Call me a weirdo all you want, but I absolutely adore Atletico Madrid. They are the official “Bad Boys” of football and masters of the so called “Dark Arts”. They play a brand if football that might not be pleasing on the eye but the same manner in which we laud praise to the likes of Pep Guardiola or Julian Naglesmann for their innovation and attacking display of football, Diego Simeone deserves the same praise for showcasing so many different defensive masterclasses throughout his time at the helm. In a league that is dominated by the El Clasico rivals, Atleti have consistently punched above their weight by always being within the top 4 within LA Liga, reaching 2 Champions league finals over the last decade, winning a few Spanish cups, as well as lifting that precious La Liga trophy twice under the tutelage of Simeone. When it comes to animation on the touchline, only Pep and Conte can compete with Diego Simeone. He kicks every ball and immerses himself into every single play throughout the course of a 90 minute match. He also has a crop of players within his team that I personally believe would die for him on the pitch. They might not be everyone’s favorite cup of tea, but they are truly effective at what they do.
Let’s take a look at how things went for Atleti within the league:
Atleti are a large squad so Simeone has quite a good number of players to rely on and here is the X1 that he went for the most within the league:
This formation is a perfect example of when it is possible to play a particular player “out of position”. You can expect that Carrasco won’t perform too badly at DM(L)
And here are the respective player roles
The foundation of Atleti’s 5-3-2 starts within the defence as the man mountain that is Jan Oblak keeps that ball out of his net via his excellent keeping skills. The back 3 of Giminez, Witsel and Hermoso are all decent on the ball with Hermoso being the one who drives up the pitch when he gets the opportunity while Witsel plays as an editional Playmaker at the back with his passing abilities. While both players in the DM(R,L) positions get up and down the flank, Molina is more of an of an off the ball operator while C Carrasco tends to dribble more frequently with the ball at his feet. The Midfield 3 epitomize what is needed to play for Atletic as they are alltenacious, hardworking amd robust players who can also play when it comes to getting on the ball. Koke is the hub of the team that keeps the ball recycling while Saul and DE Paul are the legs who do a lot of the hard yards and dirty work (but don’t mistake Koke for any slounch!). Upfront, Atleto have, in my opinion, the perfect combination of a silky, intelligent operator in griezmann and the ever willing off the ball operator in Morsta. Griezmann in particular has been back to his absolute best this season with with 15 goals and 14 assist in the league. When he’s in form, Griezmann is one of the best players to watch.
Let’s dive a little more deeper into their tactics, shall we?
STRATEGY
The pragmatic style of Simeone means that Atleti prefer to soak up as much pressure as they can then counter as quickly and efficiently as the possibly can via using thr space that the opposition would’ve vacated while in possession
INSTRUCTIONS
GENERAL
Atleti tend to maintain a decent amount of width when on the ball( while becoming compact off of it), they do not seek to over exert themselves attackingly, and like to use a faster more disciplined style of their I order to keep the structure of the eleven as solid as possible
ATTACKING
If you remember yesterday’s look at Borussia Dortmund, you will realize that there are some similarities to both of their Attacking set ups. The major difference between the 2 is the philosophy aspect of thier tactics since Dortmund wants to be on top of their opposition while Atletic are more passive in their pursuit
DEFENDING
This is what Atleti are one of the best at and they take their defensive set up VERY seriously. This is what you can expect from them when they are playing against opposition they expect to beat…And this is how they set up against more elite level opposition ( see the difference? 🤔)
Love him or hate him, Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid cannot be ignored. You can expect some form of sh*thousery whenever they are in their groove and looking to impose themselves upon their opposition. And I’m here for it all! may their “dark arts” continue!
The Soccermanager Experience 