Atlético de Madrid faces Arsenal this Wednesday (9 p.m.), in the semi-final of the Champions League. Antoine Griezmann, his ex-teammate Diego Simeone, the last four of the competition… Peter Luccin, former Atlético player (2004-2007), spoke for RMC Sport.
This Wednesday, Antoine Griezmann will play his last Champions League match at the Estadio Metropolitano. Ending his adventure at Atlético with a C1 title would be the perfect ending…
Exactly, and even if he didn’t win this title, he would still have had a huge career at Atlético. I saw him two months ago at the end of training, we talked together for 45 minutes. It’s a symbol there. He is one of the best players in the history of Atlético de Madrid. There are many who could even tell you that it is the best. It wasn’t just what he produced on the pitch, it was also his charisma and attitude off the pitch that made him loved by everyone.
Leaving without winning a Champions League, a La Liga or a Copa del Rey at Atlético, would that leave him with a little taste of unfinished business?
That’s for sure, he’s a competitor anyway, he’s passionate. Of course all this would be a plus for him, it would be great. But that won’t change his career at Atlético de Madrid. Sometimes football goes further than titles. And everything he was able to do in this club is magnificent. It’s true that if he ends up in the Champions League, that would be the pinnacle, the icing on the cake.
When we talk about the best players in Atlético’s recent history, we often compare him to Fernando Torres, with whom you played…
It’s good that you tell me that, because for me, it’s both. It’s not a question of who has won more titles than the other, but rather what they mean to support it. I played there and I’m still a fan of Atlético, and if we talk about Fernando Torres and Antoine Griezmann, it’s because we’re talking about Atlético. Others have had huge careers, but for me they are the symbols of the club.
Antoine Griezmann has managed to find a new lease of life. The one we see today is not the same as a year ago, when he played less…
He might not be happy if I said this but I think Antoine is a diesel. He needs to play, and he needs to feel loved. Antoine changed Atlético Madrid’s style of play. During certain years, it was a much more defensive team, and they won titles with this concept. But when Antoine returned from Barça, there was a change. He almost forced el Cholo (Diego Simeone) to change his style. They changed their recruiting approach too, with players who have good feet. Their perspective has changed, and I think it’s also due to Antoine, because you need to put ball players around him.
Has Atlético’s game evolved a lot in recent years, moving away from stereotypes?
Everyone has evolved. This has been the evolution of El Cholo, and also the evolution of the status of Atlético de Madrid. You have to adapt. I think at one point it was too much, it weighed on the players. You can win titles but playing this fairly defensive style of play takes its toll on a physical and psychological level. Especially since there are players who would have liked to play a little more, and have the ball at their feet. So I think the evolution of El Cholo was natural.
It’s beautiful because it has managed to evolve. He succeeded, let’s say, in fighting against his genes, against his fiber. I consider him one of the best in the world, and it’s good to see that even these coaches are evolving.
Before the arrival of Diego Simeone, Atlético de Madrid did not play the Champions League every season. Have we trivialized this consistency that he brought to the club?
100%! I had the opportunity to play a little with him before he left for Argentina (at the start of the 2004-2005 season, Editor’s note), and we could already see that he was going to be a coach. What he took to Atlético de Madrid was something that the club had lost… this gnaque, this grinta, this desire for glory, for a title, for victory. He was sure in his head of the style of play he was going to have, and we saw it directly. The key word was work, and the work paid off. It’s not easy to spend more than 10 years in a club either. How many do that today? That’s why for me he is in the top 3 in the world.
In the semi-final, Diego Simeone will meet another of your former teammates on the opposite bench, Mikel Arteta (they crossed paths at PSG, in 2000-2001, Editor’s note). How do you see his Arsenal team?
We are hitting them. Everyone is more or less criticizing the way they play. This is reminiscent of what happened with Simeone too. I know there are a lot of purists who will tell me: “No, you have to see beauty”. It’s not a style I would adhere to, but football is for all styles. You can’t have football with only Guardiola, it’s not possible. You have to have different styles, otherwise it would be a bit flat. His football is perhaps not a football that would completely attract me, but I recognize his work. They are perhaps the best team without the ball. There’s a lot of work that goes into making sure players know exactly what to do and when to do.
Who are you most looking forward to from Atlético?
Against Arsenal, I think it is the rather experienced players who will make the difference, like Antoine Griezmann. Julian Alvarez too, he is experienced even if a little less than Antoine. These players are pure talent. They will have to manage the moments and manage the emotions. I see Atlético de Madrid a little more mature and serene than Arsenal.
From there to give the favorite Colchoneros?
No, in a semi-final like that, I couldn’t. I’m not very good at giving favorites, and at this point it’s all in your head.
Another of your former clubs, Paris Saint-Germain, is also in the last four. Who do you think is better armed between PSG and Bayern?
As a former player, I would definitely like to see PSG-Atlético de Madrid in the final. But from a football point of view I would have liked it to be PSG-Bayern. It’s a final before its time. They are the two best teams in terms of their football concepts, which I appreciate. They play, they attack. It’s a swap game, with any player being able to play multiple positions. These are teams that have recovered dribblers, which is very refreshing. Olise, Doué, Barcola, Dembélé, Musiala… these players make me happy, and that feels good.
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