Team Focus: Atlético Neither Stronger nor Weaker Following Recent Summer Activity
The pillaging of Southampton highlights the dangers of a team performing above the standards expected of them. Mauricio Pochettino, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren and Calum Chambers have all left the club, while Morgan Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez are tipped to follow suit.
Saints have money in the bank to re-invest, but with so many core players leaving, it remains to be seen how the team will fare under Ronald Koeman next season. There was a worry that something similar was going to happen at Atlético Madrid. Los Rojiblancos performed above and beyond all hopes in La Liga last season, becoming the first team to break the Real Madrid-Barcelona duopoly since Valencia’s title win in 2004.
Top goalscorer Diego Costa was the player most likely to leave on the back of a successful campaign. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (31) and Lionel Messi (28) netted more in Spain's top tier last term than the Brazilian-born Spain international (27), and his sale is real a blow to Diego Simeone’s side. His and Filipe Luis’ moves to Chelsea, coupled with Thibaut Courtois’s return to the Blues and David Villa’s transfer to New York City FC mean Atlético would certainly have struggled without investing the money recouped.
However, Simeone has spent wisely so far this summer. Costa’s departure to Chelsea was perhaps the worst kept secret in football, so the Argentine had ample time to convince a replacement to switch to the Spanish capital. Despite reported interest from Premier League sides, Mario Mandzukic was signed following Bayern’s acquisition of Robert Lewandowski, while Jan Oblak and Guillherme Siqueira were brought in as replacements for Courtois and Filipe.
Pending a medical, Antoine Griezmann will join them, while reports suggest Cristian Ansaldi is expected to sign from Zenit this week. As far as replacing the outgoing attacking players, Atlético have done a fine job. For Mandzukic, replacing a striker of Costa's ilk is no easy feat. The 25-year-old netted 35.1% of Atlético’s league goals last season, scoring the most clear-cut chances (20) in Europe’s top 5 leagues in the 2013/14 campaign.
His ability to get into dangerous goalscoring positions is what convinced Chelsea to part with £32m in order to bring him to Stamford Bridge. Costa scored the most goals from inside the box (26) in Europe last term, so his predatory instincts will have appealed to manager José Mourinho, whose striking trio in the Premier League last season - Demba Ba, Samuel Eto’o and Fernando Torres - bagged just 19 league goals between them.
Furthermore, Costa’s work rate, ability to run the channels in order to draw defenders out of position and muscle the opposition off the ball are further traits that Simeone needed to replace, but it’s reasonable to suggest he has done just that with Mandzukic. The Croat did not exhibit a similar never-say-die approach for Bayern last season, but the fact is he did not need to as a result of Bayern’s dominance of the Bundesliga. Costa is effectively the striking equivalent of a pitbull, a player who will chase the ball into the channels regardless of whether he can overcome the opposition defender, and with Atlético averaging less possession (48.9%) than Bayern (71.2%), this work off the ball was essential.
The tenacity that Costa brought to Atlético, particularly last season, will be hard to replace, but that does not mean Mandzukic will shy away from the hard work, having made the same number of tackles (0.6) and interceptions (0.2) per game as the Spain international, while Costa averaged marginally more fouls (1.8) than his Croatian counterpart (1.6). Mandzukic will have to adapt his approach and maybe even work on his fitness to modify his style of play to suit a team that will be in possession for less time than Bayern. Simeone demands his players defend from the front, so Mandzukic will have to work harder for his new team, but he is certainly capable of doing so. The signing of the 28-year-old early in July, though, means he has a full pre-season with his new team and time to adjust to the rigours that come with playing under Simeone.
With all 18 of his league goals coming inside the penalty area, a figure bettered by no player in the Bundesliga last season, Mandzukic has the goalscoring pedigree to replicate Costa's exploits. The two players had similar conversion rates (Costa’s 25% to Mandzukic’s 23.7%) and a comparable clear-cut chance conversion rate (45.5% and 45.8%), so as far as replacing the Spaniard’s goals, Simeone has done well to bring in the Croatia international.
However, the focus at present will be on the signing of Griezmann. Villa’s advancing years meant his exit came as little shock to supporters, though the 32-year-old still needed replacing. He didn’t show his Valencia or early Barcelona form in his solitary season in Spain’s capital, but 13 goals and 4 assists is a return not to be scoffed at. Nevertheless, a younger equivalent has been signed, with both Griezmann and Villa preferring to start on the left of attack before cutting inside and driving for goal.
The Frenchman may not have lit up Brazil 2014 as some had expected, but his acquisition has rightly excited Atlético fans. Only Ronaldo (216) and Messi (160) had more shots than Griezmann (111) in La Liga last season, so it’s fair to say the Frenchman is confident in his shooting ability. With 16 league goals to his name last term, it’s very much a case of ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ for the 23-year-old, who will aim to replicate his Real Sociedad form for the La Liga champions.
Perhaps his one main weakness, though, is his inconsistency. Griezmann enjoyed a purple patch between October and January, netting 11 of his 16 league goals in 10 matches. However, after scoring in the 2-0 win over rivals Athletic Bilbao at the beginning of 2014, the attacker bagged just 4 goals in his final 19 league appearances for Real, and the drop in the level of his performances gives cause for concern.
