Jornada 34: Getafe v Atlético de Madrid

The Other Madrid Derbi.

#4 Atleti 54

…

#13 Getafe 41

STARTING 11: Leo Franco; Antonio López, Pablo, Perea, Pernía; Camacho, Raúl García, Maxi, Luis García; Forlán and Agüero.

SUBS: Abbiati, Zé Castro, Seitaridis, Cléber, Jurado, Miguel, Mista.

This lineup frightens me a little bit, I won’t lie. Will they do enough to get the job done? I would’ve preferred to see Miguel in the starting 11 than Luis, but that’s just me.

Anyway, Zé Castro, Mista, & Jurado return to the bench.

And Motta, Simao, & Reyes are unselected due to injury.

Getafe’s squad list: Pato, Ustari, Contra, Cata Díaz, Belenguer, Licht, David Cortés, Tena, Mario Cotelo, Gavilán, De la Red, Sousa, Casquero, Pablo Hernández, Granero, Manu, Albín & Kepa.

Getafe’s Recent five results:
3-1 away loss against Levante.
0-0 home draw against Zaragoza.
0-0 away draw against Barcelona.
0-2 home loss against Osasuna.
1-0 away loss against Athletic.

Dreadful run of form at the moment, which surprises me a bit because they were doing so well until they were dumped out of the UEFA Cup and Copa del Rey.

PREVIOUS GETAFE V ATLETI FIXTURE RESULTS
06/07 season: 1-4 win for us.
05/06 season: 0-3 win for us.
04/05 season: 1-1 draw.
03/04 season: Getafe were in the 2nd division.
02/03 season: Getafe were in the 2nd division.

Not a bad record at their stadium, but this is a tricky fixture considering how desperate they are to pick up 3 points. That said, we seriously cannot afford to lose or draw– only a few points separate us from Racing and Sevilla. A loss would drop us to #5.

Let’s just win! I don’t care how we do it…let’s just leave there with 3 points.

Meanwhile, Maxi is still with a move out of the club (Juventus & Liverpool monitoring his situation), but President Cerezo has said he is staying put…

Lucho Gonzalez is rumoured to be one of our summer targets as is Hilario Navarro, goalkeeper of Racing Club…

Anything missing? Share!

Pause for Hodgepodge

For one very <brief> moment, let’s get our minds away from the string of poor results…

The UEFA commitee have confirmed that Raúl García will serve a suspension for our next UEFA game against Bolton Wanderers. I guess this can be viewed as a sort of a mixed blessing, in a way. On one hand, the Spaniard is such an important, almost irreplaceable player for us; on the other hand, he has played many minutes this season, at one point almost non-stop. The suspension would allow Miguel to receive more playing time in this game, which is a good thing.

MOVING ON…There’s an article on AS that talks about how poorly we’ve played since Maniche’s departure to Inter Milan.

In 13 games, Aguirre has tested six different midfield pairings:
R. García-Cléber (5 times)
R. García-Motta (3)
Maxi-Cléber (1)
Motta-Cléber (2)
Jurado-Cléber (1)
R. García-Jurado (1)

We have yet to see a Motta-Miguel midfield.

MOVING ON….Some international duty coming up for a few players (Pablo, Raúl García, Forlán, Perea– I think that’s it).

And, in closing, Fernando at Sentimiento Atletico asked his blog readers today:

“Win the UEFA Cup or secure a Champions spot in Liga? If given the choice, which do you prefer?”

Four reasons for the UEFA Cup: 1) 12 years since our last silverware triumph; 2) Atleti have never won the UEFA Cup; 3)Secure a spot in next season’s competition; and 4)Pride and Happiness for Atleti’s long-suffering supporters.

Thoughts?

Pitarch’s Press Talk

 

Our rubbish sporting director spoke to the press…Here are a few statements he made:

On Aguirre’s Future:
“The continuity of Javier is guaranteed until his contract with the team ends and it will probably be extended by a year…If he qualifies the team for Europe, he will have a year added to the contract.”

In terms of their working relationship:
“Our relationship is good both professionally and personally. Javier Aguirre is the best coach for Atlético.”

He claims the media has created an “artificial crisis”…

On the winter transfer window:

He also claims that Aguirre is not disappointed with the players he has signed for the team. This, I call bullshit.

“Tiago could today have been player of Atlético Madrid, but it was only possible if we equalled the money teams like Tottenham were offering for a permanent transfer. We did not want that, we wanted a loan arrangement.”

This I believe– Spurs wanted to buy Tiago from Juve, which appealed to them more than our loan proposal.

On Summer signings:
He said the club are interested in Johnny Heitinga and Tomáš Ujfaluši, although he did not confirm that ‘talks’ have officially begun.

“They are two players that Aguirre knows… we like them but that does not mean that we have contracts with them or that talks will be forthcoming.”

I like Heitinga. 24 year old Ajax centre-back & right-back and Dutch international. From what I’ve seen, he’s a very solid player.

Tomáš Ujfaluši. I don’t know much about him, except that he has been linked with many clubs. 29 year old Fiorentina & Czech defender (centre-back & right-back).

