The red-whites are back in the black thanks to its defense. We haven't seen such performance for years and both fans and the coaching staff needed a rebirth regarding two aspects. We'll analyze both of them during this article and see that there are two key factors in the defensive aspect.
Marcelo Bielsa, the legendary Argentine coach and now Uruguay national team coach, has always held a statement about new signings: "The best signing is always the one that improves the performance of those who are already there." One of those who was already there and is now key for the team is José María Giménez and if he puts his mind into it he could be one of the best defenders in the world.
A True Defensive Wall
With the Uruguayan in the back, Atlético de Madrid has not conceded a goal this year. In fact, in the four games they have played in full, they have not lost a single one: one draw and three wins. If we look at history, the statistic is even more spectacular since with "El Comandante" on the field, the Colchoneros have gone 630 minutes without conceding a single goal.
Some Atlético fans may think: "if we had had Giménez like that during the previous years we would have won such and such a title", but it's pointless. The important thing for the Colchonero faithful is that their best signing in defense, with all due respect to Robin Le Normand, was already in the team and "at zero cost". This improvement in defense has caused Atleti to string together four consecutive games with a clean sheet, something that had not happened since December 2020.
If we analyze his heat map, we see how he is dominant in the entire central and left sector , and we even see how he reaches midfield dribbling the ball. If we look at more personalized statistics, per game he has: 94% of completed passes, 6.5 long runs, 2.5 recoveries and 5 clearances. However, the most surprising fact is that teams need two games to dribble past him once (0.5 times dribbled per game).
Luis Pinedo is the Reason Why
If there is someone to thank for all this, that's the new head fitness coach, the second reason for the team's overall improvement. The players fly over the field, they hold out for 90 minutes while pressing, they are fresh and agile and they seem very happy with this fitness instruction.
All this is also accompanied by specific plans for those with delicate physiques such as Antoine Griezmann orJosé María Giménez. Physiques that due to age or physiognomy are more prone to injuries or overloads, Luis Piñedo himself is controlling them perfectly.
In the case of Jose Maria Gimenez in particular, he has managed to provide him with the consistency that everyone asked of him to be a constant in the team and a starter. This consistency, together with the form of Marcos Llorente and Robin Le Normand, can only result in positive things for the team. However, the league is very long and Simeone needs less regular players like Javi Galán or Nahuel Molina to also be there when needed.