by They called it Big Boots, too big for anyone else to occupy. “Atlético de Madrid is my life,” Luis Aragonés once said, and he was too: the man of whom Fernando Torres, his favorite son, said “represents everything that Atlético is”, and whose statue stands outside the Metropolitano. The coach who led them to the first division title in 1977 and, when they needed it most, to the second division title 25 years later, coached them four times in four different decades, starting with an Intercontinental Cup triumph, at the age of 36 . He was also a pacey midfielder who won three leagues, two cups and looked to have won the European Cup when his extra-time free kick beat Sepp Maier in the 1974 final. That was virtually the last of his 173 goals for the club. club, more than anyone in its history.
Until now. Shortly before 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 49 years later, Atlético scored a penalty against Getafe. Álvaro Morata picked up the ball, but no one doubted who was going to take it. Antoine Griezmann knew this was going to happen and so did everyone else, although not exactly how. This way, he had time to think about the moment he was waiting for, perhaps even to fear it, but he knew where he was going – he had studied David Soria’s movements with Pablo Vercellone, the goalkeeping coach – and he also had support. . “Luis Aragonés went to take him,” said Diego Simeone.
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High and strong blow, Soria put his hand in, but it was not enough. Atlético led 3-1 and Griezmann also got his 173rd Atlético. The man who scored the first goal at the Metropolitano had equaled the man who scored the first at the Calderón, and his new home rose to celebrate them both. He raised his hands to the sky, to Aragonés, and then ran towards Simeone, waiting for him on the sideline with open arms. The group hug grew and everyone sang Aragonés’ name. “Today Antoine reached Luis’ numbers, incredible numbers,” Simeone said. “He deserves it: he is an extraordinary footballer and an ideal person for a team like Atlético.” He had cost him 364 games, six less than Aragonés.
It may not have been the most fun celebration of your life: there were the Fortnite dances, the red and blue glow borrowed from LeBron James, and nothing will beat running around the Anoeta athletics track and jumping in a car with your teammates. Real Sociedad, whistling. honking and waving the windows like they’d just won Family Fortunes, but it might have been what he felt the most. “It’s very special,” he said.
Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Valencia, Granada 0-3 Sevilla, Atlético Madrid 3-3 Getafe, Barcelona 3-2 Almería, Athletic Club 1-0 Las Palmas, Villarreal 3-2 Celta de Vigo
He also said it was a “shame.” Two late goals from a magnificent Getafe denied Atlético their record 21st consecutive home win in a wild match that ended 3-3. But if that record escaped them, if AS described this as “historic… and bitter” and Marca claimed that Getafe had “poured cold water on Antoine’s game”, it fits in some way, something a little Athletic about. This is the club that lost that 1974 final when a ridiculously long shot in the last minute forced a replay, prompting the president to describe them as El Pupas, an accident waiting to happen; that suffered that moment in Lisbon in which they finally returned 40 years later, and that other in Milan two years later; that he built an identity around loyalty in defeat and where the centenary anthem praises “what a way to lose!” and the song they played on his 100th birthday was You Can’t Always Get What You Want by the Stones.
Furthermore, this record will not be taken from us, perhaps never. When Griezmann was trying to decide what to do with his future back in 2018, his wife Erika told him: If you go to Barcelona you will be just another player, at Atlético you will be history. She wasn’t wrong, even if he had to find out for himself. Going could have jeopardized her legacy; She might have completely ruined it, but there was redemption in Tuesday’s collective celebration, something even deeper for leaving as she did and returning as she did, her determination to make it up to them, to get them back. There was also something simpler in him, something almost childish: she needs to feel happy, at home. And Atlético is his place, Simeone more than his coach.
Legend says that Griezmann was a disaster at Barcelona, but that is not true, and there is a reason they spent 120 million euros on him. That is The truth is that he was always a little awkward and, although he tried to ingratiate himself, he never managed to do so. be the same. At times, some thought, it was as if he didn’t dare. He had also joined possibly the only club in the world where there was someone who did what he did better. Not long ago, Rodrigo de Paul described Griezmann as Atlético’s Lionel Messi, but Barcelona had the real Messi. “I told him: fly, I hope it goes well for you,” Simeone revealed later, but they kept in touch and when it didn’t, there was only one place to go: home.
Many opposed it. When Griezmann arrived with Barcelona, his plaque outside the stadium had been destroyed and a couple of toy rats were left there. They knew he could be brilliant: he had led them to a Champions League final and won a Europa League. But, curiously, Atlético had won two Leagues: the previous year they won for the first time, and again after he left. More importantly, she had left the way she did, that documentary and the year-long delay only deepened the damage. She couldn’t just expect to return as if nothing had happened.
It did not. Instead, he was very aware of what he had done. And if many were not convinced, if there was rejection, whistles too, Simeone was absolutely, not only that year but any year, despite his difficulties. On loan, Griezmann scored just three league goals, eight in total, in the first season and it could all have ended right there; Atlético certainly did not want to spend the 40 million euros in transfer fees that they were obliged to pay if he played more than half of the games in two seasons. At club level, the inclination was to simply send him back. The coach, however, had other ideas and fought for them.
It was then that they came up with the idea of limiting him to less than 45 minutes per game to prevent the clause from being activated. Substitute in the 60th minute, week after week, Griezmann accepted without complaint and began to take advantage of the few minutes he had. Barcelona found themselves cornered, negotiating the sale for 20 million euros of a player who had cost them six times as much, and Griezmann felt liberated, but there was still work to do. “I know people want to hear from me: I’m sorry for how I hurt you,” he said. Then he would add: “I went through that situation because I caused it. He had hurt the club and the best thing he could do was keep his mouth shut, work hard and do everything he could to help the manager.”
“When not everyone agreed with his return, I was convinced that he was born to play for Atlético,” Simeone said. “He grew up, he left, he returned to a place where there were people who were uncomfortable with his departure and he turned it around.”
All What was needed was for him to be the best player in La Liga in 2023, by far. Especially the way he did it. He finished last season with 15 goals and 16 assists in the league alone, and already has 15 in all competitions this season. It’s not even about the goals: it’s everything. It really doesn’t seem right to me to call him a striker. His 173 goals for Atlético are accompanied by 77 assists. Happy now, is the mastery of the game and the responsibility and reliability that comes with it, the vision, the tact and the intelligence, the efficiency in everything he does: there is nothing spectacular, every pass perfectly weighted, every decision perfectly weighted too. . .
Then there is the work, the values for which former Atlético forward Kiko Narváez said Aragonés would have embraced him. When Griezmann scored on Tuesday, the first thing Kiko cited was the “kilometers.” He is a great footballer, who plays, who runs, like garbage. Only he also runs like a genius: he is everywhere except in the wrong place. “When you tell a player ‘he plays for free’, he doesn’t interpret it well,” Simeone says. “Griezmann is the first football in which they say ‘play free’ and he does everything well. He is extraordinary and has something special. He likes to understand where the team needs his efforts. It will be history for Atlético, for sure.”
When Griezmann arrived home, there were four scorers ahead of him, all of them creators of history. Now there are none, just Big Boots accompanying him to the penalty spot. “Everything he says will not live up to his legend,” Griezmann said. “Everything that Atlético is is thanks to him. I feel an emotion, a pride and a happiness that I cannot explain. Being on par with him in goals is magical and incredible for me, but there is still a lot to do and I will never be on par with him because he is Luis Aragonés.”