In terms of Maniche:
He assured the press that there is no problem with Aguirre on Maniche’s departure (bullshit?). With the return of Motta & Miguel from long-term injuries, he said the club decided there was no need to sign a new player.

On Eller, Diego Costa & Cleber:
“You can criticise the signing of Eller, Diego Costa, or Cleber, but I feel totally happy about them…”

When asked about the progression of the team:
“I will not say anything, that’s the job of the manager…”

Well, that’s that.

07/08 COLCHONERO OBJECTIVES

• Win the Copa del Rey.

The one competition we had a genuine shot at winning and we crashed out of it against Valencia. VALENCIA! FULL-CRISIS MODE VALENCIA.

How did it happen? Well, after going up 2-0, Cléber gifts them their first goal. You remember Cléber, right? The €6 million Brasilian who was signed by Pitarch & Gil Marín. Two men who love wasting good money on mediocre players.

As a fellow blogger (Sergio) puts it, “This team is a disaster; no one knows how to play football. Maxi has been horrible, Luís García can already start looking for a new team, Reyes [is a joke], and above all, Agüero and Forlán must be asking themselves, “Why are we here?”

A bit over-the-top, but I couldn’t agree more.  At 2-0 up, it was OUR game to win. Instead, our rubbish players destroyed what little chance we had left.

If it’s not Cléber, it’s Pablo. If it’s not Reyes, it’s Eller. And so on and so forth.

Seriously, how the hell are we going to get through this season with such a rubbish defence and no playmaker?

Luck? We don’t have that either.

I don’t know what else to say. I’m angry, disappointed, and frustrated.

Positives? Agüero, Forlán, and Raul played well. Of particular note, Miguel also played rather well with the few minutes Aguirre gave him. Will the Mexican give him more playing time? Who knows? I honestly have no faith in the man.

So, anyway…what else is left on our list for this season?

• Win Liga.

Impossible at this point. 16 points separates us from the #1 spot, mostly due to dropping points as a result of poor finishing or poor defending (eg Murcia, Villarreal, Almeria, Mallorca, Espanyol, Recreativo).

• Win the UEFA Cup. 

The only Cup competition we have left, and, truth be told, a tough one to crack when compared to the Copa. Nevertheless, I hope that we continue to progress in this one. Next up: struggling Bolton away…

• Secure a Champions League spot.

Still a possibility, but then again, who the hell knows with the way we’ve been playing? I’m still hopeful of at least a #4 finish…it’s be a miracle. (It’s the only way we can assure ourselves of not losing any top players during the summer.)

Our next five (Liga) games:

-home to Real Murcia (#17)
-away to Racing (#6)
-home to Athletic Bilbao (#16)
-away to Osasuna (#23)
-home to Barcelona (#2)

The next four, in particular, are absolute must-wins. Barcelona will be the toughest test– anything we can take out of this game would be a plus.

…Next up? Home to Murcia (LIGA).

It’ll be good to have Raul & Motta in the midfield. Both should be in tip-top  shape. 

Again. And again. And again.

Motta will be unavailable. Again. This time for approximately 10 days. Ughhh! I can count on one hand how many times he has played for the club this season.

If he doesn’t make a dramatic recovery (which is likely…), he should just retire from playing football. Don’t get me wrong, when he’s fit, he’s absolute quality. The problem is that he is more injured than fit.

Of course, my hope is that he’ll be back to good form by 2-January, when Liga returns from the holiday break.

ANYWAY…

On a much brighter note, here are a few excerpts from Miguel after the win against Granada 74:

“It felt really good; I felt comfortable and happy. I stepped back onto the field and the team won in a very difficult stadium. Now my goal is to get back into shape as soon as possible. I didn’t feel any pain or problems.”

“I had the confidence of the manager and my teammates. The coach told me to be relaxed and to play football as I know how…Now I want to make things difficult for the manager. I train as hard as I can to try and earn more minutes, no players have their position guaranteed and I believe that we all have the same chances of playing.”

In many ways, gaining Miguel back from injury, is like having a completely new player on the squad. Technically speaking, there is no need to venture into the transfer market for another midfielder.

RUMOUR-MILL
Racing Santander are apparently keen on enlisting Valera in the January transfer window, according to MARCA…

More tomorrow.

Copa: Granada 1 Atlético de Madrid 2

It wasn’t the greatest game (in that we did not establish a comfortable lead), BUT we won and had an opportunity to allow Miguel & the canteranos some playing time.

Here’s the main info: 

Falcón; Valera, Pablo, Zé Castro, Antonio López; Raúl García (Álex Quillo 85′), Cléber, Luis García, Simão (Ignacio Camacho 57′); Mista and Forlán (Miguel 45′).

UNUSED SUBS: Abbiati; Perea.

GOALS
0-1 Forlán, assist by Raul (45′)- great goal!
0-2 Mista, assist by Simão (46′)
1-2 Luque (min 58)

The good news? Good display by Miguel, especially considering how long he’s been out injured! I love the fact that Aguirre subbed him in at half-time. For me, it means that he’s testing Miguel’s ability & building his match-fitness…perhaps to see if he can eventually replace rubbish Cleber in future games?

