Atlético de Madrid and Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak has been named Slovenia’s footballer of the year 2024 by the sports newspaper ‘Ekipa’. This is the eighth award for Oblak in his country, who has also shone with Atlético de Madrid, contributing to a run of 12 consecutive victories in all competitions. Oblak won the global vote of the most relevant media in Slovenia, obtaining 139 votes, ahead of Benjamin Šeško with 120.
Atlético de Madrid could be looking for a midfielder in the winter transfer market. According to Italian media, Arthur Melo, former Barcelona player and currently at Juventus, would be an affordable option for the mattress team.
The Brazilian does not enter Thiago Motta’s plans and could leave in winter, even on loan. Atlético is not the only interested party, as Betis would also be attentive to his situation.
Atlético de Madrid trained on Tuesday, January 7th with a big novelty in the session. Diego Pablo Simeone began preparing for the upcoming match against Osasuna this weekend at the Metropolitano.
The work of this Tuesday consisted of testing possible line-ups for the weekend match, with a lot of presence from the youth team. Simeone moved a lot of pieces in the possible line-up, in the tests of this second session of the week.
The return of some players is expected, so there could be changes throughout the week. The Cholo changed many pieces throughout the work, for example, at one point, Witsel and Azpilicueta replaced Le Normand and Lenlet, who then returned to their role later. He also put Riquelme in for Lino, Riquelme in for Giuliano, to finally end with the same line-up with which he had started the test.
Atlético de Madrid trained on Tuesday with the surprising recovery of Thomas Lemar, who missed the Copa del Rey match against Marbella due to a contusion. The Frenchman trained normally and will be ready for the weekend clash against Osasuna.
Lemar has had physical problems in the current season, but his return is good news for the team. On the other hand, Alexander Sorloth and Pablo Barrios were not on the grass due to knee and ankle injuries, respectively.
However, Barrios was seen working with the ball on the grass and should be ready to face Osasuna. Finally, José María Giménez will not be available against Marbella, but is expected to be ready for the LaLiga clash the following week against Osasuna at the Metropolitano.
Atlético de Madrid has equaled its best winning streak in its history, reaching 13, after defeating Marbella FC 0-1 in the Copa del Rey. The current streak began on October 31, 2024 with a victory against Vic in the Copa del Rey, including victories in LaLiga, Champions League and Copa del Rey.
In total, Atlético de Madrid has scored 34 goals in these 13 games, with outstanding individual performances from players such as Julián Álvarez and Antoine Griezmann. According to data from Pedro Martín, on Cadena Cope, only Koke Resurrección and Julián Álvarez played in all 13 games of the current historic streak.
Atlético de Madrid announced the termination of Andrea Berta’s contract, who served as the club’s sporting director for almost 12 years. Berta won several titles with the team, including the Spanish league and the Europa League. Now, the focus is on who will be his successor.
There are two options on the table: looking outside the club or promoting someone internally. Among the names mentioned to take on the role are Carlos Bucero, the club’s general director, and Julio de Marco, who was Berta’s right-hand man. De Marco is seen as the favorite to take on the role due to his experience at clubs such as Real Madrid and Arsenal.
Atlético Madrid has been closely following the young Argentine footballer Thiago Almada for several transfer windows. However, Botafogo rejected a €20 million offer from the mattress team for the midfielder.
This decision has caused a small discomfort in the Brazilian club, as the owner of the club, the American John Textor, is also the owner of Olympique Lyon and expects to obtain greater profits from the sale of the Argentine. Almada, for his part, wanted to play for Atlético, but now sees his desire frustrated.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Pablo Simeone took the Copa del Rey very seriously and fielded a strong team against Marbella in the round of 16. However, some players with fewer minutes like Lino, Riquelme, Reinildo or Azpilicueta did not participate.
For this reason, Simeone organized a training match on Three Kings Day for the players who were on the bench against Marbella. The B team’s starting lineup consisted of Musso; Llorente, Azpilicueta, Witsel, Reinildo; Riquelme, Monserrate, Koke, Lino; Correa and Rayane. They showed their desire to play by winning 7-0 against the youth team. They will have another chance to play against Osasuna this Sunday.
Atlético Madrid returned to training at the Cerro del Espino in Majadahonda after advancing to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey with a 0-1 win over Marbella. In the session, the starters worked separately, while the substitutes played a training match against some players from the reserve team.
However, up to five players were absent from training, including Oblak, Giménez, and Lemar, who were not on the squad list for the match against Marbella. It is expected that Oblak and Lemar will rejoin the team on Tuesday, while Giménez’s situation is more complicated. The other two players who were absent were Pablo Barrios and Sorloth, who suffered injuries in the match against Marbella. Both are expected to be available for the match against Osasuna on Sunday.
Atlético Madrid secured their place in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey against Marbella, but the coaching staff led by Nelson Vivas acknowledged the lack of effectiveness in the final meters. The team shot 13 times against Marbella, but only managed to score one goal.
These data contrast with some of the victories achieved in this great streak of results, such as against Barcelona, PSG or Mallorca. Although it has also shown effectiveness in overwhelming results, such as against Valladolid or in Prague.
However, it is not the first time that these data leave the mattress strikers in a bad light. Now, Atlético Madrid’s coaching staff seeks to regain effectiveness in the final meters if they want to continue fighting for everything as they have done so far. The next goal is the match against Osasuna, this Sunday at the Metropolitan.
