Martín Fierro wrote that “I am a bull in my rodeo and a bull in another’s rodeo” to praise superior bravery in another’s field as synonymous with courage. There is no doubt that the Atlético de Madrid has grown as a team and as a club exponentially since the arrival of Diego Pablo Simeone, which has led him to dominate even in other people’s rodeos.
When Atlético visits Barcelona, the debate about style tends to be very recurrent, probably due to the antithetical proposal championed by Simeone and any of the tenants of the Barça bench, be it Xavi, Guardiola or even Setién. Cholista prose versus the poetry of La Masia. But In this match it seemed that the paradigm had changed because this new Atlético has abandoned its Comanche profile to be more associative.
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Little is said, however, about Cholo’s habit of shrinking on the board when he visits the Camp Nou or the Bernabéu. Why does he entrench his people in front of his area and mortgage everything to live off some knife in a counter. They are those types of games that Joao Félix does not like, who this week declared with that tawdry opportunism that he exudes every time he talks about the red and whites: “I prefer Barcelona’s style to that of Atlético de Madrid, me and all the players. Also those from Atleti would prefer to play more time in attack, if they don’t answer that they are lying.”
Barça was very recognizable from the beginning, to the point of being the Barça More Barça of the season. And Atlético wrinkled again for some strange reason. Koke was adrift and within twelve minutes Raphinha and Lewandowski had already been able to score a couple of times, just by pushing up front before the red and whites’ starting play. Even so, after half an hour Atlético had had several counters with Nahuel, Hermoso and Griezmann missing chances coming from behind.
Joao Félix’s goal
In the midst of those comings and goings Joao Félix scored a goal that was his own. A velvet finish that helped him vindicate himself in the face of a Simeone who detests the Portuguese for his lack of commitment. In fact, The Portuguese agreed with Simeone by confirming that he is a match player, specifically those that he wants. This Joao Félix would have triumphed at Atleti if he had played like that, but he was never up to the task of working like that for an entire season. There was another bad news for Cholo, four fouls and three yellow cards (Witsel, Giménez and Koke) pointed to the defense of this Atlético that confirmed the suspicions and looked like the one from their visits to the Camp Nou, not this season. A team that is crouched, if not cowed. Oblak made it clear: “I don’t know why from the beginning no one wanted the ball, no one wanted to play. If we had done it from the beginning like in the second half, we would have been able to get something positive. We threw the first half away.”
Simeone left Molina, Giménez and Riquelme in the locker room after the break, placing Lino and Llorente on the field in the lanes and Azpilicueta in the axis of the defense. Atlético continued to give away a long way back to a Barça without aim, which saved Simeone’s men. Raphinha sent a shot to the post, which acted as a spark for Atlético, that in the next play he saw how Griezmann sent it to the side of Peña’s net. At the hour mark Simeone had already made five changes, Memphis coming on for Morata and Saúl for Koke. He saw it badly.
And that revolution and the relocation of the team pushed Atlético upwards and intimidated a Barcelona whose legs were shaking due to the minimum advantage it defended on the scoreboard. Peña saved the tie on two decisive occasions and the game died in the Barça area. An Atlético more similar to the official visitor who steps into the Camp Nou or the Bernabéu than the one who enthralls this season left Montjuic empty because he did not go out, once again, to be a ‘torazo’ in someone else’s rodeo. Simeone still hasn’t won in Barcelona. And 17 games later it can’t be a coincidence. It is his unfinished business.
2023-12-03 22:19:48
#torazo #Simeone #wrinkled #anothers #detour
