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Alex Kirkland on ESPN FC
“There has been a big change inside this stadium.” Atletico Madrid have just fought back from 1-0 down to beat Villarreal 3-1, and a short distance down the tunnel, the applause of the home fans is still echoing around the Estadio Metropolitano, as Antoine Griezmann speaks to ESPN.
Griezmann, 32, scored the equalizer and scored the decisive second goal for Atletico against Villarreal. With this goal, he tied him as the club’s second-highest all-time top scorer – 169 goals, with Adrian Escudero – and helped give Atlético a club-record 15th consecutive league win.
Even when they were trailing in the league match on November 12, the fans did not stop singing. A few days ago, Atletico beat Celtic 6-0, the club’s biggest win in the Champions League. Feelings at the Metropolitano are good.
“When the fans are like that, it’s a plus,” Griezmann told ESPN. “When you’re really tired, in the 80th minute, they’re the ones who put pressure on you. They bring a different atmosphere to this stadium. They make you want to give everything. You can see that in the results.”
Since the difficult start to the 2022-23 season – which coach Diego Simeone described as the most difficult period of his 12 years in charge – Atletico fans have gone 10 months without seeing their team lose at home. Griezmann’s contribution in this line was fundamental; For many, he was the best player in La Liga this year.
Two weeks after the Villarreal match, he scored again in Saturday’s match, which ended in a 1-0 victory for Real Mallorca. Another goal, another home win and another chance for the fans to sing Griezmann’s name.
Not long ago, his relationship with these fans seemed beyond repair, their hearts broken by Griezmann’s 2019 signing for Barcelona. Now, Atletico’s hopes of getting a result against Barcelona on Sunday – a match in which Barcelona are level on points, with a game in hand – rests on their shoulders.
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The way Griezmann has rebuilt his relationship with those fans, and rediscovered his form, since returning to Atletico has been a comeback to match any in La Liga.
Let’s start with the obvious: Griezmann’s move to Barcelona did not go as planned. The transformation — which he publicly struggled with in his 2018 documentary “The Decision,” before finally making the leap a year later — wasn’t as disastrous as you remember. He scored 22 league goals in two seasons – 35 in all competitions – but there was no natural place for him in the Barcelona team. After all, the role of his favorite playmaker was the best of all time, Lionel Messi.
In 2021, with Barcelona desperate to make room on their wage bill, it’s time for Griezmann to cut his losses and move on. But a return to Atletico was not inevitable. Will the fans get him back? Wouldn’t it be better to start over somewhere else?
Despite a disappointing two years at Barcelona, there has been no shortage of interest from elsewhere. But for Griezmann, Atletico was the only option. It was a club where he became the best version of himself and had a coach in Simeone who believed in him unreservedly. The France international was willing to accept a significant pay cut to make this happen, and the last-minute deal was announced after the window closed on transfer deadline day, at 1.23am local time on 1 September 2021.
“Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement to loan Antoine Griezmann for one season, with the option to extend for another season.” Barcelona said. “Madrid will pay the player’s wages and there is a mandatory permanent transfer clause.”
Returning to Madrid was only the beginning. Now Griezmann had to win over the fans.
Some of them chanted “Griezmann, die” the first time he returned to the Metropolitano with Barcelona. Some have left gaming mice on the plaque bearing his name outside the stadium. Others raised a banner attacking his motives for leaving: “You wanted to have a name and forgot to be a man.”
Griezmann knew that words or gestures would not be enough to regain the fans’ trust. He had to do it on the pitch, although his performances in the first season did not help him. Griezmann has scored just three goals in 26 La Liga appearances for Atletico in the 2021-22 season, the worst return of his career.
Because of injuries and lack of confidence, he was feeling the pressure. “Personally, I was a little angry and upset,” he told ESPN in May 2022. “I don’t score and I know the team – and everyone – needs my goals.” [Not scoring] It’s something that can’t happen… I feel good in general, but what I miss are goals. They are a necessity for the team. And I need them too. That’s the only thing I miss.”
The 2022-23 season was an opportunity for a fresh start, but a complicating factor beyond his control threatened to undermine Griezmann’s ability to get back on track.
