Why are we fighting again?
For a few brief hours, both sides laid down their weapons and in celebration of the festive period, engaged in a simple game of football. Human spirit and the joy of the beautiful game triumphing over conflict. This was not the scene of the famous Christmas truce on the Western Front in 1914, but the Cívitas Metropolitano in the dying embers of 2022.
Granted it was Elche, a ten-man, winless Elche, in what was arguably their easiest LaLiga match of the season on paper. An Elche so uninspiring, they remind of the disillusioned partner, purposely acting out as much as they possibly can, in the hope they will be broken up with by their fans rather than having to do it themselves. But at times, there was genuine electricity in Atlético Madrid’s play. Perhaps for the first time since the opening day of the season against Getafe.
One of the feuding parties, João Félix, was used by Diego Simeone in a similar fashion to at the World Cup with Portugal. With Álvaro Morata ahead and occupying defenders, Félix was deeper but not nailed to a position. At various depths, he would find Antoine Griezmann. The two were allowed to work out exactly where they needed to be. Enough freedom to move, but sufficient options around them to think creatively.
There was no masterclass on show. This was an inconsistent performance and neither did it entirely convince the Metropolitano that they would be seeing a vastly improved team in 2023. Already Griezmann’s surreal miss and Mario Hermoso’s (Mario Feo, as Michael Van Vaerenbergh put it) sending off were being mocked up as the tragicomic front pages of another Atleti debacle. Fortunately, Griezmann provided Félix with the opener shortly after.
But with Griezmann and Félix combining, with the impressive young Pablo Barrios behind, and a focal point up ahead, there were glimpses of what this Atlético Madrid could be. A waft of maybe what this Atlético Madrid should be. The very ‘simple’ act of uniting their two most technically gifted players, and finding a structure which works for both, could troubleshoot a lot of their problems.
“What matters to me,” remarked Simeone on Félix before the game, “is the team, and he is important to the team. If he shows us what we saw in the World Cup, he will be very important. He has the conditions and talent and the team needs his qualities.”
These moments have invariably been fleeting, and based off the last three and a half years’ evidence, this one won’t last either. It seems the dye has been cast for Félix and Atleti, or at least Félix and Simeone. The likelihood is the Portuguese does not begin next season in Madrid. Sometimes though, for a brief moment, it makes you wonder why there is so much fighting.