A man with a beard and short hair smiles while wearing a blue sports shirt with the Atlético de Madrid crest.

Jan Oblak, very close to making history at Atlético de Madrid: Koke's legacy

The Slovenian goalkeeper could enter the historical ranking of players with the most matches in the history of the club

This season could be very special for Jan Oblak, who is very close to making history at Atlético de Madrid. Right now, the Slovenian goalkeeper has played the most games in the history of the club in his position, but he wants more. Although he was not available for the last match against Athletic Club, everything points to him returning to the starting line-up in the match against Valencia.

Since his arrival in the summer of 2014, Jan Oblak has become one of the undisputed pieces in Simeone 's plans. Virtually none of the reserve goalkeepers who have arrived at the red-and-white team have been able to compete for his place. Now, in a longer than usual season, the Slovenian could reach the top of the historical list of players with the most games.

Jan Oblak prepares to be historic

The former Benfica player is arguably one of the most popular players still in the Atlético squad. Since he became a starter after Miguel Ángel Moyá was injured, the Slovenian has been an undisputed player for Simeone . Therefore, it is not surprising that he has reached the figure of 449 games with the Atlético de Madrid shirt, but he can go further.

Image of Jan Oblak in a match with Atlético de Madrid
Jan Oblak wants to make history at the Metropolitano | Europa Press

This season, between the new Champions League format and the Club World Cup , there will be many more games to play. Jan Oblak, if he avoids injuries and nothing unexpected happens, could climb several positions in the all-time rankings. Obviously, catching up to Koke is an almost impossible feat, as the youth player could reach 700 games this season.

However, Jan Oblak could overtake great legends of the Madrid club such as Aguilera , Enrique Collar or Tomás Reñones . In this way, the goalkeeper would be in third position, still far from the 553 matches played by Adelardo . Obviously, it is a record difficult to match, since the only one who could compete with him is Ángel Correa who has more than 400 matches.

Foreigners with the most matches

Both Jan Oblak and the Argentine striker are the foreign footballers who have played the most matches in the history of Atlético de Madrid . In the case of Ángel Correa, he made his debut with the colchoneros shirt later than the Slovenian goalkeeper , although he is younger. The difference between both players is just over 20 matches , a competition that seems unlikely to be exciting.

For the moment, it seems that the Slovenian will have a reliable substitute , something that has practically never been seen before. Juan Musso had to make his debut against Athletic Club after Jan Oblak was indisposed and he left a very good impression. He made some excellent saves and was proud and grateful for the opportunity he had in Bilbao .