Jornada 18: Deportivo de La Coruña 0 Atlético de Madrid 3

After 18 long years, Los Colchoneros finally collect 3 points at Estadio Riazor– against a very poor, clueless Deportivo.

BRIEFLY: Our overall game was average, but the goals were of the highest quality.

Abbiati; Perea, Pablo, Eller, Antonio López; Raúl García, Jurado (73′ Luis García), Maxi, Simão (75′ Reyes); Kun Agüero (67′ Cléber) and Forlán.

GOALS
39′ Forlán (great pass from the left flank by Antonio)
52′ Agüero (counter-attack goal; cool, world-class finishing by Kun)
64′ Jurado (powerful header!)

A Few Thoughts
*Great game for Antonio, in both defence & when moving forward. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be given more playing time. Pernía is passed it.

*Surprisingly good game for Perea, who continues as right-back with Seitaridis unavailable. Very efficient and focused.

*Raúl García- always a consistently good player. He cleared a ball from the line before Kun scored our 2nd goal. That was certainly the turning point of the game.

*Jurado was average, I thought. Apart from his fantastic goal, his performance was adequate at best. Jurado & Cleber aren’t our answer to the central midfield, but they’ll have to do until Motta is fully recovered.

*Good, untroubled game for Abbiati despite one minor slip.

SUBSTITIONS, EH?
Why does Aguirre insist on replacing Simão with Reyes all of the time? Simão was playing well, for the most part. There was no need to take him out at all. Maxi, on the other hand, was practically non-existent for most of the game. It would’ve have been much better to remove ineffective Maxi & replace him with Luis García. Luis is deserving of much more playing time than Reyes, as far as I’m concerned.

*Cléber could have replaced Raúl instead, I thought.

*Fernando at SENTIMIENTO ATLETICO thinks that Miguel should have been included in the squad list & had a few minutes of playing time instead of Reyes. This is another good substitution option that Aguirre didn’t consider.

*The decision to sub out Kun was OK. Like I said in the previous entry, the TV commentator suggested that Kun seemed annoyed at the substitution. Not sure about that.

Anyway, there wasn’t much to the game. Depor were just awful and didn’t look like they would ever get anything out of this clash.

So, we’re back into a Champions spot, I’m happy…and that’s what matters.

Next up: at home to Valencia!

Have you guys seen them play lately? Just awful. They drew against Levante (0-0) today…the Valencia crisis continues. Now’s the time to add further salt to their wounds.

Jornada 15: Atlético de Madrid v Getafe

The other Madrileño derby!

For those of us in the USA, it will be live on GolTV.

STARTING 11: Abbiati, Eller, Perea, Pernía, Maniche, Raúl García, Simao, Maxi, Agüero & Forlán.

Will Aguirre choose Antonio López or Valera as right-back? We’ll have to wait & see. At this very moment, he’s unsure. Personally, I’d go with Antonio as he is match-fit.

SUBS: Falcón, Cléber, Zé Castro, Reyes, Mista.

A Few, quick observations:
*It’s great to see Simao chosen instead of Reyes.

*Perea will be playing his first game since returning from returns from injury.

*Omissions: Motta and Miguel. Both are recovered, particularly Motta, but Aguirre has chosen to omit them from the squad list, to avoid further injury setbacks & to most likely use them in Atleti’s upcoming Copa game against Granada.

CURRENT LEAGUE STANDING:
#4 Atlético 27

#10 Getafe 18

Previous ATM v Getafe results:
06/07: 1-0
05/06: 0-1
04/05: 2-2

GETAFE’S RECENT FORM:
AaB v Getafe 1-2 (UEFA)

Getafe v Levante 2-1 (LIGA)

Getafe v Hapoel Tel Aviv 1-2 (UEFA)

Real Zaragoza v Getafe 1-1 (LIGA)

Getafe v Barcelona 2-0 (LIGA)

Getafe had a rough start to the season, but have picked up form since their victory in London against Spurs. Fairly good squad, but I’m confident of a win. VAMOS ATLETI!

UEFA: FC Copenhagen 0 Atlético de Madrid 2

Atleti reach the final 32 of the UEFA CUP.

