Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone will have to innovate in order to improve

When people are talking about Spanish football, or rather, specifically about La Liga, they mostly list three major clubs: Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Or many will also state Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

But rarely will you actually hear someone say the top dogs in La Liga are Atletico Madrid and then Barcelona and Real Madrid in any particular order. Barcelona and Real Madrid have, for the most part, been the two clubs holding a duopoly in Spain for a long, long time. Some would even say for far too long.

And yes, Atletico Madrid did win the league in 2013/14 and yes, they have finished above their city rivals in numerous recent years, including the 2018/19 season and yet, it’s still not enough to warrant them an improvement in the standings. But why is that exactly and how do Atletico Madrid beat the system?

Well, to put it simply, Diego Simeone has to ditch his old habits, exit his comfort zone and dip his toes in the riskier waters that could potentially yield him bigger rewards.

For years now, we have seen the same old Atletico Madrid practising the same old tricks and dancing to the same old tune. Granted, it was the very thing that got them the stability they are now enjoying.

The popular “Cholismo”, as Simeone’s tactics are sometimes referred to, brought them this far and it did so during the time football arguably changed the most. Fluid, attacking and aggressive teams like Manchester City, Liverpool and Barcelona see the most success while the systems that Jose Mourinho and co. practised are dying out.

And yet Cholo has managed to keep Atletico Madrid in the top three in La Liga throughout most of his years at the capital, dragged them to two Champions League finals and clinched a Europa League crown recently.

But as impressive as that may sound, it’s still just two major titles in almost a decade. Clearly, that’s not going to be enough if Simeone really wants to challenge the two top dogs in La Liga.

It somehow feels that recently Barcelona dominate La Liga while Real Madrid dominate in the Champions League and Atletico Madrid are still fighting for the scraps and the crumbs their two rivals leave behind.

The biggest takeaway from that should be that change is needed. This is solidified even further when we take into account the fact that the majority of Atletico Madrid’s success came from two big individual contributions at opposite ends of the pitch: Jan Oblak and Antoine Griezmann.

Of course, when we talk about Atletico Madrid, we talk about defensive solidity and impeccable work rate combined with teamwork but there’s no escaping the fact those two names pretty much carried the team on their shoulders.

Griezmann was practically the team’s only source of attacking prowess as the Frenchman was their top scorer in La Liga throughout all of his seasons at the club. That statistic alone is proof enough of how big of a part he played in their tactics going forward.

The man in charge of everything going the other way was very much Oblak. Sure, his statistics are inflated by a sturdy backline but four straight Zamora trophies won have to mean something.

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Even when Atletico Madrid were not scoring as much as Barcelona and Real Madrid or even when their numbers overall were not as impressive, they still had those two to lead the line in attack and defence respectively. But that’s not really a sustainable system, is it?

Especially now that Griezmann is gone and with him, half of Atletico Madrid’s old guard. The squad is already looking different with their core practically ripped out and replaced with newer and younger parts.

Obviously Simeone won’t be able to build his game around Griezmann anymore and trying to do the same around Joao Felix might be far too big of a risk. As talented and skilful as the kid is, putting that much responsibility on such a young player is not really a good plan. He’s still a teenager, after all.

Instead, he will have to adopt a different style and move away from the things that brought them stability throughout so many years. It sounds terrifying, yes, but it’s the only way they can go up at this point.

The loss of key players will inevitably force them into a transitional period and one in which they have two choices: try and revert back to the same old style that might keep them exactly where they are – second or third on the table and always second-best in major tournaments – or start with a clean slate and innovate for a change.

Do something different if you truly want the results to be different. It may not be successful right from the bat but with Real Madrid amid a rebuild and Barcelona starting the season with defeat, the time is right for Cholismo to become a thing of the past.

For once, being comfortable and planted in the very same spot could be seen as regression rather than progression. The only way forward is to change.

Adapt and survive is the name of the game. Will Simeone finally start thinking outside his Atletico Madrid box in 2019/20? We’ll soon find out but it’s becoming rather clear that he will have to.