This dip in form will not have gone unnoticed by Simeone, who relies on his players pulling their weight together in order for his all-action gameplan to function properly. Nevertheless, this is one weakness that Simeone and assistant manager Gérman Burgos can work on, especially with Atlético needing to pull together more so than ever as a result of the summer signings made by Madrid and Barcelona.
Replacing Courtois and Filipe is another task that is easier said than done and while Oblak and Siqueira are good signings, they are not of the same standard as the aforementioned duo. Only Vincent Enyeama and Morgan De Sanctis (both 21) kept more clean sheets than Courtois (20) in Europe’s top 5 leagues last season, while only 2 players made more tackles per game in La Liga than Filipe (4.1).
Oblak may have conceded only 3 goals in 390 minutes of Europa League action for Benfica last term, while Siqueira’s WhoScored rating for the Portuguese side (7.07) is solid, but it’s fair to say neither are in the same league as Courtois and Filipe. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, with Simeone turning the former Atlético pairing into household names and he has a chance to do so once more with the recent signings. Factor in the imminent arrival of Ansaldi and Simeone has a vast array of defensive options available to him.
With Tiago, Koke and Juanfran all signing contract extentions at the club, things aren't as desperate for Atlético as they are at Saints. The signings of Mandzukic and Griezmann in particular are a real statement of intent by the club, while Simeone has acted accordingly in bringing in defensive reinforcements. With Madrid and Barcelona attempting to outspend one another however, as is customary each summer, Atlético will find it a lot harder to defend their La Liga crown, regardless of the signings made.
How do you think Atlético Madrid will perform next season on the back of their recent transfer dealings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
Where is Villa going?
@ozzzzy David Villa has signed for New York City Football Club as of rite now he is on loan at A-League Club Melbourne City.
How AM have traded in the market is one thing but equally important is how the other BIG 2 have performed are season. Real have an extraordinary squad now and I expect them to win the title this season Barca? We'll see. For the record I'm a Bilbao fan
@ianmac667 pleasure to know there is bilabao fan among us kudos to u sir.
Courtois and filipe are hard to replace
@Mattia I would really disagree on courtois being hard to repalce but i do agree wid on filipe but i do believe that Insua would step and quite some he is reknowned for being promising young but now at age of 25 he now better equipped as ever to become world class. Again Im must felipe is very hard to replace but im still crossing my finger on Insua.
On Jan Oblak atlectico were ripped off. 12.6 million pound? They could get ron-robert ziler for 8 million euros(release clause) a proven and excellent gk at top level. Whereas Oblak had 16 experience at top level. Then there is baumann for 7 million euros and u get one best gk in bundesliga for 8 million euros- he has vicious throw with distribution and great hands a complete package really.
@Ffaris Do you mean the Baumann that made 3 insane errors in same match? Also the other two are notably older. Not that their goalkeeping prime is over already, but still, the two you mentioned haven't proven themselves significantly more than Oblak. At least in my eyes.
@Exti @Exti 3 insane error yeah that happens even neuer was notorious for committing mistake in Bayern during his 1st season there. Still besides error every keen follower of bundesliga know he is great gk and is proven and oblak is doing for 16 games paying 12.6 million pounds-highest amount paid for gk in La Liga history and yes oblak is unproven and atlectico were ripped off for unproven gk but though he has serious potental. Besides that i also forgot to mention mentioned kevin trapp at 8 million euros who is the better than ron-robert ziler and (possibly though i could be wrong) than marc andre ter stegen. Who can forget kevin eternal rival tobias sippel then u can also get much maligned tim wiese. An expierinced option. Wait even though he had not best of times at hoffenheim but Tim is still class act. He can come back easily. History is filled with such examples like Jorg Han Butt (no.2 neverkusen and no 1 in Bayern), Michael rensing, rene adler and timo hildebrand.
It would've been hard for Simeone's side to replicate last season even if the team had not changed at all. Mandzukic was a very clever signing, for a reasonable (by football norms) price. With good supply from out wide, he should be able to net enough goals at least for Atletico not to fall halfway down the ladder. I imagine his presence will mean that Griezmann (and Koke) will increase their assist-tally. They have the talent up front to do as well as last season. Their biggest worry is probably how solid the defense will look after the departures of Filipe and Courtois. The latter one especially is not easy - perhaps even impossible - to replace. I think it remains to be seen just how much of a difference there is with Oblak. His achievements at Benfica could be such as to deceive about his actual ability. There is one notable absentee from this article though, with Angel Correa signing from San Lorenzo.
@JDG Correa had an heart surgery and maybe he won't even return on a football pitch
@JDG Im more worried abt Felipe Luis than courtois. Courtois is good gk and potential to among world best but he is not hard to replace infact if atlectico played their cards right they would got equally even better gk for lower price than jan oblak 16 million euros. Filipe is hard to replace though.
Good article. It'll be interesting to see who will step up to replace Filipe and Courtois, and how well. They've done a great job in Transfer market though. I don't think Atleti is any weaker in attack, if not stronger.