Abbiati; Antonio López; Pablo; Eller, Pernia; Simão (Maxi 67′); Motta; Cleber (Maniche 73′); Luis; Agüero; Forlán (Raúl García 72′).

UNUSED SUBS: Falcón; Reyes; Mista; Perea

The good news is that Perea, recovered from his injury, but still not quite ready to start, was able to sit this one out. I suspect he’ll be in the starting 11 against Granada for the Copa del Rey. Come to think of it, I suspect Mista will also start in that away leg to Granada.

GOALS
21′ Simão (assist by Agüero) CLICK HERE TO SEE IT.
62′ Agüero (assist by Motta) CLICK HERE TO SEE IT.

Both goals are brilliant. Simão is pure class– it continues to boggle my mind that cocky, immature Reyes has been chosen over him for Liga games recently. Here’s hoping that Simão returns to the starting 11 on a regular basis. He’s too good a player to be benched.

Other Points
I was able to watch the entire first half before I had to step out.

I have to say that despite the obvious shortcomings of certain players, overall, the defence has been looking fairly good. Yes, I never thought I’d say this, but they have improved quite a bit & should be commended for it. That said, here’s hoping that they continue on improving.

Motta has been effective since his return from injury; he controls & commands the midfield so well– in addition to creating opportunities for our strikers when given an opportunity. If he remains fit, he will be an immense part of our campaign. For all of you who have watched him in action recently, you know what I mean.

Simão on Motta’s presence on the pitch (after the game):
“All of the players are very important. In the case of Motta, he’s a player that gives us a lot of tranquility ['peace of mind'] because he knows how to play the ball well.”

Yesterday, I was a bit apprehensive when I read that the Brasilian wasn’t able to finish the training session due to an aggravation in his knee. I was glad to see that he was fit enough to play a full 90.

Luis Garcia. Another player that I rate higher than Reyes. Luis had a very active 1st half– making a nuisance of himself, attacking, creating space. I thought, however, that he was a bit irregular (eg poor corners in the 1st half) and lacked that extra bit of polish. Lack of playing time can be attributed to that.

Forlán: always the silent work-horse. He can have moments where he disappears from sight– but I’m not bothered by that since he always reappears at opportune moments. If he’s not taking his own chances, he is creating chances for fellow players.

(If anything stuck out at you during the 2nd half, feel free to leave a comment.)

Aguirre after the game:
More than anything, I liked the three points. It is always difficult when they cram themselves inside the area, but it always seemed that we were comfortable. Despite the poor condition of the field, we never stopped playing our game.

So, after all is said and done, here’s how it all shapes up after this round:

Group B
Panathinaikos 9 (qualified)
Atlético 7 (qualified)
København 3
Lokomotiv Moskva 2 (disqualified)
Aberdeen 1

The good news is that we qualify to the next round of action. The bad news is that we have one more game to win in order to top that table. That’ll be at home to Panathinaikos. It’s a must-win game that’ll move us to the top of the table. Why is that important? It’ll mean playing a 3rd placed UEFA team instead of a Champions League reject. I’m confident that we’ll secure the points against the Greeks.

One More Hodgepodge

Thankfully, Liga returns this weekend!! :)

International Break…almost over!
Pablo & Pernia played 90 minutes for Spain (against Northern Ireland), sealing top spot in their EURO group.

Maniche played 90 minutes for Portugal while Simao remained benched– Portugal qualify for EURO, too.

On Tuesday, Maxi played about 15 minutes for Argentina while Kun didnt play at all. Unfortunately, Argentina’s winning streak came to end as they lost to Colombia. I won’t elaborate on the loss, except, well, these things happen. Upwards & onwards, Albicelestes!

 In terms of Atleti, Kun and Maxi won’t be physically exhausted since they didn’t play much. I suspect they will be given some time to rest when they return to Spain (due to the time difference).

———-

Injury News
AS suggests that Forlán & Jurado are nearing the end of their injury spells. They may or may not be fit for Sunday’s game, though.

Seitaridis out….Valera in…
With Seitaridis recuperating from surgery (not to mention Perea also nursing an injury), it looks like Valera will be included in this Sunday’s starting 11 against Valladolid.

