Despite being eliminated from the Champions League and then the Copa del Rey, Diego Simeone’s Atlético do not give up and continue to look for non-trivial solutions to their problems.
Now, only La Liga is at the disposal of the “El Cholo gang”, but the tasks there are quite consistent with the ambitions of the “mattress”: Atlético will continue to fight for the zone of the next Champions League. So the Rojiblancos used as best they could, all the possibilities of this winter transfer window, and before it closed they brought Tottenham defender Matt Doherty to the camp of the Indians. The 31-year-old Ireland international has signed an agreement with the Mattresses until the end of this season. I must say that in Atlético the whole of January they were preoccupied with finding a right-back and initially aimed at the midfielder of the French national team and Marseille Jonathan Kloss. Madrid offered the Provencals a loan with an option to buy for 9 million euros, but the club refused. But there were no problems with Tottenham. And Atletico became the first of the three largest clubs in Spain for which the Irishman will now play. Neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona have had representatives of this country yet.
Doherty, who picked number 12 for Atlético Madrid, was a Wolverhampton player for 10 years before being signed by Tottenham in 2020, for whom the Irish defender scored one goal in 16 games this season. By the way, a funny story is connected with his transition to the Spurs. The fact is that Matt often confessed his love for Arsenal on his social networks and during his presentation at Tottenham, Doherty agreed to erase these messages on camera. Such is love. Well, the Irishman may have the opportunity to demonstrate his sympathy for Atletico this Saturday.
On February 4, at 18.30 Moscow time, at the Civitas Metropolitano stadium, as part of the 20th round of the Spanish Championship, Atlético will host Getafe. The game is likely to go without surprises. Rojiblancos are the undisputed favorites of this meeting. The Blues are fighting for survival – at the moment, the wards of Quique Sanchez Flores occupy the 19th line in the La Liga standings. But the “mattress” are doing well so far – in the last five matches of the Examples, which took place after the World Cup, Atlético has only one defeat (0:1 from Barcelona), with three wins and one draw. It’s time to bypass Real Sociedad on points and regain the original third place in the championship. Moreover, there are no other tasks before the “Indians” until the end of this season.
After being knocked out last week from another tournament – the Copa del Rey – Diego Simeone was asked what is now the motivation of Atlético players. El Cholo did not think for a long time. “The motivation is to play for Atlético Madrid,” the Rojiblancos coach replied. Let’s see how the team will cope with this covenant.
