Atletico Madrid legend Diego Godin has conceded that while Los Colchoneros still have many of Diego Simeone’s traits, the team does not have the same character as when he was there.
He maintains that this does not mean to say that this is better or worse, telling Marca that his side was a very rare group.
“It’s different. Neither better nor worse, it is a different team. We were a group of people with determined characteristics, we played in a determined way. Today they play differently, even with different game systems and they are different players. With the same coach, with his same passion, with his same heart, with his same love for the club, but a different dressing room.”
Ahead of the Madrid derby on Sunday, Godin was expecting a close game.
“I don’t see it having many goals. I hope Atletico can win, it’s what we all want. It will be very equal.”
He highlighted that some of the best work Simeone and his Atletico did was to put Atletico in a position where they are able to do more than just battle in defence against La Liga’s big two.
“Yes, that is what I said before, that we as a club and as a team managed to position the team again on equal terms and to compete on equal terms with Barcelona, with Madrid in the League, in spite of the chasm of difference in budgets. And today Atletico competes as equals in all competitions. It was difficult, hard work, but we did manage to position the club there.”
It seems a natural consequence that as Atletico grow in terms of budget, the players they are likely to bring in may be technically superior to those before them, but perhaps less use to battling for their bread. The better technical players tend to play on the better teams, and so are used to having the ball and thinking first of how to beat the opposition rather than stop them.
