under 25. Really impressive.

 

[Zomp]

Koke being that young surprised me. Feels like he's been around forever.

 

[bosox4283]

After a disappointing loss to Levante, a team that was already guaranteed relegation, Atletico has no chance to win the league. It's disappointing, for sure, to get this close but fall short due to a piss-poor effort against an inferior team. For this reason, I'm extra frustrated after the loss (the frustration multiplies when I remember that American soccer traitor Rossi scored the winning goal).

Atletico threw away six points against Sporting and Levante after intense Champions League victories mid-week (after matches against PSV and Bayern, respectively), but it was going to be hard to win the league while losing to Barcelona in both matches. Plus, the only reason Atletico were even in contention is because Barcelona almost threw away La Liga after a strange run of form toward the end of the season. Otherwise, I would have stopped watching about a month ago.

Instead, I'll take pride in recognizing that it was a fantastic league season for Atletico. Achieving nearly 90 points is quite the accomplishment.

There were two main pieces, I think, that prevented Atletico from taking that extra step forward to perhaps steal the league away from Barcelona.

1. Tiago's six-month injury. Tiago, the now 35-year-old Portuguese midfielder, was arguably Atletico's best player from the start of the season until he broke his leg on Nov. 28 against Espanyol. As a result, Atletico went out and signed Augusto Fernandez from Celta during the winter transfer period, and Augusto performed well in his role (it greatly helped that he had previously played with Simeone in Argentina). It can be argued, too, that Tiago's injury opened up a space on the pitch for Saul, who scored the incredible goal in the first leg against Bayern, to get more playing time and emerge as this year's break-out player.

Still, Tiago is highly regarded on the team for his passing and his ability to organize the team on the pitch. In fact, Tiago is much better with the ball than Gabi, who has a tremendous work-rate but often lacks the touch to make that last pass or control the flow of the game. Maybe Atletico doesn't advance to the Champions League Final with him, but Tiago certainly would have been an asset in must-win matches, such as against Sporting and Levante, two losses that really kept Atletico out of the title hunt.

2. The disappointing Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto signings. Jackson Martinez was so bad that Atletico sold him during the winter transfer period to some Chinese team. Fortunately, Atletico was able to recover almost all of the money they spent on him. Jackson played in 8 matches, scoring two goals and dishing out a respectable three assists. He was injured for a spell, and there were rumblings that he did not integrate well, if at all, with the team. In fact, I almost forget that he was on the team this year. He was quiet--too quiet--and never seemed to click with Simeone's intensity. I hope he's enjoying China.

Perhaps more troubling, though, was Luciano Vietto's struggles at Atletico. Vietto scored 20(!) goals last year at Villarreal as a slight 20/21-year-old: 12 in La Liga and 8 in Europe. Simeone and he had crossed paths at Racing, and it looked like an excellent match. But, for whatever reason, Vietto lost his confidence at Atletico. Maybe it was Simeone's style or his adjustment from an under-the-radar team in a small city to a top-tier team in a major city, but something wasn't right. Especially with Jackson Martinez being a non-factor, Atletico needed more from Vietto and didn't get it. Vietto scored three goals this year and had three assists. He was passed on the depth chart by both Correa and Fernando Torres.

To highlight Vietto's struggles, as Atletico barely managed to beat Rayo Vallecano two weeks ago, Oliver Torres and Vietto played the first half but were subbed out early in the second. Both players were booed as they left the pitch. This scene summed up Vietto's season: just not enough to please fans or Simeone, and not enough to be a factor on the pitch.

So, in the end, Atletico spent about 55M euros on Jackson and Vieto for a total of five goals and six assists. Yikes. No wonder Atletico has been rumored all year to be pining for the return of Diego Costa.