Both Álex & Camacho gave promising performances– maybe we’ll dip into the B team often this season.

Anyway, I’m happy that we won.

By the way, this is Atleti’s 5th consecutive win, in all competitions. Not bad, hm?

[Early Reminder: The 2nd leg is  on 2-January at El Vicente Calderón.]

Copa: Granada 74 v Atlético de Madrid

So, it begins…the third competition on our ‘must-win’ agenda.

First things first:

STARTING 11: Falcón; Valera, Pablo, Zé Castro, Antonio López; Raúl García, Cléber, Luis García, Simão; Mista and Forlán.

SUBS: Abbiati, Miguel, Perea, Álex Quillo, Ignacio Camacho.

Agüero, Maxi, Maniche, Eller & Pernía are being rested.

Motta has been excluded in order to prevent another major injury setback…this is getting annoying, eh? Such a great player riddled with injuries!

SQUAD NOTES
*This will be Falcón‘s first game for the team. On the subject of goalkeepers, Leo Franco‘s operation (in Finland) was successful, so he is now on the road to recovery.

*Mista plays his first game since recovering from his own long-term injury.

*Miguel!!! Such a fantastic prospect before his horrific injury a little over a year ago. Well, the good news is that he is back in the squad. If we find ourselves in a comfortable position, I hope that he is given some playing time. Here’s hoping he returns to good form again.

*Álex Quillo & Ignacio Camacho: two important B team players have a spot reserved on the bench. I’d also like to see one of them get a little playing if things go smoothly.

(NB: We play the 2nd leg at home on 2-January.)

BOTTOM-LINE: This is a game we should win. No ifs, ands, or buts. This is a Segunda division team in 6th place.

Here are their recent 7 results:
Racing Ferrol 1 Granada 3
Granada 1 Sporting 0
Numancia 0 Granada 2
Granada 1 Albacete 0
Xerez 2 Granada 1
Granada 0 Elche 0
Las Palmas 0 Granada 1

They’ve been on a fairly good run since October & have conceded few goals at home.

That should change tomorrow.

VAMOS ATLETI

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!

More Midweek Hodgepodge

Investing in the the future; the next Drogba…?
The club have reached a pre-agreement to sign 18 year old Ghana striker Sadick Adams in January. Brilliant signing for the future, no? He had an excellent U-17 campaign with Ghana.

“I wanted to play in Europe and to be here at Atlético de Madrid is a dream…I liked Atlético because of Fernando Torres and I still continue to follow his career at Liverpool.”

Adams will be incorporated into the B team, so his dream of training & playing with Kun and Forlan will have to wait a bit.

Welcome aboard!

———-

Miguel de la Cuevas back in action soon?
In a recent press talk he said that he is 100% recovered from his horrific injury a little over a year ago. He’s ready to start playing again and is happy that we are involved in three competitions this season (Liga, UEFA, Copa), which will give him playing opportunities ”My objective is to stay with Atleti, I’m not thinking about leaving.”

———- 

UNRELATED: On the official website, Simao said: “Liga is difficult; the UEFA Cup or Copa del Rey are more achievable

———- 

Injury News
*Seitaridis will undergo surgery (achilles) in Finland this Monday. He’ll be out of action for the next 4-6 weeks. The injury certainly explains why he had an awful game against Almeria. Now is the time for Valera to step up & take over that position until he’s back.

*Raul Garcia trained a bit today, a week after having nasal surgery.

The training session also included Falcón, Eller, Antonio López, Zé Castro, Valera, Motta, Mista, Cléber, Miguel, and Luis García– in addition to De Gea, Rubiato, Didí and Javi Ruiz of the B team.

Leo Franco, Abbiati, and Reyes all received permission to be excluded from the session.

———

RUMOUR MILL OVERLOAD!
MARCA claim that we have already reached an agreement with Ajax with Heitinga. Apparently he will sign a 4-year contract at the end of this season.

Although this is not set in stone, Heitanga’s agent says the Dutchman is flattered by the interest & is attracted to the prospect of playing in Liga. His agent has ties in Spain as he is Wesley Sneijder’s agent, too.

In other news, it’s safe to say that we can scratch Lugano off the list of possible defenders that we are interested in. In a Tuttosport interview, made it clear he wants to join Juventus above all other clubs.

29-October Club News/Update

Seitaridis seems to have recovered from the knock he received while playing for the Greece NT: He participated in all training session activities today.

Miguel participated as well, but only in the activities that the physio marked down.

Mista & Motta were the only ones who didn’t participate at all. A bit confusing, no? Last one, Motta was involved, but in this one he was left out. I suppose he still has at least a couple weeks left before he’ll play again. Jeez.

Speaking of Mista, MARCA suggests that he might be on his way out of the club in January, with Real Murcia (located in his hometown) as a possible destination.

REMINDER: Jornada 10 (home to Sevilla) is a weekday fixture on Wednesday.

{UPDATE} Atleti v Sevilla will be available on GolTV for US viewers.