“I’ve really been looking forward to this moment, even though it’s due to a teammate’s injury. We hope that everything goes well, that we win and that we continue with our good streak”

“I feel really good. My knee is responding perfectly to all the work. I’m lacking rhythm, but I hope to get there little-by-little.”

It’s good to read that last bit– that he’s realistic in that he lacks ‘rhythm’ with the team. Let’s hope for a smooth return to football for Valera.

———-

RUMOUR-MILL AGAIN (& NEWS)
Just a few things that caught my eye these past few days.

The club are keen on renewing Maxi‘s contract (& clause) with his agency IMG since clubs (namely Inter) might be interested in his services. It’s said that he has been a mentor & good friend to Kun since the little Argentine’s arrival to Spain last season. The club are also keen on increasing Kun’s clause as well. I think this is more fact than rumour. 

I hope everyone has enjoyed in some way, shape, or form, their international holiday break!

International Break Lull

It happens when you have a blog focused on a club! This international break coincides with Thanksgiving break (‘turkey day’) in the USA. Many folks, including myself, have 4 days off next week. Nice, hm?!

Anyway, I’m a supporter of Los Albicelestes, so I’ve been occupying my time watching and reading about their progress in the World Cup Qualifiers. I’m pleased that they won Bolivia at home today. The good news is that our star striker, KUN, was included in the starting 11 AND scored the opening goal. Kun played 75 minutes with Maxi coming in as his sub.

Other International News
Simão played 77 minutes for Portugal while Maniche played a full 90.

Injury List Grows (in addition to Forlán and Seitaridis)
Perea injured his ankle while training with Colombia NT. Jurado injured his knee while playing for U-21 Spain NT. To top it off, Abbiati left Friday’s training session with a minor injury.

Good News
Raul should be available for our next game, home to Valladolid (25-Nov).

———-

ANOTHER TRANSFER RUMOUR
We’re linked with Mikel Arteta (again) after the Everton playmaker said: “Someday, I’ll finish up with Atletico [...] It’s a club that I always liked, and I’d love to play there.”

The 25 year old is one of my favourite players in England: very creative & a midfield specialist in his own right. He won’t join us in January, but there is a slight possibility we might lure him back to Spain at the end of the season, providing we qualify for Champions.

Is it 100% possible? I’m not sure. He’s one of Everton’s top players. They won’t let him go easily.

{UPDATE: 18-Nov} I read just now that we are linked with Ever Banega. Talented Argentine player. He had an excellent U-20 World Cup campaign this summer. He’s still very young, 19 years old.

One thing at a time. I say let’s primarily work on the DEFENCE in January. That’s causing us the most trouble.

 ———-

Around the Blog World…
JOSÉ I. FERNÁNDEZ at Un Grande sin Memoria has written an interesting entry on the Copa del Rey. He makes the point that a ‘big club’ hasn’t won the Copa in 10 years. Why? They don’t take it seriously, often utilising more reserve players for those particular games.

Atleti haven’t won it in 11 years. 11 YEARS! It would be a grand way to end the trophy drought, no? The key would be to play semi full strength squads for Copa games.

Meanwhile, Fernando at SENTIMIENTO ATLETICO writes a bit on three distinct players that have been linked to us this season:
(1) Riquelme (who has recently admitted to travelling to Madrid to finalise his signing before the start of the season, but was told the transfer would not go through. What does this demonstrate? That he did, in fact, have an interest in leaving Villarreal for Atleti.)
(2) Arteta (See above)
(3) Quaresma (now he’s rumoured to want to join Mandril).

In other news: Forza Atleti is a new blog I discovered. I found it at Sergio’s blog, LA GRADA. Sergio’s blog often focuses on club politics- very good.

Jornada 12: Almería 0 Atlético de Madrid 0

Leo Franco; Seitaridis (Eller, 46’), Perea, Pablo, Antonio López; Maniche, Cléber, Simão (Motta, 73’), Reyes (Luis García, 59’) Maxi; Kun Agüero

We had a glorious opportunity to return to a Champions League spot & failed miserably. Instead, we are #6 with only 1-2 points separating us from Racing Santander & Sevilla.

What else is there to say?

