As much as he has tried, and see that he has worked hard on the nine occasions he has had, Gerard Moreno has not yet been able to score a goal for Atlético. And that for him, a very soccer guy, according to those who know him, is a challenge. The matter would be a simple statistical anecdote of not being because the striker of Villarreal, today one of the top Spanish scorers with Lucas Pérez and Loren (eight goals), rejected an offer from the rojiblanco team when he was still a Espanyol player. Simeone had seen in him a perfect complement to the couple that formed Diego Costa and Griezmann. But...

In May 2018, with Atlético on its way to its third Europa League, the Cope Chain revealed both the intentions of the Madrid club, with its offer close to 40 million of the player's clause, and the negative response of Gerard Moreno, which he preferred return to Villarreal, a club that held 50 percent of its rights, to be a substitute in Madrid and feel less important than it is right now in the Castellón group. His destiny was to occupy the place that Kevin Gameiro would leave free that summer.

It premiered in October with the national team and already has three goals in three games

Time seems to have added value to that decision of Gerard (27 years old), father of one girl and another on the way. The large record they offered from the Metropolitan did not alter their plans. He wanted to be one of the pillars of the team and, after a difficult season in Castellón, not only his but the whole team, today is the leading scorer of a Villarreal who, however, has lost his way in the last month: a draw and four defeats, the last three consecutively.

Precisely one month is what he has been without seeing a door and, even so, he adds half of the many that Atlético has achieved in full, 16, in LaLiga. His tremendous start, with five goals in the first four games, one of them at Real Madrid, has opened the doors of the national team. He debuted in October against Sweden and premiered as a scorer three weeks ago: he scored one in Malta and two in Romania. In his head is the next European Championship, provided that Luis Enrique does not want to erase the path of Robert Moreno .

And, meanwhile, Atlético suffers every time it tries to take a look at the rival goal. It puts intention, especially in the last three games, but it lacks the aim that, for example, has shown the yellow striker so far this year. Tonight, at the Estadio de La Cerámica, Morata and Joao Félix will try to break the hex: a goal and a point in the last three games (one of the Champions). Perhaps, if Gerard had said yes, Morata would walk elsewhere, and perhaps neither Kalinic nor Saponjic , the only one of the first team who has not yet debuted, would have come to step on Madrid.

Torres's goal, Oblak's injury

It is not exactly the Castellón stadium that is the best place to end any complex. At least for Atlético. His last victory there goes back to 2015, when Fernando Torres , with a superb counterattack, broke down the resistance of the local team. Since then: three defeats, a draw and a good hot flush like that of December 2016 (3-0), where Jan Oblak was injured and Atlético thought he lost the north.

"The word transition does not involve sunbathing and waiting all year for the flowers to come out alone. I have been eight years as a coach and five as a player [in Atlético] and all those who think that sincerely do not know me, because he who knows me He knows very well where I want to go, ”Simeone raised his voice yesterday, trying to redirect the message he dropped late Sunday after the defeat against Barcelona . Atlético's winding path in this League, with only six victories in 15 days, has them in sixth position, outside the Championships, although with seven points over Villarreal.

In the city of Castellón, Simeone will recover the quad, as he did against Juventus, in Turin. Herrera's lungs to oxygenate the rojiblanco brain with Thomas, Koke and Saúl. And all, in full debate about the need to sign a striker to relieve the drought. The winter market appears and names like Cavani , Timo Werner or Rodrigo emerge. But reinforcements will only come if there is any sale of gleam that gives a break to a tight salary mass. At least on that idea they insist from the club. Everything might have been different if Gerard Moreno had said yes to Atlético. Tonight, in the game that was to be played in Miami, it will be one of his greatest threats.

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