Football
Joseph Walker, Atletico Madrid blogger 10y

La Liga Preview: Atletico Madrid

Lessons from last season

Absolutely anything is possible -- this team is more than capable of holding their own with the big boys. Nobody gave them a hope of breaking the Real Madrid-Barcelona duopoly 12 months ago, and not many more give them the slightest chance of retaining their title.

When backs were against the wall and it looked as if the players were running out of steam, they managed to drag themselves over the line, winning the league for the first time in 18 years and coming agonisingly close to claiming top honours in Europe.

Manager Diego Simeone has managed to maintain a core of key players who are subscribers to his never-say-die attitude, and the club should aim to be in the running for the title until the business end of the season.

Predicted starting lineup

What's new?

Well... for a start it is a new-look front line. Losing 27-goal Diego Costa to Chelsea was somewhat inevitable given the Spain international's form last season, while David Villa has gone to New York to enjoy the twilight of his career and Adrian Lopez is seeking pastures new in Portugal with FC Porto.

Mario Mandzukic has joined from Bayern Munich, and will directly replace Costa, winding up defenders, fighting for every lost cause and using his physicality to lead the line. In addition to the Croatia international, it looks as if the club have had a genuinely successful summer on the attacking front, replacing the aforementioned Villa and Adrian with Raul Jimenez and Antoine Griezmann. The Vicente Calderon faithful are already salivating at the prospect of seeing Griezmann, Arda Turan, Mandzukic and Koke link up as an attacking quartet, and there is a quiet sense of optimism that the side will possess more of a goal scoring threat than they did in 2013-14.

Moving further back, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was never a Rojiblancos player, and his departure was expected, especially as he helped knock his parent club out of the Champions League last season. With the future of Jan Oblak somewhat thrown into question last week following comments from the Benfica president, Diego Simeone will be pleased that Miguel Angel Moya has shown himself to be more than up to the task when called upon. Having said that if, as expected, Oblak stays and continues his development from last season, the pain of losing the Belgian will be short-lived for Colchoneros fans.

Filipe Luis has gone (also to Chelsea -- seems to be a common theme!) but Guilherme Siqueira, a full-back with La Liga and Champions League experience who was on the verge of joining Real Madrid 12 months ago, looks to be a like-for-like replacement. Jesus Gamez (Malaga) and Cristian Ansaldi (Zenit) are other new arrivals who will bring competition and provide adequate backup in the full-back areas.

Strengths

Defence. While there might be a new keeper and left back, the club have managed to keep the core of Miranda, Diego Godin and Juanfran together. This trio formed part of a defensive wall that conceded only 26 goals in the entirety of last season's title-winning campaign, making them La Liga's meanest defence.

If Oblak can show the same kind of form that persuaded Atletico to pay 16 million euros for him, then Simeone must be confident about keeping the goals conceded column to a similar number.

Another key component of the game this defensive trio have is their attacking prowess. Juanfran scored four times in the league last term from right back, while Godin and Miranda managed six goals between them -- more often than not at crucial times.

Weaknesses

A difficult one to answer considering this side won the league and got to the Champions League final last season.

One notable thing is that the side managed to keep key personnel fit last term, straining every last drop. A lack of genuine strength in depth in key areas might be the side's undoing over the course of a long campaign, especially up top, with hopes resting largely on Mandzukic's broad shoulders.

Manager 

After last season, Simeone will never have to buy a drink in Madrid (or at least half of the city) again. He has turned "El Pupas" -- the jinxed one -- into a team of winners.

The Europa League, European Super Cup, Copa del Rey and La Liga have all arrived at the Calderon during Simeone's reign; however, they say that retaining the tile is never easy. His extraordinary motivational and player management abilities will be put to the test if the side are to do just that.

Key player: Koke

The 22-year-old enjoyed an outstanding 2013-14 campaign and was widely tipped for a big money move before signing a new contract at the start of the summer.

A year older and wiser, the central midfielder seems destined to become a mainstay of the Spanish national side for the foreseeable future, and if he can build the same kind of relationship with Mandzukic that he had with Costa, Koke will surely get somewhere near the 13 assists he accrued in the league last term.

The main objective will be for him to get into double figures for both goals and assists, and if he does, Atleti have a real chance of repeating their heroics. Koke is a genuine star player who has all the tools to become world class.

Predicted finish: Third

The heart says first and a heroic title defence, but the head says third.

Real Madrid's insistence on signing any player who had a decent game at the World Cup and Barcelona finally signing a centre-back in addition to a certain Uruguayan means that order will probably be restored in Spain's top flight.

Atletico are good enough to put up a title challenge but will probably just be edged out by the only two sides in the division that possess superior, more expensively assembled squads.

Los Rojiblancos are certainly better than the rest however, and a third-place finish beckons.

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