Spanish Inquisition: Atletico Madrid, Villarreal & Xerez - What Seems To Be The Problem?

In the English Premier League, fans of the lower-end clubs tend to do one thing. They look around the other 19 clubs and ask the question, “Are there three clubs here worse than mine?”

And you suspect this applies to pretty much any league, anywhere in the world.  

At the Atletico Madrid versus Almeria game on Wednesday night, some 70 vociferous fans gathered outside the Vicente Calderon VIP gate, where the club president, Enrique Cerezo would clearly have been able to hear shouts for him to resign and leave the organisation. While the anger of the fans is so far directed at boardroom level, and the mismanagement many feel has been endemic for years, the team aren’t doing much to help matters.  

It’s incredible to think that after four games, a side who are in the Champions League and has a front-four that boasts, Kun Aguero, Diego Forlan, Maxi, and Simao has failed to pick up a single win.

Atleti have only managed two draws at home, while on their travels they have been soundly beaten. On the opening day of the season Malaga ran in three, while last weekend Barcelona, in what is becoming habitual at the Camp Nou, thrashed them 5-2. And their worries won’t be disappearing that soon either.

Last night at home to Almeria, they looked on course to bag their first league win but conceded a goal in the 89th minute to allow the Andalucians to escape with a point. Forlan must be kicking himself now for missing a penalty early in the first half. This weekend it’s an away trip to Valencia, who are looking for revenge and to stop a slump of their own after the unexpected 3-1 drubbing at the hands of Getafe.

Even in the Champions League there is no respite for Los Colchoneros. A dull, dour performance against little fancied Cypriot side APOEL, resulted in a goalless draw at home. Next week Atletico will enter the cauldron when they play away to FC Porto. Failure to gain a point there and their European Cup dreams could be over even before autumn hands over the baton to winter.  

But if you are looking for reasons why the same team as last season is floundering like a beached whale, then the answer is simple. Yet again Atletico, a dynamic team in attack has no idea how to defend. The connection between defence and midfield, and midfield and attack is at times about as real as some footballers’ grip is on reality.

Against Almeria, Luis Perea went walkabout for so long that tiny Crusat simply tore up the entire left hand channel, playing at will for Hugo Sanchez’s side and setting up the first goal for Pablo Piatti. In midfield it felt like someone needed to go out on the pitch and officially introduce Cleber Santana to his collaborators, Assuncao, Maxi and Jurado. Until Atletico can attack as a team and defend as a team, and stop imagining that just because they are in shorts, they have become schoolboys, then they will continue to struggle.

Wake Up, Atleti! | The Mattress Men Staging Another Protest 

The reality is that this team is way too good to be where they are for too long. Abel Resino says he is “calm” about the situation and his position, and that the team will work even harder to come out of their difficulties. Cerezo says the club has no plans to sack the coach and that the team will eventually come good. 

Atletico fans meanwhile are looking around to see if there are three clubs they can spot in the distance, who may be just a bit worse than they are at the moment 

In truth they don’t have to look too far. Welcome to the world of Xerez. This tiny sherry producing town, dangling off the south west edge of Spain, seems to be totally punch-drunk on football this season, and they know why.

This is the first time ever in the club’s history that the team has reached the giddy heights of La Liga. The club have virtually no money to buy players and practically everyone on their roster is on loan. The fans plan to celebrate this season by touring the traditional powerhouses of Spanish football. And so they turned out in droves last week to see their side sink to a 5-0 defeat at the Santiago Bernebeu and no doubt have their calendars full with dates to visit the Camp Nou, San Mames, the Mestella, et al.  

Xerez have yet to gain a single point. Xerez have yet to score a single goal. But wait… it gets even worse. Just to rub salt into the wounds, the only goal that they have managed to score so far this season is an own goal. And a ridiculous one at that too. It came in their 3-0 home defeat to Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday. Leandro Gioda, from a corner with absolutely no one around him, stumbled into a stooping header which he managed to squeeze past his own goalkeeper. And herein lies the problem.

Chin Up | The Xerecistas Trying To Hold Their Heads High

Los Azulinos conceded all three goals to set pieces, one free kick and two corners. A combination of weakness in set piece defending, plus the fact that the squad is simply not good enough at the moment is likely to make Xerez a one-season team in the top flight. Their Cuco Ziganda summed up the club’s predicament after the Depor game saying, “if we begin to cry, then teams will lose respect for us.”  

In truth with the chances that Xerez create they will score soon enough, and with the effort they put into matches, they may lose games but they won’t be losing anyone’s respect. 

Losing games however is an alien concept to Villarreal, currently third from bottom in the ladder. In the five seasons that Manuel Pellegrini was in charge as the coach, the club fought above their weight. They even reached the Champions League semi-final in 2006 and were a penalty kick away from reaching the showpiece finale. Under Pellegrini, Villarreal played an attacking 4-4-2 formation with enterprising one touch football. But they were also a hard working team which surrounded the opposition whenever they were out of possession.  

Happy Days | It's Always Brighter At The Top Than At The Bottom

It’s early days still to judge how the club will do. But there is a clear hangover at the loss of their big, blue-eyed, calm talking, Chilean engineer, who is now too engrossed in getting the Real Madrid engine ticking over smoothly.

Pellegrini’s replacement, Ernesto Valverde is a highly talented and successful coach with a good track record in Spain. Yet funnily enough he is a slow starter. In his terms in charge at Athletic Bilbao and at Espanyol, both teams began the season at a snail's pace, but then powered on. Athletic went on to claim a place in the UEFA Cup under his management, while in 2007 he led Espanyol to the UEFA Cup final, where they lost to Sevilla. Likewise in his first year in charge with the Greek side, Olympiacos last season, he led them to the Greek title. 

While Valverde settles in, he needs to have his key players fully recovered from injury and the key to all things Villarreal is Marcos Senna. The Brazilian has been out of sorts since last April, and despite coming back at the start of the season, he injured his hamstring on the opening day and is fighting for full match fitness. Santiago Cazorla, another Spanish international, is also a pivotal figure that Valverde will need to have restored to full fitness in order for the Yellow Submarine to move to up the league table. And there is great excitement at the prospect of seeing new signing, Brazilian striker Nilmar, linking up with Giuseppe Rossi to form a potentially lethal partnership.  

Despite their dismal starts, you’d expect Villarreal and Atletico Madrid to slowly claw their way up the table soon enough. But it’s likely to be a tougher ride for poor old Xerez.

Ashish Sharma, Goal.com