As we approach the festive season and the La Liga winter break, it would appear that we may be treated to a three-way title fight.
With Barcelona showing chinks in their armour and Real Madrid having their own well-documented struggles, things seemed to have finally clicked at the Metropolitano in Madrid.
Atlético Madrid has generated excellent form in both domestic and European competition, with huge 5-0 and 6-0 victories against Real Valladolid and Sparta Praha, respectively.
The increased collective spirit and dominant performances have allowed them to reemerge as serious title challengers, thanks to the impact of a certain Simeone—but not the one you might expect!
21-year-old Giuliano Simeone has asserted himself as an effective catalyst within his father, Diego Simeone’s Atleti squad, with excellent tenacity and desire on the pitch.
Whilst claims of nepotism and favouritism are to be expected, Giuliano’s actions on the pitch are creating a positive selection headache for his manager.
Naturally, he epitomises the ‘Choloism’ mentality that Diego Simeone has sought to instil within his Atleti side.
He relentlessly presses to regain possession and provides a rapid outlet in transition.
This scout report and analysis will highlight some of the features of Giuliano’s play which has allowed him to look so comfortable at the elite level.
His performances have been exceptional as of late, and have heavily contributed to the effectiveness of his team’s tactics as a whole.
How Does Giuliano Simeone Fit In?
When addressing Giuliano’s recent emergence within the starting eleven, it is important to highlight his positional versatility, which allows him to take advantage of every opportunity.
Over the past month, we have seen him slot in nicely on the right-hand side of Atlético’s 4-4-2 formation, with two glaring tactical shifts depending on overall selection and opposition.
For example, his position on the right wing allowed him to adopt a much more attacking mindset against Real Valladolid and Sparta Praha.
This was because Diego Simeone has been experimenting with a fluid attacking setup, which morphs into more of a 4-3-3 when his side is attacking in transition.
Depending on the personnel at his disposal, we often see Conor Gallagher or Rodrigo Riquelme slotting into a three-man midfield from the left flank, with Giuliano ready to hold the width for his side on the opposite flank.
The key difference for Atlético has been when Simeone has opted for a more conservative defensive lineup, emphasising Giuliano’s ability to be combative and break up play.
This often occurs when Cesar Azpilicueta is preferred to Marcos Llorente at right wing-back.
The former Chelsea captain is much more accustomed to tucking inside and supporting play through the half-space and central channels.
With weaker defensive support out wide, Giuliano must operate in a much more reserved role when out of possession—something we will begin to highlight later.
Giuliano Simeone’s Attacking Qualities
When observing Giuliano Simeone’s attacking style of play, it is clear to see that his pace and explosive movement are some of his most impactful qualities.
His father even joked that this wasn’t something the young winger had inherited from him, but it remains a true game-changer for Atlético.
The chaotic nature of his dribbling can definitely be refined going forward.
Still, Giuliano uses it to good effect when evading defenders and driving towards the penalty area from those wider positions.
We see here how Giuliano’s resilient character, matched with his attacking desire, allows the Argentine to consistently ride challenges before producing an excellent cut-back cross for Antoine Griezmann in the centre.
Another moment that truly highlights his evasiveness is his first Atlético goal against Las Palmas—a true solo effort that was intelligently crafted.
Giuliano’s ability to run beyond the opposing defensive line has blended nicely with his side’s use of direct and progressive ball-playing defenders.
Therefore, as Molina is shaping up for a long ball along the right flank, we see Giuliano slightly adjust his depth to invite the opposing full-back to step slightly before curving his run in behind.
This small adjustment caught the defender on his heels and was vital in creating the space for Giuliano to break into the penalty area and slot into the bottom corner.
It encapsulates the lively dynamic that Atlético’s newest young star has brought to their attacking arsenal, but he has also been effective at accentuating his teammates’ strengths.
Giuliano Simeone’s Attacking Support
An example of this would be during Atlético’s recent 6-0 demolition of Sparta Praha, a significant milestone as it marked Simeone’s biggest away victory in European football.
