Some had anticipated surprises, but Diego Simeone isn’t one for those. At the Estadio Municipal de Burgo de Osma for Atletico Madrid‘s pre-season opener against Numancia on Saturday, Simeone, despite speculation over his formation, stuck with the familiar: his characteristic 4-4-2.
It was a low-key opening to the campaign for Atleti. On the same day, Manchester United and Barcelona met at a packed house in Santa Clara, Chelsea battled Paris Saint-Germain in Charlotte, Arsenal fought Lyon in London and AC Milan clashed with neighbours Inter Milan in Shenzhen. Atleti, meanwhile, met a Segunda Division outfit in a tiny community in northern Spain that’s home to little more than 5,000 people. Its football venue might be better termed a ground than a stadium.
Still, the occasion was notable for one thing: Simeone‘s lineup. If the Argentinian was going to alter the team’s shape for 2015-16, this would have been the occasion to start that shift, to begin the evolutionary phase. For this is a team that’s played in a 4-4-2 since his arrival, rendering time precious for orchestrating systematic change.
Thus, the fact that Simeone opted for his tried-and-tested formation was revealing, his XI that featured Miguel Angel Moya, Juanfran, Diego Godin, Jose Gimenez, Guilherme Siqueira, Tiago, Koke, Saul Niguez, Yannick Carrasco, Antoine Griezmann and Luciano Vietto indicating that the 4-4-2 will continue for the upcoming season.
Many had pondered whether that would change this summer for Los Colchoneros. Simeone‘s intention to give his team a “new stimulus” and the quick, dual-capture of Vietto and Jackson Martinez had fans picturing a dynamic 4-3-3, a system that would flank the Colombian with Vietto and Griezmann in a sparkling front three—the in-vogue approach at La Liga’s summit. With Fernando Torres on hand to play a supporting role, Marca dubbed the quartet “Simeone’s gunners.”
However, Simeone prefers to build a team the conventional way, from back to front, prioritising defensive strength and using that as a springboard for all else. Key to that is his preference for a midfield pivot, which at the Vicente Calderon might be better described as a two-man midfield shield. A 4-3-3 couldn’t provide that; a 4-2-3-1 could. Might the latter be an option for the Argentinian boss?
Two weeks ago, it seemed possible. But the signing of Carrasco changed all that. A hard-running, dribble-happy left-sided attacker, the Belgian demands a place in the XI. Though just 21 years of age, he’s already an international, started 33 of Monaco’s 38 league games last season and is further along the line toward being a finished product than Vietto is.
Still, the use of a 4-2-3-1 from Simeone would put Carrasco in a head-to-head battle with Griezmann for the left-sided attacking berth—the position the new signing insisted he wanted at his unveiling, as he dispelled any notion of being a replacement for Arda Turan.
Additionally, a 4-2-3-1 demands a central hub or focal point in the form of a No. 10, the type of player Atleti are in short supply of. Griezmann, Vietto and Carrasco are forwards or wide men; Koke and Saul are central midfielders; Tiago and Gabi are traditional anchors. The only possible options would be Oliver Torres and Angel Correa.
That pair certainly carry the technical quality for the role, but neither man possesses the experience necessary for a permanent starting place in the XI. Both just 20, they’re talented but raw; exciting but not yet battle-tested. And Simeone, remember, is happy to put his young stars though tough love, just as he did with Griezmann in the opening half of last season.
Thus, the 4-4-2 is the obvious system for Simeone and Atletico Madrid. Up front, Martinez will partner Griezmann in a sort of modern big-man-little-man combination, one packed full of pace, power and lethal finishing skills. Positively for Simeone this term, there’s also the presence of a competent backup for his leading striker in Fernando Torres, while Vietto will essentially act as Griezmann‘s understudy.
Vietto will be an interesting case at the Vicente Calderon in 2015-16. Precocious, hungry, hand-picked by Simeone and the owner of a €20 million price tag, the Argentinian will carry significant expectation, an eagerness likely to exist at the Vicente Calderon to see the 21-year-old thrust into the spotlight. “He’s another Griezmann,” will be the overriding feeling on the banks of the Manzanares.
However, there are differences between the respective arrivals of the Frenchman and the Argentinian. When Griezmann made the switch to the Spanish capital, he was 23, had lived in Spain for five years, had been a permanent fixture at Real Sociedad, was an international and had sparkled at the World Cup.
Vietto, meanwhile, arrives two years younger and is still settling into life in Spain, hasn’t yet represented his country at senior level and made only 17 starts in La Liga last season.
He wasn’t guaranteed a place at El Madrigal before moving to the Calderon, meaning patience will be the key with Vietto.
Behind that attack, Simeone‘s 4-4-2 will employ a four-man midfield most likely to consist of Koke, Gabi, Saul and Carrasco, the latter providing the sort width, pace and ball-carrying skills Atleti have often lacked on the flanks in recent seasons.
At first glance, the rest of the midfield feels very familiar. But though it will be in shape, it won’t be in style. Having used Gabi and Tiago centrally for so long, Simeone, in his desire to oversee “an internal movement where the team takes a step forward,” as he told AS (h/t Football Espana), will shift Koke into the central pivot. “That is going to start generating a team from another idea,” Simeone added.
The positional alteration will see Koke move into a role very similar to that which he now plays under Vicente del Bosque in the Spanish national side, where his combination of vision, passing skills and defensive awareness makes him a natural deep-lying midfielder.
Joined by Saul, Koke in his enhanced role will change the way Atleti move the ball. In 2015-16, the movement will be faster, more crisp. Involving greater interchanges and positional flow. The idea, of course, is to devise a more dynamic midfield to feed a more dynamic attack.
Simeone‘s 4-4-2 can provide exactly that. It’s a system that’s familiar, characteristically Simeone. But next season, it will have a different edge, a different feel.
Tantalisingly, it should be significantly better, too.
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