Diego Simeone left Cádiz satisfied by the victory (1-4) and the image offered by his team in the Ramón de Carranza Trophy, but also by the provision of players whom he displaced from their theoretically natural positions. Since his arrival, the coach has liked his footballers to know how to adapt to the circumstances and that versatility of the squad has helped Cholo to be able to get through seasons as complicated as the last one, in which Trippier’s winter absence on the right-hand side and Successive injuries made the objective of qualifying for the Champions League very difficult. Marcos Llorente was then the one sacrificed to plug the leak caused by the English and this summer the ‘chameleon’ has a Belgian name and surname, Axel Vitsel, although he is not the only one. Signed a priori to shore up the spinal cord, the midfielder has not yet been seen in that area because he has acted as a central defender in the three summer friendlies of the rojiblanco team. The preseason is time for testing and Simeone does not waste it. Clinging to that desire for versatility, although also forced by the casualties that the summer set-up has caused, he has found in Witsel an alternative solution to one of the big problems he had to deal with last year, in which the loss of central defenders forced the Argentine to have to urgently recruit Vrsaljko and Kondogbia to mend the axis of the defense. Atlético has not been reinforced this summer in an area in which Savic, Giménez, Felipe and Hermos or continue as ‘official’ central defenders. They are joined by Reinildo’s resource in the case of forming with a line of three, but Cholo does not want surprises and is getting Witsel used to that demarcation in case he had to use him throughout the year. The Belgian, as in his debut against Numancia and later against Manchester United, was solvent in Cádiz, although the rivals, it is true, did not demand excessively when it came to defending. The former Borussia Dortmund soccer player offered a clean exit from the ball, a quality that is not surprising in him because Atlético de Madrid was looking for the new Tiago with his hiring, a midfielder to embed himself in front of the defense and with a path to reach in attack. The Belgian enjoyed an immaculate night, a game without mistakes, one hundred percent hits in deliveries (49). Since the 2005-06 academic year, only two mattress defenders (Ufjalusi and Giménez) signed that plenary session giving at least 49 passes, according to the @atletico_stats account. Another improvised central Witsel, however, was not the only rabbit that Simeone pulled out of the hat at Nuevo Mirandilla because he surprised by placing Daniel Wass as right central in a line of three. The experiment also worked and the Dane, a midfielder originally destined to reinvent himself as a winger, adapted perfectly to a new position for him. He liked it so much that he even made his debut as an ‘rojiblanco’ scorer with a howitzer from the edge of the box. Related News standard No Soccer A greased Atlético lifts the Ramón de Carranza Jorge Abizanda Trophy standard No Atlético will play at the Civitas Metropolitano for the next ten years asm Another striking movement of pieces was the situation of Griezmann, who was delayed to the center of the field to form with Morata and Joao Félix in attack. The attacker looked comfortable in that area and he finished the duel with an assist and a shot at the post. Cholo tries to exploit the French’s sacrifice and work in the core, but also his touch on counterattacks and his last pass. Relocations that are not always liked, as Saúl demonstrated a year ago by leaving for Chelsea fleeing Simeone’s efforts to reinvent him as a left-back. After the transfer of him, the youth squad has returned and in Cádiz the Cholo insisted with him in that area. He scored from a set piece, although he sent the ball into the net with his arm. Atlético will close this Sunday (9:30 p.m.) this testing preseason with a friendly against Juventus in Israel.