It has been interesting to see how Giuliano has co-ordinated with the wide variety of Atlético attackers, with the likes of Julián Álvarez much more similar in style with their drive to attack the opposition with pace.
However, when playing alongside Sørloth in the front three, we saw how Giuliano could become much more effective with his inverted running through the right half-space, receiving in stride as the through ball was played through the channel.
It allowed the Argentine to play in much closer proximity to the Norweigan striker, who is very adept at using his physical superiority to hold up play alongside his powerful running off the ball.
The Sparta Praha match provided another snapshot of how Giuliano could generate further attacking support, this time from deeper.
Giuliano’s natural width occupied the defensive attention of the Sparta Praha left-back, with his wider movement looking to stretch the defensive line.
This allowed Marcos Llorente to advance through the half-space and become a real contributor within the Atlético attack, highlighted here with his penetrative pass to assist Antoine Griezmann.
These sorts of dynamic movements can allow Atlético to flourish in the latter stages of the season, increasing their unpredictability and building team cohesion through smart interchanges of play.
It was recently highlighted that Atlético Madrid had ranked 19th in LaLiga for the percentage of minutes played by their 10 most-used outfielders (63.7%), highlighting their preference for rotation and maintaining player fitness through excellent squad depth.
Compared to Barcelona’s 84.9% (#1), this would suggest that integrating impactful role players within Atlético’s squad can only bolster their title hopes as we enter the business end of the season.
Giuliano Simeone’s Defensive Efforts
Giuliano Simeone matches his offensive energy with a valuable contribution off the ball, which was initially highlighted by his pressing efforts during the opposition’s initial phase of build-up.
Atlético initially pressed their opposition in their balanced 4-4-2, with Giuliano ready to pin his marker towards the flank or, alternatively, press higher.
On numerous occasions, Griezmann and Giuliano have swapped positions, allowing the young Argentine to use his relentless running to apply more pressure directly to the opposition goalkeeper and central defenders.
However, it is important to recognise that Giuliano possesses the tactical knowledge to identify potential pressing methods that can force quick turnovers, such as forcing the Valladolid player inward, where de Paul and Griezmann could elicit a misplaced pass.
He was able to record 0.44 tackles in the final third per 90, placing him in the top 12% of all wingers in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
In his aforementioned defensive role against the likes of PSG and Alavés, Giuliano was operating as more of a right wing-back in a makeshift 5-4-1.
It allowed him to deploy his defensive determination to jump onto and intercept passes made to the right side of Atlético’s defensive line.
The example below identifies how Giuliano could drift into central areas and cut out threatening play.
The exciting aspect for Los Colchoneros is how these interceptions can translate into quick counter-attacking moves, with Giuliano using de Paul for a quick one-two to burst into and exploit the open space ahead.
When playing in a more conservative position where the benefit of speed is somewhat minimised, Simeone still appears confident in his ability to protect his defensive third with impressive duel-winning abilities and recognition of opposing threats.
The defensive underlying statistics are where Giuliano Simeone has shone over the past year, with 4.94 ball recoveries and 0.73 interceptions per 90.
Whilst his playing minutes have only recently started to become more regular, this provides an excellent indication of what we can likely expect from Simeone as his career at Atlético progresses.
Conclusion
Giuliano Simeone’s emergence this season has been recognised by fans across Spain and has captured the attention of his international manager, Lionel Scaloni.
A first senior international call-up seemed like a fitting reward for the versatile winger, but Simeone will certainly hope that those opportunities are much more frequent going forward.
Early indications in Madrid would suggest that despite a world of pressure, Giuliano is positively representing the Simeone name with his excellent performances and attitude towards the game.
A recent flurry of dominant performances and eye-watering scorelines should hopefully reinvigorate title aspirations for Atlético, who seem to be finding their groove with the addition of another secret weapon.
Comments