Outsdie90’s Mike La Riccia forecasts Ateltico Madrid ahead of the opening weekend of La Liga.
Summer Transfers
In a summer which has seen Diego Simeone make swift moves for Jackson Martínez, Luciano Vietto, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, Stefan Savic and Filipe Luís, the suggestion of Atléti being a selling club look to be a thing of the past. With departed players Mario Mandžukić, João Miranda, Arda Turan, Mario Suárez and Toby Alderweireld all warranting pricey fees, Simeone was able to reinvest the money into rebuilding his team with younger and hungrier talent.
Big-money signing Martínez will look to feature alongside Antoine Griezmann in leading the line for Atléti. His natural goalscoring ability will be crucial in easing the pressure on last season’s leading goalscorer Griezmann. Whilst Mandžukić provided the physicality that Simeone desires in his main striker, his speed and link-up play did not favour Atléti’s playing style. Martínez looks to be that striker needed, featuring the physicality and both the speed and ability to link up with teammates. New recruits, Luís and Carrasco, will also be cemented into the starting XI ahead of the new campaign.
Last Season
The 2014-15 season was always going to be tough for Simeone’s men. Having lost key players Diego Costa, David Villa, Luís and Thibaut Courtois, the likelihood of replicating the famous triumph of the 2014-15 title-winning campaign was slim. Simeone stated numerous times the goal was third for his team as its departees as well as the improvements made to Barcelona and Real Madrid would be too much for Atléti in matching the historic 2014-15 season.
Victory in the first match against local rivals Real Madrid looked to make people believe the impossible, however key losses to Barcelona, the inability to beat Valencia and nine draws ended up costing Simeone’s side and left them trailing 16 points behind league winners Barcelona.
Atléti concluded the season by securing the important third and automatic Champions League spot by only a point, with Valencia and Sevilla breathing down their necks. With a small squad, Atléti were unable to compete on multiple fronts, crashing out to rivals Real and Barcelona in the quarter-finals of both the Champions League and Copa del Rey. That left the Madrid club with winning only one trophy last season, the Supercopa de España in a 2-1 aggregate win over Real.
Manager
Manager Simeone has extended his contract, which ties down the Argentine to the Spanish capital club until 2020 – a major coup for Atléti. Interest in the young manager has been well noted with clubs including Inter Milan and Manchester City attempting to lure Simeone away from La Liga. Atléti’s management has made it clear that wants Simeone to be Atléti’s Sir Alex Ferguson and build an empire in Madrid.
In his time at the helm, Simeone has led Atléti to the Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de España, Copa del Rey and the prestigious La Liga title as well as being moments away from winning the Champions League. The recent success that Atléti have achieved is largely due to the managerial skills of the Argentine and the players would die for him on the pitch. With the recent 20% takeover by Chinese investment, Simeone has the financial resources to compete against Europe’s best and will look to improve on their third placed finish last term.
Key Player
With Griezmann and Diego Godín being the key players in their roles on the pitch, it is the home-grown Spanish international Koke that Simeone will rely on for the upcoming season. Koke will have the role of dictating play for Los Rojiblancos. His natural ability to unlock defences with his creative vision will be the key for strikers Griezmann, Fernando Torres and Martínez.
Griezmann’s successful transition from left-winger to centre-forward left Simeone short on options on the left side of midfield. Koke was the man to accommodate for the Frenchman but it was his influence in the middle of the pitch that was missed last season. With both the player and manager expressing their desires to play in the preferred central role this season, Atléti will be hopeful of more chances being created in the final third with Koke back in the centre.
The onus will be on the Spaniard to lead this new-look Atléti side and make it a title challenge again rather than fighting for third.
Strengths
Never before has Simeone had the luxury of such rich depth at his disposal. With most summer transfer periods being a huge concern for Los Rojiblancos faithful, key players have always been targeted by the richer and more dominating European clubs. The beginning of this summer looked to be the same story for Atléti with star players such as Griezmann, Koke and Godín all publically pursued by teams such as Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Simeone was able to keep hold of his major players, sell players deemed surplus to requirements and replace them with younger and hungrier talents.
Weaknesses
The centre of the park was a well known weakness last season for Simeone’s side with Gabi in particular seeming like a shadow of the player he once was.
Both Thiago Motta and Atlético Madrid President Enrique Cerezo made public the possibility of a reunion during the summer, but Paris Saint-Germain opted to hold onto the Italo-Brazilian after selling Yohan Cabaye to Crystal Palace.
With the move of Koke back into the central midfield role, Motta was seen as the perfect candidate to protect Atléti’s star man. Now, with La Liga beginning, Simeone is still without a central defensive-midfielder he hoped would line up come Saturday. Tiago performed well last season, however with his age and ability to receive a suspension or niggling injury, the only player available to step in with the required characteristics is Gabi, the player that made Simeone desire a new midfield enforcer in the first place.
Best XI
(4-4-2): Oblak (GK); Juanfran, Giménez, Godín, Luís; Saúl, Tiago, Koke, Carrasco; Martínez, Griezmann.
Prediction
Talk of another historic triumph by Simeone’s men has been the discussion in the lead up to the 2015-16 La Liga season. With impressive depth and a top-class manager at the helm, Atléti look set to challenge Barcelona and Real for the title rather than Valencia and Sevilla for a Champions League spot.
Atléti’s preseason has been much less physical and enduring than Barcelona and Real’s which could play a key factor in Atléti’s season. The Madrid side look sharp and raring to go for the upcoming campaign and with the newly found depth available, Atléti could go all the way. However, they face strong competition with Sevilla, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao breathing down their necks. Second could well be how it ends for Los Rojiblancos.
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