Gabi's Form Is Biggest Concern for Atletico Madrid so Far in 2014/15 Season

It's funny how the mind works when you give it an out. That second you make the tiniest, most minuscule concession, that you're prepared to accept less, you subconsciously slip from the mentality that made you the best. 

The slip is often only minor, but it's enough to give the hungry chasing pack a decisive edge.

Right now, in 2014-15, just five months after claiming a historic league title, it feels as though Atletico Madrid captain Gabi might be experiencing just that.   

"It's going to be hard to be repeat what we achieved last season because Barcelona and Real Madrid have bigger budgets, are spending more on players and have great squads," the 31-year-old said in late June during his club's pre-season tour, per Inside Spanish Football.

"We will supplement our squad with effort and enthusiasm. Achieving the double will be difficult, but we won’t give up on anything."

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Of course, you can't question the accuracy of Gabi's comments. Defending their La Liga title is going to be extraordinarily difficult for Atletico, and Barcelona and Real Madrid do have considerably more resources than Atleti. 

But that's not the point. Those statements and those slight concessions weren't part of the mentality that drove the superb midfielder and his team to the Spanish crown last season. In 2013-14, the vibe that emanated from the Vicente Calderon was not our rivals are bigger than us and we hope to win, but more we don't care who you are and we expect to win. 

That was reflected in Gabi's comments prior to his side's Champions League final clash with Real Madrid in Lisbon. 

"Like it or not, he's [Diego Simeone] made us all winners and that's why he's the best. I'm here to win," he said on the Friday before the match, per Inside Spanish Football. 

There's a small but significant difference between that remark and the one made in late June. 

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It feels pertinent to reflect on such statements when examining Gabi's somewhat slow start to the new season, as Atletico Madrid attempt to do something they haven't achieved in 63 years and lift back-to-back league titles. 

The club captain has been noticeably short of the level he achieved last season, looking off the pace and "a tad slow and clumsy," as Bleacher Report's guest columnist Guillem Balague described last month. 

Certainly, the injury the midfielder suffered during the victory over Sevilla has contributed to the issue, but concerns regarding his form go back to Los Colchoneros' meetings with Real Madrid and Olympiakos in early September, when Gabi was unusually removed early in the second half of each match as Diego Simeone looked to enhance his side's flow in midfield. 

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It needs to be acknowledged that there are extenuating circumstances in the captain's indifferent start to the new campaign.

According to Inside Spanish Football, the former Real Zaragoza star played the final weeks of the 2013-14 season with a cracked rib—a fact that will only endear him further to the Atletico faithful, but one that might also explain a carry-over from the extreme, physical toll endured by Gabi during his side's title run. 

And when you consider that he made 57 appearances (53 of them starts) at the heart of the most relentlessly ferocious midfield in Europe last season, it's understandable that the team's leader has suffered something of a slip in the early weeks of 2014-15. 

But it's still a slip, nonetheless, and it's a significant concern for Simeone's men. 

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Up against the powerful squads Gabi alluded to during the pre-season, Atletico have no room to wiggle if they want to repeat last season's incredible triumph. The margin for error is even finer in the absence of Diego Costa and, to a lesser extent, David Villa. 

Simeone can't afford to have any players who form the spine of his team to endure sub-par seasons—Atleti simply aren't good enough and deep enough to cover that. The firepower isn't there to overcome indifference. 

Already this term, Atletico are enjoying less possession, making more errant passes and are well off last season's pace for scoring, per WhoScored.com. In short, Atletico are having less control. 

The form of Gabi has contributed to that, forcing Simeone to reshuffle his side, using Koke in deeper playmaking roles and experimenting with a 4-1-4-1 formation that deviates from the team's typical 4-4-2. 

The captain, of course, has been far from awful, but he's been equally far from the brilliance of last season that saw him among the most influential players in Spain, recognised by his nomination for the LFP's "Best Midfielder of 2013-14" Award alongside Luka Modric and Sergio Busquets, per Inside Spanish Football.

If Atletico are to defend their title, Gabi must return to that level, the one from which he's slipped. And only recapturing last season's uncompromising mentality will allow him to do so.