Interview: Roberto Jimenez – 'I'm not sure Hansi Flick's style will suit Atletico Madrid'

12/21/2024 07:06 AM

Few clashes between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in recent times have been so delightfully poised as the clash on Saturday night. Form team Atletico come off the back of eleven straight wins to take on Barcelona, with both teams level on points at the top of the table in La Liga. The Catalan giants have just one win in their last six Liga matches, and having started off the season in scintillating form, are lost in a tailspin.

Ahead of the match, Football España sat down with former Atletico goalkeeper and LaLigaTV analyst Roberto Jimenez to get his thoughts on it.

Question from Football España: Starting off with the obvious one, what do you make of the game, and what kind of game do you see playing out?

Roberto Jimenez: I think we are looking at a gift of a game for football. Look at how both teams are coming into this, look at their form, both teams on 38 points, and fighting to be leader in the last game of the year. It's going to be a fantastic show for the fans, and an entertaining one.

I think it will make the game quite defensive for Atletico, because they are not going to risk that much. They know perfectly how to play against Barcelona. Also for Atletico, I think they will think that the pressure is on Barcelona. So it might not be the game we expect in terms of rhythm or chances, but as the minutes pass, we are going to see a different type of game.

FE: So we're more likely to see a more passive approach from Atletico then, rather than going for the kill? We've seen a lot of sides go for Barcelona's high line early.

RJ: I think Barcelona will start the match trying to get possession of the ball, moving Atletico players around the pitch, and get the fans into the game. Atletico will try to do what they usually do, be calm, trying to maintain their block in the middle of the pitch, not going to press high, and not staying on the edge of their box either. At least, in terms of the beginning of the match.

FE: You made your debut at Atletico the season after Diego Simeone left. Did you cross paths with Simeone much as a player coming through at Atletico Madrid. What kind of character was he?

RJ: I had the chance to meet him as a player, and as the coach of the team, but it was the season I left for Olympiakos. That was what I considered best for me at the time, to try another place, because at the time, Thibaut Courtois was number one, so I didn't see much of a chance of being number one.

From then, we've played each other a lot of times, at Olympiakos, and then also when I came back to Spain, I had the chance to play against Atletico, and we also have friends in common.
He's never been my coach, but we know each other well you could say.

FE:Going way back, you played against Atletico Madrid in Simeone's first season while you were at Real Zaragoza, and you saw them up close and personal during their 2021 title run. What shifts have you noticed in Diego Simeone sides over the last 13 years?

RJ: I think the key for Simeone, in this glorious and successful period for Atletico, is that he has not changed much. From the first day, he has given and shown to the players, the club and the fans, his passion, his mentality regarding football, his key factors in putting together a strong team and a strong club. He's tried to put Atletico back on the biggest stages in Europe, and I think he's achieved it. I don't think he's changed a lot, and that's the key for me over the last 14 years and his era.

FE: For Atletico, is it difficult to be the third force? You always have to be there in case Real Madrid and Barcelona as Simeone always says, but on the other hand, mentally is it hard to find a balance between motivation and ambition?

RJ: When I left Atletico, I was playing in a club that was fighting to be between 10th and 5th position. When Simeone arrived at the club, he step by step took them to two Champions League finals, and Europa Leagues, titles, a lot of very important signings. A huge difference in budget. It's a completely different club compared to 15 years ago, and that says a lot about him, beyond anything else.

FE: For players though, it's different playing for Olympiakos where you have to win every game and every title right? How does that feel as a player, how does that affect you?

RJ: Well, the pressure is different. It's true that Atletico don't yet have the pressure that they have to win every season, every title, like Real Madrid, Barcelona, or in my case Olympiakos. When you are a player, if you are somewhere everyone expects you to be in a position, but you don't have to win everything, I think this is a positive point for Atletico at this point of the season.
They go to Barcelona, they can win, they have a chance to win and the quality to do it, but not the obligation. When you don't have that pressure, I think it can make it much easier going into these games.

FE: Back on the dynamics of the game itself, the one major absence is Lamine Yamal. How would you work around it if you were Hansi Flick, and does it alter their approach? Equally, what does it do to Simeone's plans?

RJ: I think we are very lucky in La Liga to have players like Lamine – not only him – the whole Barcelona squad. Young players with a lot of quality. I think Flick has a lot of options, and has no need to worry about Lamine not being there. They can move Raphinha, Lewandowski, try to put more wingers in attack. And it's true that Barcelona's system this season with Flick, it's not the best news for Atletico Madrid. I think they expect a Barcelona that is more focused on possession, but this Barcelona is more direct, and I'm not sure that suits the kind of side Atletico are, and the defending they have to do.

I think that directness could be one of the keys to the game – if Barcelona win, then I can imagine that being one of the reasons.

FE: We've seen Barcelona's record in big games this season (Hansi Flick subsequently mentioned this in his press conference), does it suit them better to play against sides with more of an onus on them to attack? By the same token, Atletico aren't your typical big side in terms of approach.

These kind of clubs have to follow their mentality every game. You cannot change your mentality every game, you can't go from thinking like Atletico to thinking like Real Valladolid, with all due respect. So you have to stick with the same mentality, from the beginnning to the end, because people expect you to play in a certain way. And that's what the fans expect too.

FE: Enjoy the game, many thanks for your time!

RJ: Enjoy it as well, thank you!

Atletico Madrid travel to Barcelona to face the Blaugrana at 21:00 CEST at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

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