Atletico Madrid's 5 Key Players for Diego Simeone

There's no doubting the positive impact Diego Simeone is having on this Atletico Madrid side.

Under Gregorio Manzano the team were without direction, playing in a formation and under tactics that did little to bring out the best in their key players, and the conflict with Jose Reyes was causing an unnecessary distraction within the camp.

The turnaround since the Argentine took over has been impressive.

The squad look to have gained a belief in themselves and a desire to make a genuine push on one of the remaining top four places. Despite only taking four points from a possible 15, the side are not too far off the Champions League spots in the league table, sitting five points behind fourth-placed Levante and with a chance of grabbing all three points against Granada in their next league fixture.

The resurgence under Simeone has seen a number of key players been given a license to impose their qualities during games that might have been restricted under Manzano.

The service to Falcao has improved—a factor that is vitally important if the side are to have any great attacking threat going forward for the remainder of the season—and players such as Diego and Arda Turan are looking far more promising.

While Atletico were never fully deemed to be out of the hunt for one of the remaining Champions League spots, the effect Simeone has had on this squad has allowed them to gain a firm foothold once again as one of the favourites.

These are the players who have been key for Simeone and will remain so until the end of the season

Thibaut Courtois

Chelsea's Belgian goalkeeper was drafted in on-loan this past summer as a quick-fix solution to the departed David de Gea.

Thibaut Courtois has made a positive contribution this season for Atletico between the posts, so much so that the club are looking to extend his loan into next season.

The 6'6 teenager has shown his confidence in the significant step-up from the Belgian league with Genk and into one of Europe's elite leagues, even though his early days in Spain were not without their difficulties. He's not afraid of imposing his big frame and has played well in high-profile matches this season, including against Barcelona on match-day 25.

The 11 clean sheets this season have included shutting out rivals for the remaining European places in the league: Valencia, Villarreal and Malaga, as well as the impressive 4-0 away win at Real Sociedad.

Certainly one of the keys to a successful season at the Vicente Calderon this season, and a player Atletico would love to welcome back next season.

Falcao

Falcao's abilities in front of goal have never been in doubt, and even with the weight of the club record transfer fee rising to well over 40 million euros, the Columbian striker never seemed fazed by his duties this season.

Arriving in a team much lower down the food chain than his previous club Porto, there would have been some awareness from Falcao that his new side were not one who would blow away all in their path and sustain push for the title in Spain.

Rather, his contribution was much more focused on the side achieving fourth place behind what has seen to be a much more consistent and convincing Valencia side this season.

But even under Gregorio Manzano and the struggles the team had in front of goal under the Spaniard, Falcao has managed 15 strikes in the league thus far, as well as five in European competition.

Last season's leading scorer in the Europa League with an astonishing 17 goals has never been short of confidence of his own abilities, shown when he equalised with a well-taken goal against Barcelona in their recent 2-1 defeat to the champions.

Again, it will be down to Diego Simeone to find the consistency of delivery into his main striker to keep the goals coming.

Suspension on the weekend saw Falcao miss out, but with an already impressive tally for his first season in La Liga, there will be no struggle to continue where he left off.

Adrian Lopez

Although not considered a consistent goal scorer since his days at Deportivo, Adrian has come into a new-look attack for Atletico and has done well to make his mark in a team that will surely miss the productive partnership of Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero.

A winner with Spain during last summer's Euro U21s Championship, the 24-year old has shown he's not short of confidence this season since making the step up.

Able to work well with fellow new signing Falcao and on his own as a lone striker, Adrian has managed 12 goals this season domestically.

A free transfer signing for Atletico over the summer, Adrian is looking comfortable in this side pushing for European competition, and one who has made a positive start to life in Madrid.

Tiago

Perhaps the player to benefit the most from Diego Simeone's arrival at the Vicente Calderon is Tiago. A player written off my most this season and largely ignored by Manzano, Simeone was quick to praise the experienced midfielder: "He's a man; he played for Juventus and the national team; he's a leader and a player that strengthens all lines."

Despite failing to register a point in either the goals or assist column this season, there can be little denying the positive influence Tiago could have on this team for the remainder of the season.

A player with plenty of experience at the highest level and one who would do a job to keep things tidy in the centre of the pitch.

Certainly not a player that would have been considered to be included in this list prior to the winter break, but the new coach sees plenty of qualities for the Portuguese and has been open with his admiration of a potential key figure going forward.

Diego

Diego arrived in the summer from Wolfsburg with the intention of being implemented as the team's playmaker; and since Simeone arrived at Atletico, Diego has started all the matches except against Osasuna where he served a suspension.

Again, a player who was perhaps held back under Gregorio Manzano and one who was not given the freedom to act as the team's creative outlet.

He struggled to make a meaningful impact the way the club had intended upon signing him on-loan for the season. Noticeably the team's results suffered for it.

A bitter blow in recent weeks was losing the talented Brazilian to injury, in which Diego stated on his Twitter page, "Even greater than the physical pain is the psychological pain to leave the team at such an important stage in the league."

Certainly a loss for the club as they make a charge on the top four, but Diego's presence in the line-up is significant: a player who can unlock stubborn defences and provide quality in the final third for the forwards.

A key figure for Simeone going into the final few months of the campaign, despite only two goals and an assist in the league this season.