Like father, like son: Why Giuliano Simeone is behind the turnaround at Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

It is to be celebrated whenever a match sponsor finds it in them to give the player of the match award to the one that deserves it, without allowing their vision to be obscured by a goal or an assist. Generally, that tends to send you careering towards an ornament like a rocket into space, but on Sunday, our faceless arbiter managed to find a way around star man Antoine Griezmann scoring an equalising penalty, and big-money signing Alexander Sorloth fizzing home the winner to give it to Giuliano Simeone. A man who has decided that nepotism has no place in football.

Simeone was put on at half-time in a game in which Alaves had more or less been on autopilot, a goal to the good through their own spot-kick, and Atletico couldn’t find a way out of their own cruise control. Enter Simeone, and slowly but surely, the entire dynamic shifted. Atletico started running downhill, Alaves’ control on where Atletico went and with who slipped. Their two goals were a consequence of that shift, instigated by Simeone junior.

The truth is he could have more of those awards. You’ll find few long-suffering fans of the beautiful game who aren’t a little cynical, and when tenured and until recently untouchable manager Diego Simeone kept his son on the fringes of his Atletico side, one that had just spent large on revamping their frontline, a sceptical look reached many faces in the Spanish capital. Bear in mind this is a 21-year-old who had never been regarded as the most talented in his class at the Atleti academy, and did not earn a starting spot in the very same Alaves side until they were safe from the drop last season.

The introduction of the youngest Simeone offspring has been an epiphany for Atletico this season. Looking at his 14 appearances, singular goal and 3 assists, you’d be well-placed to shoot off another quizzical glance. Yet if you look a little deeper, Simeone has three of those four goal contributions in his last four starts. More pertinently, Atletico have conceded just once in Simeone’s six starts this season.

If Giuliano needed to provide reasons to win over the Metropolitano, he inspired a 3-1 comeback against Leganes off the bench in the space of half an hour, was responsible for the breakthrough against Las Palmas in a 2-0 win, and was key again in their Alaves victory. What is notable is that all three involved incredible acts of hustle, in particular against Leganes, flying after a lost ball and keeping it in on the touchline. Seconds later, Atletico had the go-ahead goal, as a disbelieving Pepinero defence scampered into position all too late.

Coming out of Matchday 9, after the October international break, Giuliano has played in every match, starting five of the nine. Their two defeats, against Lille and Real Betis, were the games in which Simeone clocked the least amount of time on the pitch, just 33 minutes in total. After that turning point, Atletico are averaging 2.4 points per game in La Liga compared to 1.88 previously. They concede 0.27 goals less per game, and score 0.36 more.

That shift is not entirely down to him, but ask anyone at the Metropolitano – you can see and feel his impact. Having established the effect, what exactly is the cause? Watching Atletico’s 6-0 thumping of Sparta Prague, you notice the recently minted Argentina international grabs an assist, but your eyes are much more drawn to the sitter he nods wide from six yards out.

You would expect any other of Atletico’s forwards to wheel away celebrating without thinking too much about what they were doing, Sorloth streakiness aside. There is no arguing that technically, Giuliano is the least talented of Simeone senior’s options.

What none of them have, is a knife between their teeth and a desperate, breathless need to prove themselves. Simeone fights like his father, and his presence has been an air raid siren for his teammates, whipping them out of sleep and into action. When Giuliano presses, he drags the rest of Atletico with him. When he runs in behind, he pulls the defence with him. A footballing enzyme, Giuliano agitates his team, attacks the fat and turns it into energy.

This year Cholo Simeone was given the tools to construct a free-flowing attack, with talent and technique underpinning their recruitment policy. Little of which was in evidence before the last month. Just as it looked like Simeone senior was losing his ability to add more wood to the fire he wants to fuel his players, who better than to send out there than a boy seeking his father’s approval? Giuliano runs where he is told and with feverish tenacity. The bits that Koke Resurreccion and Antoine Griezmann have been lacking the legs for, Giuliano has taken on with hunger.

It can be easy to sneer at the often futile runs that players make after a loose ball, the slightly too zealous tackle, the war cry in plain sight of a camera, to characterise it as tribunero or playing to the crowd. Especially at the top level, where every side is adorned with embarassing quality.

Where Barcelona wobbled and eventually fell off the wagon in the title track last year was with the absence of Gavi. Amid an array of problems, the intensity of the entire side around him dropped without his gladitorialising of the game. Like Giuliano, Fermin Lopez is a long way from the most technically gifted in his dressing room, and finds himself favoured by Hansi Flick, just as he was by Xavi Hernandez.

This year, Real Madrid have flirted with early retirement from the Liga marathon through injury. So often Carlo Ancelotti and his squad turn to Fede Valverde for inspiration, but the absence of a second gritty competitor like Dani Carvajal brought Los Blancos to a sickly state. It is no surprise the increased presence of Brahim Diaz, who is not short on technical ability, but provides in abundance the selflessness that other stars require to shine, has coincided with their improvement.

Giuliano might never be a regular starter for Atletico, and he might not have a permanent effect on this Colchonero side. With things looking up for Diego Simeone though, he now knows he has the kindling to spark a reaction from his side. After all, who better to add the sorely lacking flavour of Cholismo than another Simeone?