Seitaridis had a terrible first half, which included a sloppy tackle in the box. Fortunately, Leo Franco saved us from further misery. The Greek nearly made a mess of a short-range back pass to Leo Franco. His display was so poor that he was subbed out in the 45 minute.

Who replaced him you ask? Rubbish Eller. Another poor performance by the Brasilian– I was literally biting my fingernails every time he had the ball at his feet.

Perea, Pablo, & Antonio weren’t much better. Yes, we didn’t concede a single goal, but the truth is, we were fortunate that Almeria lacked finishing quality to make our visit even more miserable.

In terms of the midfield, I frequently found myself asking, throughout the game, “Where’s Maxi?” He appeared maybe a few times, but it was a very quiet performance for the Argentine. Simão had a rather quiet game as well. I wasn’t particularly impressed with Cleber– he continues to prove he’s a mediocre player (at best) with no real presence in the midfield. Luis had a surprisingly poor game, in terms of passing & overall impact. Reyes, who was fouled quite a bit, was involved in a couple good exchanges, but failed to capitalise on any of them.

In terms of Kun, without a true centre-forward like Forlan, he has a difficult time playing up front. There were a few times where he found himself in a good position, but had no one around him to pass the ball to. Again…”Where was Maxi (who was supposed to play as a support striker)?”

Not much to say about Motta since he came on in the 73 minute. He looked OK, for the most part, but still needs more time to return to good playing form. He hasn’t had much time to gel with the team since his arrival. I just hope he remains injury-free because we’re going to need him more than ever in our next game. 

Why you ask?

Perea & Seitaridis will be serving suspensions in our next game: home against on-the-up Valladolid. Surely this means Valera will receive a starting 11, to replace Seitaridis. In terms of centre-backs, Aguirre will probably pair up Ze Castro-Pablo. Raul might not be available, which means we might see Cleber or Motta in central midfield with Maniche. Forlan won’t be available. Perhaps Mista will return from injury, by then. Even so, he won’t be 100% match-fit.

Needless to say, I’m not looking forward to the next coming weeks.

These recent results don’t look good for Aguirre either. Will he be sacked? The jury is still out.

 

More Venting on the Defence

The day after Jornada 11 and I’m still a bit shell-shocked over the loss. In retrospect, the same result could have occurred to us against Sevilla. We were fortunate then to have the result go our way, considering we defended in the same suicidal manner.

Aguirre, Jurado, Pablo have all come out to express their opinions of the game and all of them basically echo the same thing: that we need to defend better. When asked about the defensive problems, Aguirre said, “We need to work on them. We go forward, which leaves us very open.” And, of course, he mentioned we lacked ‘balance’ and ‘organisation’ as we are now a very attack-minded team this season.

Meanwhile, midfielder Jurado said  that ‘defending is the job of everyone’, from the goalkeeper to the main striker. I don’t agree with this entirely. I believe the job, first and foremost, falls on the defenders (obviously!). When the defenders are confident and protecting the team in the back, our attacking players can move forward without worrying about rushing back to defend. As Aguirre mentioned, we need to achieve a balance.

At the same time, we simply do not have the quality in the back-line, so  changes ( at least two) MUST be made this January.

Let’s be honest: all of our defenders have had more bad days than good days.

Goalkeepers
Leo Franco (shaky, adds to our defensive worries; doesn’t instill any sense of confidence)
Abbiati (not good enough to play in Liga week in & week out)
Falcon (inexperienced keeper from the B team)

Centre-backs
Pablo
Perea
Ze Castro
Eller

All unreliable; I’d get rid of all of them. Realistically, that won’t (& can’t) happen. I still think we should offload at least two of them in January. Which you ask? Does it honestly matter? They’re all horrendous.

Right-backs
Seitaridis
Valera

I can’t put any fault on Valera– he hasn’t played at all (well, a little bit) since returning from injury. He still deserves an opportunity to prove his worth. Seitaridis– sometimes he’s fairly solid, other times I cringe when he’s in a one-on-one situation.

Left-backs
Pernia
Antonio Lopez

Dreadful. No further comments.

