Luis Núñez-Villavearán
Updated Tuesday, February 6, 2024-22:36
San Millán The magician from Pogacar who makes Athletic fly
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Live Atlético - Athletic (9:30 p.m.)
Diego Simeone
said
that Atlético de Madrid needed many "footballers with essence." He did not talk about
Antoine Griezmann
, his reference player, nor about
Álvaro Morata
, his top scorer, nor even about
Koke
, his captain. The Argentine coach described
Marcos Llorente
, a footballer that "he likes", who he considers "important" and who "is always there for what he needs" both him and the team.
Llorente
's versatility
is a value that Cholo greatly appreciates. In the press conference prior to the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals against
Athletic Club
,
Simeone
recalled that the Spaniard from Madrid in last Sunday's derby against
Real Madrid
at the Bernabéu started as a winger and moved to inside midfield. and finished as a midfielder. "He just needed to play as a forward," the coach joked.
The truth is that
Llorente
has played a lot this season, which the club considers to be very good. We are talking about 32 games, 21 of them as a starter, for a total of 2,030 minutes. In this time, the Madrid all-rounder has achieved five assists and four goals, the last of which was the equalizer against
Real Madrid
in the 92nd minute of the match and which he dedicated, arms to heaven, to his recently deceased father-in-law. .
Top of 35.4 km/h
Beyond the fact that
Llorente "
is playing a lot, but not everything", as the club estimates, he has participated in all of Atlético de Madrid's important games this season. He has been in almost every minute of the derbies, except for the final part of overtime in the Cup and Super Cup, and has played the 90' against both
Girona
and
Barcelona
. A player, in short, for great occasions and great rivals.
In fact, his great mission in the derbies is to stop
Vinicius Jr.
"The player who defends Vinicius has to be fast, because if not, you are lost,"
Llorente
himself said about the Brazilian. And the man from Madrid is one of the fastest players in Laliga. In 2020/21, in fact, he was the fastest with a top speed of 35.4 km/h. He points out that he also reached it in the 91st minute and in a stadium, San Mamés, that will demand those physical faculties of him again.
He will not have Vinicius
in front of him
, but
Llorente
will have to be the
kryptonite of the
Williams
brothers
. Although both are in trouble for this Wednesday's game,
Simeone
believes that they will be part of the game. "Surely both of them will play despite
Nico
's discomfort
, I imagine both of them on the field," expressed the coach about the threat of the brothers in the first leg of the Cup.
Privileged physique
The
Williams
are two of the fastest and most skilled players this season and
Iñaki
is also adding goals, something that has always been difficult for him throughout his career. He has nine and four assists for five goals and ten assists for the minor. Thus,
Llorente
, starting as a winger or as an interior player, will have to try to stop the strength of both in a squad, the one from Madrid, that does not exactly have many sprinters other than him,
Lino
and, perhaps,
Nahuel Molina
, the usual footballer in the Right Lane.
The "privileged physique", which they say in the locker room that
Llorente
has , helps him face these challenges. A physique that, in addition, is worked conscientiously both at home and with the team, but the physical trainers are always coordinated so as not to increase the load on the footballer. In just five seasons in the colchonero team,
Marcos Llorente
has become a "reference in the locker room," according to club sources because he generates a "good atmosphere."
With Real Madrid and FC Barcelona out of the competition, Atlético has one of its great possibilities in this Cup to obtain a title this season. The Colchoneros have not won it since they defeated Madrid at the Bernabéu in 2012/13.