Why are Atleti's individual players so underrated?

Over and over I keep hearing that Atletico are what they are because they are such a cohesive unit and example of team player. And that's true, but I think they have some truly great individual players and only two of them (Costa and Curtois) are getting any of the spotlight. Turan is a fantastic player that could get into almost any team in the world, Koke is a great prospect in the mold of Silva/Iniesta, Fillipe Luis consistently performs at a very high level, Gabi is the ultimate unsung hero, and Godin has emerged as one of the best CBs over the past 2 seasons.

If they keep it up for another year then people will change their mind


10/11 Juve was underrated individually, and an insane amount of credit went to the 'team' as opposed to players like Vidal.

Mind you, it's not exactly an insult.

I would argue, and very easily that Miranda is probably the best defender in spain. Godin not far behind, easily those two have been the most consistent defenders in espana for the past 2 or 3 years. They partnership is brilliant.

Luis Filipe is indeed the best LB in spain as it stands.

Captain zaragoza is an unsung hero like you say, great leader, very tough, and consistently delivers.

Koke ofc, Costa, Turan, Courtois.

They definitely have top players, and plenty of them. And there are good chances that they maintain their success if Costa and Simeone stay at the club. Torres will keep improving, Guivalongui has looked good few times he has played, Saul is having an good first year at Rayo etc... they need better forwards tho, they work too hard to create chances, that's a drawback

Turan would not get in ANY team and Koke is not on that level.

Luis is a beast and I think gets a fair amount of respect.

Gabi and Godin are not that good. They way Atletico defend as a team helps them tremendously.

My opinion.

Absolutely I've mentioned this on other forums before, in fact i think they have the best back 4 in la liga, Miranda is so overrated, in my opinion I'd say hes now better than say Pepe, Pique or Ramos.

Juanfran is the best converted rightback I've ever seen, filepe luis has also been great and Godin is very good

No one ever talks about Gabi, he's like the Gareth Barry of Spain but better

It's all Costa, Koke and perhaps Arda....2 seasons ago Costa nearly left Atletico while he was on loan at Rayo

The Franchise wrote:Turan would not get in ANY team and Koke is not on that level.

"Turan is a fantastic player that could get into almost any team in the world"

" Koke is a great prospect in the mold of Silva/Iniesta"

I think Gabi doesn't get any respect at all, but he does all the dirty work for them, leaves players absolutely no space and gets no recognition for it. He's absolutely crucial for the way Atleti play. I agree that out of the ones I've listed he's the least talented, but he's also the least rated.

Also don't buy into the 'the system helps them tremendously' argument. This could be said for a number of great players who would also struggle in other systems, doesn't make them any less great.

Then I dont think they are underrated. People I think are reasonably aware of those two things.

Its just their team capacity is a lot bigger than any one individual and even their own players say so.

I guarantee you right now that the only players whose level which wouldn't significantly drop without Simeone coaching them are Arda, Koke, Filipe Luis and Courtois.

They are not underrated, they are just fantastically well drilled by a fantastic coach which allows each one to play above their level.

What was Godin, Miranda, Juanfran, Gabi, Mario Suarez, Costa etc etc doing before Simeone?

Its not a coincidence.

I think the problem is that Atletico doesn't deploy a system that brings out the best of any individual player like most other teams do. They are based on team effort and that involves sacrificing what each of them do for the better of the team. Whether that is by pressing together or other means.

They do have some excellent players though. I said it long time ago that felipe luis has been the best LB in la liga. He had an excellent match against both Madrid and Barcelona. Equally everyone knows about Diego Costa's season and how Koke is a great prospect.

Maybe it comes down to being picky. People associate Atletico as a great team. A unit. But many still do recognise the good players they have

BarrileteCosmico wrote:
Also don't buy into the 'the system helps them tremendously' argument. This could be said for a number of great players who would also struggle in other systems, doesn't make them any less great.

But the likes of Gabi and Godin are not great, they are competent.

Its a heck of alot easier to defend as a centermid like Gabi when you have the entire 4 man line within 10m of the next one and then have 2 strikers who are often deeper than the opponents holding midfielder.

The Barca game for example, Villa and Costa were both at various points goalside of Busquets. This allowed Gabi and the entire midfield to keep compact and keep their shape, they didnt have to come out to apply any pressure whatsover.

Defending is all space, they cover less space individually but a heck of alot collectively.

And if Gabi is protected in this way, the defence even more so.

Its not a knock on their abilities at all, not any old donkey can do it, but you cant compare that to what other players do because its so very different.

Another thing people say is that Atletico lack squad depth which i think is total garbage, just look at their typical bench:

Leo (On Loan)
Oliver Torres
Toby Alderweireld
Adrián López
Josuha Guilavogui
Raúl García
Mario Suárez
Cristian Rodríguez

That bench is not impressive at all.

