Editorial

Comment: Valencia's Silva Lining Darkens Atleti's European Hopes

Subhankar Mondal casts an eye back at Valencia's decisive 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid in La Liga...

Jan 4, 2009 1:59:26 PM

David Silva leads Tomas Ujfalusi to the ball in Valencia's win over Atletico Madrid.

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David Silva leads Tomas Ujfalusi to the ball in Valencia's win over Atletico Madrid.

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For most of last season Atletico Madrid had been trying not to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, teasing and toying with the fourth spot, even when their main challengers Sevilla FC and Racing Santander were seemingly equally disinclined to make it their own.

Then perhaps realizing that enough was enough, Atleti eventually decided to end the flirting by defeating Deportivo la Coruna 1-0 in the penultimate weekend.

The Rojiblancos have been going on pretty well so far this season in Europe's top tier club competition. They have a date with Portuguese giants FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League last 16 stage and it is very likely that they shall progress into the quarter-finals.

But old habits die hard. In fact, they rarely die at all. This season it seems that after even after displaying much promise, flair and thrill, Atleti shall have to scrap it in the end for a top four finish.

This season Javier Aguirre's men have been playing as they did last time around: pretty entertaining football. No, not the swashbuckling, all-conquering Caesar-esque Barcelona brand of football, but a kind that allows them to go on the attack in full rhythm and spirit, as well as concede goals with almost the same intensity.

But on Saturday night against Valencia at the Mestalla Atletico failed to exhibit their usual style. They were not so much shoved back to their shell as stifled out of space and squeezed out of all imagination, going down 3-1 to a Valencia side that is again beginning to look threatening after last season's debacle.

Right from the very start, Valencia were the dominant and better side. Los Che had a legitimate goal disallowed in the second minute of the match when David Villa wriggled past John Heitinga to slot the ball home past a helpless Leo Franco only for the referee, the most visible man in the first half, to wrongly rule it as a foul.

Three minutes later David Silva bundled the ball into the back of the Atletico net only for the referee to interfere and adjudge that Juan Mata was in an offside position although there is some doubt as to whether he was interfering with play or not.

Before the start of the match, Valencia and Atletico Madrid had identical records: 16 matches played, 9 matches won, 3 drawn and 4 lost. But on Sunday night at the Mestalla there was hardly anything identical between the two sides.

Only a Diego Forlan penalty in the final minute of the first half kept the dimly burning Atleti hopes alive and although Valencia were not that quick or dominant in the second period as they were in the first, they were still the better side and didn't allow Atletico to gain any ground on them whatsoever.

David Silva scored twice in what was only his second league start of the season that has already observed him miss 13 matches due to injury. David Albelda played the same old role of a player whom you do not notice until he is not there, Miguel seemed more like a right-sided midfielder than a right-back, Joaquin was dribbling and running (with purpose), Juan Mata able partnered Silva on the flank, Renan looked sharp in goal and David Villa, still without a goal from open play in almost two months, did look very subtle and supple at times.

As for Atletico, they failed to play to their potential, and not for the first time either. True, they were missing midfield engine Maniche and Argentine ace Maxi Rodriguez but that is hardly a credible excuse behind which they can hide themselves.

Atletico Madrid have been thoroughly under par in the 'big matches'. They were dislodged 1-0 by Sevilla at the Estadio Vicente Calderon in late September and were blown away by a Catalan gale in Camp Nou in October when FC Barcelona hit them for a sixer.

The very next week cross-city rivals Real Madrid put two over them and then Atleti somehow managed two goals in the last 7 minutes to draw 4-4 with Villarreal in a match in which they had only 32% of the possession.

And now this: a convincing 3-1 defeat to Valencia in a match in which they had 11 shots at goal, 5 on target, a match in which Sergio Aguero, Atletico's supposed Messiah, failed to groove into gear and neither could any of the midfielder, except Simao Sabrosa who was again Atleti's best player on the pitch; a match in which they once again demonstrated that although they are an impressive and well-intended side, they are not that strong.

Under Javier Aguirre, Atletico have rescaled the peaks that they were always expected to reconquer. With over 100 million euros spent over the last two seasons and the club gaining some institutional and off-pitch stability under president Enrique Cerezo, it is expected that Atleti can play in the Champions League at least.

They are the third biggest club in Spain but are in danger of losing a much-craved top four spot almost as soon as they begin to believe that they could sustain it forever.

Atletico Madrid are not really a one-man team as they do possess players such as Simao, the most impressive Atletico player on Sunday night at the Mestalla, Diego Forlan, Maxi, Maniche and Luis Garcia who can and do score and dominate proceedings, but they do tend to be a bit overly dependent on El Kun.

Which once again goes onto demonstrate that although Atletico do have the quality and the players, they do not have that extra 'something' that would carry them onto the top four without any challenge.

Valencia have re-emerged after last season's Ronald Koeman disaster and are playing decent and constructive football, Sevilla are a very strong and balanced side that can win matches at a canter and play lovely passing and fast football, keeping their defence tight. Villarreal too are a very strong side that possess a certain degree of South American flair. As for Barcelona and Real Madrid, while the former should win the league this season, the latter should finish second.

Which leads one to ponder whether Atletico Madrid have to remain satisfied with a UEFA Cup for next season or not.

Subhankar Mondal

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