• Chronicle Al Atlético has everything turned upside down

  • 10 years of Simeone The call that changed the fate of Atlético

There was a time, between January 23 and February 12, 2011, when Atlético could not give one.

There were four consecutive slaps, without the slightest sign of reaction.

Sporting, Athletic, Barcelona and Valencia passed over the team led then by

Quique Sánchez Flores

, in full countdown as owner of the bench.

A team that roamed the League without the slightest aspiration.

Until nothing, those times were remembered already blurred. The demons seemed banished forever. However, suddenly, Atlético ran into them again in the worst month of December that the rojiblanca fans can remember. The accidental slip against

Mallorca

(1-2), in the Metropolitan, has led to the worst streak of the 21st century. A game of losses in the League, like that of 2011, only relieved by the conquest of

Porto

, which served to enter the hype for the knockout stages of the Champions League. The night that loomed coldest, ended up becoming the happiest.

Koke is the sole survivor of both streaks. Those four slaps in a row that cloud Simeone's tenth anniversary at the helm of Atlético. That they leave the team out of the Champions League positions, behind

Rayo Vallecano

, his rival just back from the break, on January 2. "We are not having that bit of luck in the small details. They kick us and score goals for the squad. Inexplicable things. The team has given everything, it has had chances, it has been ahead and they have disallowed a fair goal. It hurts. this defeat again, "lamented the mattress captain, who wore the number 32 when the team went into a spin in that harsh winter of 2011. He is right.

A team penalized on these dates for genius, misfortune and counterattacks. The same in the Metropolitano as in the Santiago Bernabéu, the Sánchez-Pizjuán or, last night, in Los Cármenes. Dream goals like those of

Rakitic

and

Darwin Machís

. Bouts of bad luck such as Granada's lethal counterattack, the result of a whip to the post by Joao Félix. Or the claw of Ocampos in Seville, already in the twilight, parading the ball through the area. Or controversial decisions: there were fouls that were not whistled, such as the one

Koke

suffered

in Seville, in the final 2-1 play, and others that did, such as Joao's last night, when the rojiblancos again took the lead. Only against Madrid, Simeone's men left their spirits in the drawer of the table.

"We lose games that we deserve to win"

It is as if, with the arrival of December, Atlético had lost its duende.

The same one that made him overcome games this season at the edge of minute 100. Or miraculously get up when he seemed inert.

"We have been doing good games, but unfortunately the results are not what the team wants. I can not say anything to my players, they did a lot of good things. There were many goal situations and even the disallowed, beyond the referee and the VAR And they don't think they fired two or three shots, "admitted Simeone, in the Los Cármenes press room.

"Many times we win games that we do not deserve and now we have to lose games that we deserve to win," he declared.

At least they will think about Atlético's dressing room, the next game will already be in 2022. December will be behind us.

It will be necessary to see if the spell has disappeared with the chimes.

Or if what happened in these 23 days is something more than a blur in Simeone's notebook.

Of that title won in May, not a single embers remain.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

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