Celtic (or Sion) travel to Madrid this week as underdogs against a side that has undergone a significant revamp this summer. The two world stars of the team (Aguero and Forlan) have been replaced by exciting talent in a dangerous, attack-oriented team.
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Form:
Atlético finished seventh in La Liga last season, a disappointment that culminated in the departure of Quique Sanchez Flores who had guided the Rojiblancos to a Europa League final win the year previously. While their league form was mixed they were level on points with Sevilla in fifth at the end and the change of manager was as much a reflection of squad unrest (particularly with the now departed Diego Forlan) as a necessity due to results.
Gregorio Manzano took over at Atlético earlier this summer, the 18th job of his managerial career and his second time with the club. They joined the Europa League in the third qualifying round and after labouring to a 2-1 home victory over Stromsgodset they have cruised their subsequent matches, winning 0-2 in Norway and beating Portuguese side Vitoria De Guimaraes twice at an aggregate score of 6-0.
The belated start to the La Liga season means they have only played two domestic games thus far in 2011/12. They opened with a scoreless draw at home to Osasuna before losing to a single goal in Valencia on Saturday night.
Their Europa League victory in 2010 followed on from from promising campaigns in the previous two seasons but they disappointed last season finishing third in their group behind Leverkusen and Aris Thessaloniki with their only two wins coming against Rosenborg.
Itâs difficult to read much into the performances of previous seasons because of the significant changes in the squad this summer. Forlan, Aguero, De Gea, RaĂșl Garcia and UjfaluĆĄi all departed in the recent transfer window and half the expected starting team are new signings.
Formation:
Atlético have opted for a 4-3-3 in their two La Liga games to date. Their starting lineup on Thursday will likely be:
Courtois_
Silvio____Miranda____Domingiez_____Luis
Tiago______Suarez_____Gabi_
Falcao______Reyes_____Adrian_
Defence:
Thibaut Courtois signed for Chelsea from Genk this summer and was immediately loaned out to Madrid to replace David De Gea. He is an underage Belgian international, 19 years old and 6â6". Despite his young age he has made almost 50 senior appearances so he certainly doesnât lack in experience compared to his counterpart in the Celtic goal.
Like much of the Atletico team the two fullbacks are full internationals. Silvio joined from Braga in the summer for an undisclosed (but apparently significant) fee and has three caps for Portugal as a right back. Filipe Luis has only one cap for his native Brazil but is an accomplished and experienced left back in La Liga with over 100 appearances for Deportivo La Coruna.
Ălvaro Dominguez at centre back is a product of the AtlĂ©tico youth system. He was a mainstay for Spain in their Under 21 European Championships win earlier this summer and having played regularly in the last two seasons he will expect to feature more regularly since UjfaluĆĄi departed for Galatasaray in the summer. Luis Perea has been an impressive contributor for club and country but may have lost his place in the team to new signing Miranda who arrived from Sao Paulo over the summer. He is another Brazilian international (with 5 caps) and started ahead of Perea at Valencia on Saturday.
Midfield:
AtlĂ©tico play with a 3 man midfield, with another new face Gabi playing the pivotal central role. Gabi left the club to join Zaragoza for âŹ9m in 2007 and though he suffered relegating in his first season he progressed to club captain before switching back to AtlĂ©tico for a more modest âŹ3m this summer. He plays as a defensive midfield playmaker but was deployed on the right of the three against Valencia.
Gabi is supported in midfield by the experienced Portuguese midfield general Tiago and Mario Suarez. The latter is another who left the Vicente Calderon for greener pastures but after impressing at Mallorca, Atlético activated a buyback clause in his transfer deal and recalled him in 2010. Tiago is the most celebrated of the midfielders, he has over 50 caps for Portugal and counts Chelsea, Juventus and Lyon among his former clubs. He joined permanently in July after a successful extended loan spell with Los Colchoneros. None of the midfielders are overly attacking in their outlook but much of the creative responsibility falls on Tiago.
Midfield backup is provided by Juanfran, a former wide player who was signed by Quique Sanchez Flores in January but may find opportunities more limited in a 3 man midfield.
Attackers:
Despite losing Forlan and Aguero in August, Atlético still have very impressive attacking options available. The two departing players scored 200 goals between them in the past 4 years, so their absence will be keenly felt regardless of their replacements. Having said that they have recruited very well with Adrian and Falcao capable of matching their goalscoring exploits while Diego and Arda Turan are two very inventive options for a more balanced front three.
Reyes is the one constant in AtlĂ©ticoâs attack from last season. The former Arsenal and Sevilla player is versatile enough to feature on the wing and would probably be most comfortable wide of the attacking trio but he has started as the focal point of the attack in recent games. He doesnât boast a terrifying goalscoring record for a centre forward but he is a clever player who is quick enough and skillful enough to cause any defence problems.
Wide of Reyes it looks likely that Falcao and Adrian will start on Thursday night. Falcao is the most expensive recruit in the clubâs history and his fee of âŹ40m (plus add-ons) is a fair reflection on his achievements for Porto where he and Hulk terrorised defences across Europe in a similar 3-man forward line. He is an excellent finisher and a massive aerial threat despite his relatively diminutive stature.
Like Dominguez in defence, Adrian will be familiar to anyone who watched the Under 21 European Championships this summer. A modest record in La Liga, where he netted 8 times for relegated Deportivo last season, reflects his youth more than his talent and he scored 5 times in Denmark this summer where he was the most prolific striker on show. He was similarly lethal in the Under 20 World Cup four years ago and he is a very dangerous talent.
Attacking Midfield Options
If Atlético want to switch to a more conservative version of their 4-3-3 or even switch to a more midfield-oriented formation they can turn to the guile of Diego or Turan. Diego is a tremendously gifted attacking midfielder who is on loan from Wolfsburg after a falling out with manager Félix Magath. He has had mixed success at clubs to date, failing to justify the fees paid by either Juventus or Porto but he was a huge success at Werder Bremen and certainly has the talent to succeed at Atlético.
Arda Turan is a long-term target of Atlético and finally arrived in August from Galatasaray as the most expensive Turkish football transfer ever. He is primarily a left sided attacking midfielder but would be equally at home on the right or as one of the wide options in the 4-3-3, in fact he replaced Adrian in that role against Valencia. He has almost a half century of international caps for Turkey, despite being only 24 so lacks nothing in experience if he does find his way into the team.
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