It has not been as easy as expected, but the renewal of Immediately (Madrid, 1992) until 2025 with Atlético was a fact this Monday. Both parties know each other well, for good and bad.. With 626 official matches behind him, something that no other red and white team has achieved, there are hardly any secrets, but there are demands. The Vallecano will be ‘one club man’ for the ‘colchoneros’ by renewing each season.
Recital against Inter at the Metropolitano
Koke is 32 years old, of which 26 he has worn the Atlético shirt. His commitment to a club that requires faith is unwavering. His legs no longer run as before, but his brain, and especially his heart, continue at the same level. The midfielder signed the extension of his contract with the excellent game he played in the comeback against Inter at the Metropolitano. The emotional date on which Simeone wants to build the rest of the course.
Against the Nerazzurri he covered 17.5 kilometres, more than any other midfielder. He arrived, deployed, canceled Barella, the best of the ‘interistas’ and knew how to wait for the specific moment to get the winning assist to Memphis. The Dutchman took advantage of the pass, sent the cross into extra time and the penalties, with Oblak as the star, did the rest. It was a demonstration of ‘old’ Koke at the highest level, with the spirit of the management that he has been able to represent for so many years.
Cold data does not speak, but it does help in arguments. Koke intervened 116 times in that match, completing 92 passes and creating four clear chances for his teammates. He led practically all the statistics of an Atlético team where he is the shield. Both for his performance and when it comes to taking responsibility for difficult moments. He stood up after FC Barcelona’s win at the Metropolitano to send a clear message: “We have to tighten our asses.”
Koke Resurrección, Atlético player, receives a tackle from İlkay Gündoğan, from Barça, in the Metropolitano duel. / BERNAT ARMANGUE / AP
Key in an Atlético without guarantee midfielders
He is the fourth outfield player who has accumulated the most minutes so far this season: 2,815, only surpassed by Witsel, Hermoso and Griezmann. He is the common thread of ‘cholismo’. The only one who was in the squad when Simeone arrived, with whom he modeled his position. He went from midfielder to midfielder, so his goal record went down, but he improved in creating football.
For years he had close to twenty assists and remains a central player in an Atlético team with a changing midfield. Koke has had to take the umpteenth step forward in the face of Rodrigo de Paul’s decline, Vermeeren’s inability to have prominence since his arrival in winter and, above all, in the absence of a desired ‘5’ of guarantees that Simeone has claimed without success.
“I have had many opportunities to leave here, my house, and I have not wanted to. How could I leave at the best time, when it is most enjoyable! Although you have to be there in the most difficult moments, you also have to enjoy the good times.. “It is a pride to be the captain of Atlético in this beautiful stage,” Koke said in his first statement after renewing until 2025.
“I want to return to Neptune with the fans”
As Koke well relates, in the last decade he was the object of desire of the greats of Europe, where he wore stripes to lead Atlético to the two lost finals. Those that generated wounds healed by time and, above all, by the warmth of a hobby that has always been recognized by his hierarchy. The midfielder had a market value of 70 million and received a salary of eight.
The amount he will win in this new stage will not reach half of the best times. Continuity will have to be earned year after year, something common in top-level teams. It is the section that caused him the most insecurity and the only element that made him look to the side. But options like Saudi Arabia were too far away, physically and mentally, for what Koke represents..
“I have been able to repay Miguel Ángel Gil and the club for the great effort they made for me as a cadet. More than just a memory, I stay with my teammates, Gabi, Juanfran, Godín, Simeone, the people…. I want to return to Neptune with the fans. “On the last visit they couldn’t be there (the 2020/21 League was during the pandemic),” said Koke, the most faithful soldier the club has had in its recent history, “because Atleti is my life.”
A moment from Atlético de Madrid vs Betis. / Daniel González
2024-03-26 06:43:34
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