A one-week slip is all it has taken for Atlético Madrid’s season to crash to the ground.
Wasting a 2-0 first leg lead in the Champions League Last 16 against Juventus was bad enough. Following it a few days later with a dismal defeat against Athletic Club that ended Atleti’s league title hopes worsened the situation further still.
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Atletico Madrid ace Saul Niguez celebrates scoring this season.
The results, 3-0 in Turin and 2-0 in Bilbao, are both terrible, but above all the performances were particularly worrying. Against Juve, Atleti had nothing, ineffective in their starting approach and unable to change it in any meaningful way despite the painfully obvious mismatch that was playing out. Against Athletic meanwhile they barely got close to the opposition goal.
For once, Diego Simeone can’t blame the embarrassments unravelled on being the little guys – the underdogs he so often likes to insist his Atleti are.
Based on net salary, he is the best paid coach in the world, while only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo earn more than Colchoneros star Antoine Griezmann. Thomas Lemar, bought for €70million last summer, was the most expensive signing of the current La Liga season.
Yet Atleti haven’t taken any meaningful steps forward. In the case of some key players, they may even have taken a step backwards. When Luis Enrique last week announced the Spain squad to face Norway and Malta, Koke and Saúl were notable in their absence, but few complained.
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Neither of the Atleti midfielders have had good seasons, and while Koke can to an extent blame that on injury, Saúl’s regression is of more concern. With 36 games under his belt, playing time hasn’t been difficult to find, but it is difficult to think of a standout performance from the 24-year-old over the last year, despite his obvious talent.
It is certainly no coincidence that in the hours after his omission from the Spain list was revealed, reports broke that Manchester City are moving close to a deal for the No.8. It remains to be seen whether that will indeed crystallise, but what is true is that the chances of the Atleti youngster leaving his boyhood club appear higher than ever.
Offers have never been short in the past, but while on previous occasions the Elche native has opted to stay put and continue his development with Atleti in the hope of playing a part in further success for the Rojiblancos, the stagnation of recent seasons and the snub from Spain will not have passed unnoticed.
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Saul argues with Jaime Mata in what has been a tough season for the midfielder.
Saúl is an exceptionally gifted footballer but it has been a while since he made a step forward. In truth the same could be said for any of Simeone’s more offensive players in recent seasons.
Signed five years ago now, Antoine Griezmann is the last attacker Cholo has helped to improve in any meaningful way, and even then the Frenchman has had diminishing returns in front of goal since hitting a career best 32 in 2016.
The case of Lemar is one of the most striking. The longer he is coached by Simeone, the poorer the winger seems to be. While the 23-year-old excited and caused optimism in Atleti’s 4-2 win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup last August, it proved to be a false dawn – much like the thrilling attacking play with which they won that match in extra time.
Since then, he has trudged along, by now barely ever taking on his man with any conviction, and looking confused about his job.
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Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone face a tough summer.
We are reaching a pivotal moment in the Simeone project – perhaps the most important summer of transition since he took up his current position in 2011.
If Saúl decides to leave, could it prove to be a watershed moment for other attackers bored of being reduced to workhorses at Atleti? Will the club opt to take the easy way out and hang the blame of Lemar’s failure to meet expectations solely on the player himself? Or is it JUST part of a broader trend of offensive signings being stifled after arriving at the Metropolitano?
Those issues are big enough, and we haven’t even touched on the impending exits of several of the 2014 league title winners. Filipe Luis, Diego Godin and Juanfran are all out of contract this summer – three huge players in Atleti history who are not easy to replace.
That task is made more difficult still when Bayern Munich have made no secret of their plan to trigger the release clause of Lucas Hernández, who won the World Cup at left-back and has long been earmarked as one of Atleti’s starting centre-backs of the future.
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France World Cup winner Lucas Hernandez could be one of many stars who leave Atletico Madrid in the summer.
As for Diego Costa, fight though he always does, perennial injury problems and a paltry return of only one league goal in 14 games don’t bode well for the 30-year-old’s future contributions. Particularly with the younger, already more effective (three league goals in six games) Ãlvaro Morata around.
We’re heading for a tumultuous summer at the Metropolitano, and Saúl may just be the tip of the iceberg.
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