December 2011, the Vicente Calderon side were
languishing in 11th place in La Liga and closer to
a relegation fight than challenging for silverware.
Fast-forward three-and-a-half years and Atletico
are a force to be reckoned with once more in
Spain. Simeone has guided his team to five
trophies during his reign so far, including the Liga
title in 2013-14, while also making it to the
Champions League final that season.
A major challenge awaits the capital club once
again, though.
The team that beat competition from Barcelona and
Real Madrid to win their first league title in 18
years has been largely disbanded. Thibaut
Courtois, Diego Costa and Filipe Luis all left for
Chelsea in the summer of 2014, Miranda has
joined Inter this summer, while Arda Turan has
made the move to Barcelona. Other notable
departures over the past 12 months include David
Villa, Mario Mandzukic, Diego Ribas and Adrian. In
short, the Atleti that nearly conquered Europe in
2013-14 are no more.
For Simeone, though, that mass exodus is no
reason to despair. Rather than mourn the exit of
his star performers, the fiery Argentine has taken
the opportunity to rebuild his squad – and he has
done so in remarkable fashion.
There's no denying that Courtois and Diego Costa
are great players who played a major role in
Atletico's successes, but they were not the
figureheads the club's fans identified with. Indeed,
men like Diego Godin, Juanfran, Gabi, Koke, Tiago,
Mario Suarez and Raul Garcia are the men in
charge in the dressing room. They remain the core
of Simeone’s system and the team - and he has
made a number of shrewd signings over the years
to add to his squad and make sure his side
remains competitive in the long term.
After a difficult start at Atleti last term, Slovenia
international Jan Oblak has developed into a
reliable option between the sticks and he still has
plenty of room for improvement.
Furthermore, Uruguayan youngster Jose Gimenez
– who was already brought in in 2013 – is one of
the best young defenders around in the game and
will form a solid partnership with his compatriot
Godin at the back, while right-back Javier
Manquillo has returned from his loan at Liverpool
to provide back-up for Juanfran.
In midfield, Simeone has plenty of options, with
usual suspects Tiago, Gabi and Suarez as well as
promising youngster Saul Niguez all more than
capable of providing cover in front of defence.
Further up the pitch, the gifted Koke is his side’s
main source of inspiration, with Raul Garcia and
Oliver Torres – who has returned from his loan
spell with Porto – adding plenty of creativity to the
Atletico roster, too.
"Oliver is a very important player for Atletico. He
has grown a lot as a player. He left to gain first-
team experience and will be vital for us in the new
season," captain Gabi commented on the gifted
youngster.
Indeed, the 20-year-old was one of Porto's
undisputed stars after the winter break and he has
all the characteristics to make the fans forget
about Arda Turan in a heartbeat. The Turkey
international might have created 32 chances in
2345 minutes during the 2014-15 campaign, but
that was nowhere near La Liga's best Lionel
Messi's number of 89. To put Arda's figure in
perspective, Torres created 36 chances for Porto
last season and needed only 1989 minutes to do
so.
The Rojiblancos’ frontline is completely
unrecognisable from the one of that successful
2013-14 campaign, but boasts plenty of quality
nonetheless. Antoine Griezmann showed last
season that he is one of the best attackers around
in Spain, while €35 million Jackson Martinez will
be replacing Mandzukic. Additionally, Argentine
wonderkid Luciano Vietto has been brought in from
Villarreal to add some much needed depth after a
sound season at Villarreal, Angel Correa is raring
to go after a health scare and Fernando Torres
cannot be written off just yet either.
Martinez might have come at a price, but the
Colombia international is a proven goalscorer,
much like his predecessors Mandzukic and Diego
Costa were. The 28-year-old netted 21 league
goals last term, after previously finding the net 20
times and on 26 occasions in 2013-14 and
2012-13, respectively.
The 21-year-old Vietto will quite possibly have to
settle for a substitute role early on in his career
due to the stiff competition for places, but his fine
performances for the Yellow Submarine last term
suggest the Argentine has a bright future ahead of
him.
"I think that Luciano demonstrated in the past
season what a great player he is and I’m sure that
he is going to contribute a lot," added Gabi about
new signing Vietto.
That’s not to say Atletico Madrid are a certainty to
challenge Barca and Madrid for the title again in
the new season. Atleti fans will be more than
aware that the 2013-14 wonder-season was the
exception rather than the rule for the Calderon
side. Beating Barca and Madrid to domestic glory a
little over a year ago was arguably one of the
highlights in the club’s existence and it's tough to
see them ever repeating that, let alone matching
it.
"This club and squad have always had the strength
to reinvent itself again season after season," said
Gabi.
have joined us are capable of doing well. We hope
to compete this year as we have been doing last
season."
Silverware will not be a regular expectation or
reachable goal for Atletico in the coming years,
Challenging clubs like Valencia, Sevilla and
Villarreal for the Champions League places and
ensuring the gap between them and the top two
doesn't widen will be their objective for the
2015-16 season and beyond.
There’s no denying that their rejuvenated squad is
very much capable of doing just that.
And Simeone’s intelligent rebuilding project is
right at the heart of it.
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