Atletico were aware that if he played at least 45 minutes in 50% of the matches he was available for over the two loan seasons, their ‘mandatory permanent transfer clause’ would be triggered and they would be obliged to pay Barcelona a €1000. Transfer fee 40 million. Given their form over the previous year, Atletico did not want to do that, so the club settled on a shameless solution. They asked a reluctant Simeone to put Griezmann on the bench and bring him on as a second-half substitute, for about an hour of play, week after week. Both player and coach had no choice but to make the most of it.
In nine matches (seven in La Liga, two in the Champions League) between August and October 2022, Griezmann was used as a substitute. Predicting the exact minute it will be served – 62, 64, 63 or 60, and never too early in case extra time risks breaking the 45-minute threshold – has become a running joke. Meanwhile, Griezmann kept his head down and handled the unprecedented situation with impressive professionalism. When asked about it in September 2022, Simeone was vague, but left no doubt about the responsibility: “I am the man of the club, and I always will be.”
Atletico’s goal was to scare Barcelona into thinking that they might be willing to continue with this, and the clause might not be triggered, Griezmann’s loan would not become permanent and Barcelona would be forced to take the player back. The maneuver worked: the two clubs I came to a compromiseWith the help of Griezmann as an intermediary, on October 22, 2022, the player was extraditedAtletico confirmed Griezmann’s signing for €20 million, half the amount the club was originally set to pay.
A year later, it looks like the deal of the century. Griezmann was encouraged by the global acclaim he received while playing for France at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he played in an unfamiliar and unglamorous midfield role. French team They reached the final, where they lost to Messi and Argentina in a thrilling match by seven goals.
He returned to Spain rejuvenated: Griezmann scored 10 league goals between January and May 2023, double what he scored in the first half of the season. He finished the 2022-23 season with 15 goals and 16 assists in the league. No player in La Liga has made more assists (84), contributed more shots (162) or created more goals (26).
By the end of the season, Atletico fans had seen enough. And they started singing his name again.
More introverted than his dyed hair and enthusiastic goal celebrations might suggest, Griezmann was frank about the way his emotional health determined his performance.
“I have to be happy off the field to be happy on it.” He told Marca Last week, after a fan poll chose him as the most decisive player in the 2022-23 season. “My teammates help me with this, the manager, the physiotherapists, the equipment workers… there is good chemistry with them. I have regained my connection with the fans. Now you can see I am happier, playing with more players.” freedom.”
In the summer, there was interest from Saudi Arabia – of course – but Griezmann did not enjoy it. Speaking to ESPN in August, his priorities were clear. He is fully aware that he has missed Atletico’s two La Liga titles in the past decade, as he joined after winning the league in 2014 and returned after winning it in 2021. “I did not win the league or the Champions League,” he said. He said. “I want to make history at Atletico and that means I need to win trophies. Winning the Champions League would be a dream.”
“For me personally, it’s about improving on last year, scoring 16 or 17 goals. That would make me the top scorer in the club’s history, which is something that interests me.”
So far, so good. At the time of writing, Atletico are four points adrift at the top of the La Liga table, and have a game in hand. They have easily qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League with one game to go. They have scored more goals at this stage of the season (45) than at any time in Simeone’s 12-year reign.
Griezmann has scored 13 goals so far, including nine in La Liga. He now has 170 goals for Atletico, two more than the record holder, Luis Aragones. Breaking this record would confirm his name in Atletico Madrid history, but to get the recognition he truly deserves, he needs another major trophy to put alongside the 2018 World Cup and Europa League. Simeone knows that too.
“[Griezmann] “He’s an exceptional player,” the coach told El Larguero this month. “He won the admiration of the fans. If you made a mistake, you had to apologise. And then he showed what he had to show. It’s not about talking, it’s on the field, that’s what matters to the fans.” [To win the Ballon d’Or?] We have to win something big. If not, it’s difficult. Winning something big changes things.”
The result of Atletico’s visit to Barcelona on Sunday will indicate which team is best placed to join Real Madrid and Girona in the fight for the La Liga title. If Griezmann’s temperament is the measure of performance, it will likely be decisive, like any other player.
“I’m really happy,” he told ESPN, returning to the tunnel after the Villarreal game, still breathless after another display of non-stop running, the most hard-working, ego-free star player I’ve ever seen. “I’m happy with what I’m doing. The most important thing is that the team is winning. Let’s hope that continues.”
With additional reporting from Rodrigo Vaez
