Nothing short of a miracle occurred last season in Spain. Atletico Madrid won the League. It was their first title in 18 years and the first time in 10 years a team other than Real Madrid and Barcelona were crowned Spanish champions.
What made Atletico’s victory so incredible was that they, economically speaking, simply cannot compete with the might of Real Madrid and Barcelona. Year in year out Atletico have to sell their best players while Spain’s big two have the habit of stockpiling stars.
This off-season it has been no different. Atletico sold their biggest player, Diego Costa, to Chelsea. Filipe Luis followed his to London and Thibaut Courtois joined them, returning to Chelsea after a three-year loan spell in Madrid. That is three key players of Atletico’s League-winning team gone. Other notable departures have been David Villa, Adrian and Diego, though these three will not be as missed as the others.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have purchased Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez. Their rivals Real Madrid have perhaps done even better, adding World Cup stars James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos to their ranks. Admittedly, both sides have let go of some great players too. Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas have both moved to the Premier League while Alvaro Morata has left the capital for Juventus. He is likely to be followed out of Madrid by Angel Di Maria.
Yet, there is reason for optimism amongst Atleti’s followers. Yes, the club has lost some key players but at the same time some quality additions have come in, none more so than Mario Mandzukic.. Benfica goalkeeper Jan Oblak has also been incorporated into the squad following his move from Benfica.
But, perhaps the most telling piece of business by Atletico so far this summer was made official early Monday morning, when it was confirmed that Antoine Griezmann had swapped Anoeta for Vicente Calderon. This is nothing short of a major coup for Atletico.
Griezmann was one of the leading lights in the Primera Division last term, scoring 16 goals in 31 appearances. Encouragingly, he registered a goal or an assist every 140 minutes in La Liga and had more shots on target than any other midfielder. Griezmann’s many talents will provide his new Coach Diego Simeone with many options.
Able to play across the front line, though he prefers to be on the left wing, Griezmann is very dangerous no matter where he is deployed. Quick, elegant and with superb technique, he will offer Simeone the option to employ a more progressive approach when suitable. Still, the Frenchman will also revel in the counter-attacking system preferred by the Argentine.
Still only 23-years-old, Griezmann can only get better as his game matures. And, Simeone is maybe just the Coach to ensure the Frenchman continues his development from a player with great potential to an established star of the game. After all, Simeone’s midas touch has worked wonders with the likes of Costa, Luis, Miranda and Koke already. The same will occur with Griezmann.
But above all the wonderful talents and potential be brings to the Manzares, Griezmann’s arrival is a real sign of intent from Atletico Madrid. It shows the club are still ambitious as ever, despite their financial limitations.
Last season the feeling was throughout that at some point Atletico’s luck would eventually run out and their unlikely title bid would fall to the way side. It never did. The feeling this summer is that Atletico will not be able to repeat their feats of the last 12 months. Yet, with this latest addition to their squad it seems they are aiming to do it all over again.
