Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke is closing in on becoming the player with the third most appearances for the club in their history according to Diario AS.
The 28 year-old has made 467 appearances for Atleti and is three games from catching up with club legend Enrique Collar, who played 470. Koke should catch up with him by the end of November and surpass him in December.
Atleti’s next four games are against Barcelona, Lokomotiv Moscow, Valencia and Bayern Munich. Should he play in all of them, he’ll break the record against Bayern.
Second in the leaderboard is Tomas Renones, who’s sitting on 483 appearances for Los Rojiblancos, followed by Adelardo Rodriguez, who played 553. Given his form and physical condition, you wouldn’t bet against him challenging for top spot.
Koke was one of the best players for Spain during the international break, putting in a star turn in the 6-0 defeat of Germany at La Cartuja. The midfielder is highly valued by coach Cholo Simeone – the Argentine knows that when Koke performs, so does Atleti.
Now approaching his prime, he’ll need to be on top form to guide Atleti through this tough set of fixtures and help turn a good start to the season into a great one.
The captain has seven titles with Atleti: one La Liga, one Copa del Rey, one Spanish Super Cup, two Europa Leagues and two European Super Cups. His ambition will be to add to that record this season as well as chasing down appearances.
Featured image courtesy of Goal.