Mario Suarez is overrated as hell, Bruno by far better but still doesnt get call ups

Adrian lopez didnt live up to the hype after the 1st season

Leo, well went on loan, slef explanatory

Torres still a kid that can hardly impact the team yet

Raul Garcia, having a career year

cebolla, lol, average

Guivalongui hasnt impacted the team yet

Toby, lol, awful

they have depth issues, it's quite obvious when you look just how much Simeone relies on his 1st XI

underrated? More like overrated, none of the players in Pateti would start in Premier League thats for sure. They play well because of system Simeone has deployed not because they have any talent.

Mr Nick09 wrote:That bench is not impressive at all.

Mario Suarez is overrated as hell, Bruno by far better but still doesnt get call ups

Adrian lopez didnt live up to the hype after the 1st season

Leo, well went on loan, slef explanatory

Torres still a kid that can hardly impact the team yet

Raul Garcia, having a career year

cebolla, lol, average

Guivalongui hasnt impacted the team yet

Toby, lol, awful

they have depth issues, it's quite obvious when you look just how much Simeone relies on his 1st XI

I think you're being a little harsh on those players, Raul Garcia has been solid for 2 seasons now, lets not forget the loan he had at Osasuna.

Guivalongui will eventually break in, hes a great player, the only reason simeone hasn't played him much is due to not breaking the great formula of the starting 11...(if it's not broke don't fix it) they can't afford to experiment right now.

Mario Suarez paired with Gabi is Solid, hes not overrated, hes just good.

Adrian lopez is a good option when Villa not at his best, same type of player also.

Cebolla can actually have really good games, hes a good impact sub, he has got quality...he's not exactly Stewart Downing.

Oliver Torres is one of the best young Spaniards out there, just watch the Spanish under 21's

Toby isn't that bad in fact he turned down Liverpool then joined atleti

Dont think they are really underrated nowadays right? Turan is been highly rated since b4 he joined, Koke been rumoured for a bigger club for a long time now, their CM positions Gabi and Tiago has been there for along time, just Simnone brought the best out of everybody I think. Same goes with Godin.

Everyone rates Costa now and I still feel they are one of thoes teams that due to their style and teamwork, overall is a better level than the individuals.

arda turan for sure way too underrated.

terrance511 wrote:arda turan for sure way too overrated.

I agree

Atleti have some flaws here and there for example Tiago is shite and Suarez keeps getting injured. Juanfran is the Atleti version of Arbeloa aka finished and in need of replacing unless he is usd as cover. Godin is prone to mistakes. Villa has not been working well this season and Baptistao is loaned out ala Costa before he came back

They have no depth as everybody on the bench are not impact players. for example put Adrian in for villa in a game Atleti are losing he will leave the pitch having done nothing. Put Rodriguez in and the same will be the case. Alderweiled the biggest fraud of them all will not work but he is stoll new so I will forgive him

As I see it right now. Atleti need a RB, CM/DM, AM and striker. They have Torres when Arda finally fcks off and they have a couple of utility players such as Raul Garcia and Tiago. But guys like Koke, Costa, Villa and Juanfran still need replacing thats provided Alderweiled doesn't flop and can actually replace Godin of course. I bet they wish they hadn't sold Dominguez now

Simply because most of their players compared to top teams are just not as well known.

apart from what have been said, it's also because they play in la liga and are not Barca/Real Madrid. It has always been like that, and if they move to another top league, especially the PL, then they will be rated as some of the best players in their position. It has happend before, like with Silva and Mata.

Their entire defence is overrated because of the system they play. A bunch of decent players made to look great by how they play.

Pippo wrote:Their entire defence is overrated because of the system they play. A bunch of decent players made to look great by how they play.

Yeah, I agree. No one of Diego Godin, Miranda or Juanfran is world class. You can make a case for Filipe Luis though.

The Franchise wrote:Turan would not get in ANY team and Koke is not on that level.

Luis is a beast and I think gets a fair amount of respect.

Gabi and Godin are not that good. They way Atletico defend as a team helps them tremendously.

My opinion.

I agree, except Koke is really a good player already and a huge prospect.

Also, you forgot to mention Miranda who is indeed one of the best CB in the league.

I think that Atleti have some higher class players that we are all aware of, but they also have some very good system players. You look at their squad and there's no definite weakness. They have the right players for the roles that Simeone needs them to play in the team. Everyone does what they are told to and they are played in positions where their strengths can be enhanced. The team works together to purposefully manufacture a result through the individual discipline of the players to stick to the tactics. This is the triumph of the system over the individual. Contrast this with Real Madrid, where you have a team of primadonna individuals with free roles trying to chaotically spark up a result.