Shout-out: Armon (blog commentator) hit it on the head: our defence is sabotaging us. If we don’t secure a Champions League spot, we are at risk of losing our best players in the summer (Kun, in particular).

At the end of the day, we still have plenty of games up for grabs. It’s just frustrating because we SHOULD have won this game. Hell, I would’ve have been OK with a point. I would have been disappointed, but something is better than nothing.

OK, enough venting from me.

Monday Training Notes
Everyone except Raul (who fractured a bone in his nose) participated in today’s ‘relaxed’ training session. Of note, two of our Atleti B players participated with the top team: strikers Batres & Senel. Both Spaniards have been in good form with the B squad.

Motta & Mista worked with the physical therapist in the gym. Please, please, please, MOTTA come back from injury already! WE NEED YOU!

Jornada 11: Atlético de Madrid 3 Villarreal 4

I’m absolutely disgusted, stunned, and embarrassed by this loss. Our defence destroyed the hard work of our attack each and every time we took the lead. Who, specifically, was at fault? Leo Franco, Perea, Pablo, and Pernia. ESPECIALLY Leo Franco and Perea. Suicidal defending, lacking confidence & losing focus too often.

Day1star mentioned (in the below entry) that we need defensive midfielders– a very good point. I say the sooner we get Motta back from injury the better. At this point, we’re leaking far too many goals. We play several more games before January– all must-win fixtures– and we simply can’t afford to concede these sloppy goals.

Our priority in January should be to repair the defence. No more attacking players, for the love of God– we are perfectly OK in the goal-scoring department.

Not to go without blame: ATROCIOUS penalty miss by Maxi. I expect much better from our captain. Simply unacceptable. I dare say that was the turning point. We are now left to wonder what would have happened had he did score it.

GOALS
09′ Pablo (fantastic interplay between Simao-Pernia-Pablo)
24′ Simao (Brilliant strike, absolute golazo!)
30′ Rossi (due to Rossi outpacing Pablo & Perea)
41′ Fuentes (slopping play by Leo Franco, putting Raul in a difficult position)
61′ Agüero (great game for the little Argentine)
69′ Nihat (the fault of Perea)
89′ Nihat (no one was marking Nihat AT ALL)

ALL FOUR GOALS WERE DEFENSIVE ERRORS. We gifted them the 3 points. SUICIDAL DEFENDING.

Leo Franco; Seitaridis; Perea; Pablo; Pernía; Raúl García; Maniche; Reyes (76′ Luis Garcia); Simao (76′ Jurado); Maxi; Agüero

Why did Aguirre wait so long to make substitutions? Why did he remove Simao, who was having a brilliant game, instead of Maxi?

The Positives
It’s difficult to NOT end in a negative note because of the manner in which we lost. That said, great game for Simao & Kun. Easily our best players on the pitch. Simao terrorised the left side of the pitch during the 1st half and continued to impress in the 2nd half. He was absolutely lethal with free kicks & corners AND  he worked quite well with kun.

Next Up:  Home to newly-promoted Valladolid. MUST WIN.

AUPA ATLETI. BENDITA LOCURA.

Jornada 10: Atlético de Madrid 4 Sevilla 3

Atlético climb to 4th in the league table after scoring four brilliant goals!

Leo Franco; Seitaridis, Perea, Zé Castro, Pernía; Raúl García, Maniche, Maxi (Jurado, 88’), Luis García (Simão, 58’); Kun Agüero; Forlán (Reyes, 23’)

BAD NEWS
FORLAN was subbed out in the 23′ with an injury. More on that if it is severe.

GOALS
01′ Maniche (assist by Maxi)
14′ Fabiano (result of a free kick)
16′ Agüero (assist by Forlán)
44′Zé Castro (disastrous og)
69′ Maxi Rodríguez (assist by Agüero)
90′ Jurado (assist by Simão)
92′Fabiano (absolute loss of concentration)

ATLETI: 9 shots, 8 on goal.
SEVILLA: 11 shots, 3 on goal.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF GOALS

Words cannot describe how good I feel at this moment. Not only does the win put us in a Champions League spot (with two points separating us from Valencia), but we are only 5 points away from the top.

Of course, it wasn’t complete bliss: it was another tale of two Atléticos. On one hand, our attack fills me such hope, pride, & happiness. Indeed, we are in incredible goal-scoring form. We have speed, technical ability, and, more importantly, OPTIONS on the bench to reinforce our offence (although we do lack a fit 3rd striker). KUN & Forlán are undoubtedly the best strike force in Liga at the moment. Fantastic game for Maxi, in particular, too.

On the other hand, our defence is still incredibly unreliable, costing us goals. Zé Castro had a disastrous performance, for the most part: not only did he score an own goal, but he also lost possession in dangerous areas. He is not the only one at fault either– we conceded unnecessary free kicks, one of which led to Sevilla’s first goal. Pernía, Seitaridis, Leo Franco, and Perea– all incredibly shaky– you never know when they’re going to have a [relatively] good day or an absolute shocker. There is no sense of security. What’s the good of having the best attack in Liga when we’re leaking goals with suicidal defending?

This is the paradox of Atleti.

At the end of the day, I’m absolutely thrilled that we secured another crucial win.

Next up: home to VILLARREAL.

AUPA ATLETI! PARA SIEMPRE!

Jornada 8: Atlético de Madrid 4 Real Zaragoza 0

Atlético light up el Vicente Calderón with a goalfest!
[Great photo, no?] 

I followed the game via live text on El Mundo and Internet radio because it was unavailable on TV. Even though I didn’t watch it with my own eyes, it was a very exciting game to follow. We came back from international break with passion & hunger to return to our high goal-scoring winning form. On that note, that is one of the many differences from 06/07 to this season: this season, we have goal-scorers and contributors throughout the field.

Stand Out Performances (in no particular order): Luis, Raul, Forlan, Perea (I hope he didn’t pick up a severe injury), Pernia, Kun (unfortunate not to have scored), Maxi (excellent to hear him involved in attacks & scoring goals!)

TACTICS
Leo Franco; Perea (70′ Valera); Pablo; Antonio López; Zé Castro; Maniche (76′ Cleber); Raúl García; Maxi; Luis García; Agüero; Forlán (65′ Jurado)

GOLS
10′ Luis García (assist by Forlan)
33′ Forlán (assist by Maxi) goolazzoo
63′ Maxi (penalty)
90′Maxi (assist by Luis, but a tremendous effort by Cleber that led to the goal)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GOALS! (ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE!)

Brief 1st Half Notes
*Tremendous display by Luis. Based on it, there is absolutely no reason why he should be benched in future Liga games. He was far more effective & potent in attacks than Simao(who was benched after suffering a bit of an injury during international duty) and especially Reyes.

*There were quite a few impressive strings of attacks involving Forlán and Kun. Once we settled down, we looked comfortable & threatening in attack, hence the two goals scored in the 1st half; the 2nd one was an absolute golazo by Forlán.

*Leo Franco made two clear saves to keep us ahead before HT.

Brief 2nd Half Notes
*Good 2nd half appearances by Cleber & Valera (it was great to hear Valera back in action; confidence booster after such a long spell out; he even made a few runs forward)

*We enjoyed quite a few moments of brilliant attacks and should have been 0-5

*[Curiosity: many supporters were chanting Luis Aragonés name in the stadium (Atleti legend).]

OVERALL, Zaragoza didn’t play as poorly as the scoreline might suggest: they had their share of possession, created some strings of passes, & threatened at goal quite a few times. They simply could not make the most out of those opportunities. We, on the other hand, put away our chances– and quite well, too!

SOME POST-GAME INTERVIEWS
Cerezo…
Today is a day we should all be happy because we were against a great rival and what we saw was a great Atleti win and play beautiful football.

Aguirre…
The team is working very well and it shows that we have improved. What I really like is that the team have shown that the result at the Camp Nou was an accident. We’ve created a great form of play. At the same time,  we are realistic in the fact that we are in 6th place. In addition, there many tired players- it was noticeable. [We had commitment, however.] This makes me optimistic when thinking about the three competitions that we will be playing this season (Liga, Copa, and UEFA).

NEXT UP… away to Locomotiv Moscow on Thursday (UEFA) and away to woeful Levante on the weekend!

AUPA ATLETI SIEMPRE