Why Raul Garcia Is the Atletico Madrid Player with Most to Prove in Pre-Season

Run your eyes over the current Atletico Madrid squad. On almost every line from top to bottom, there is a player who embodies the essence of Diego Simeone, carrying the all-powerful Atleti manager's characteristic ferocity onto the pitch. 

At the back, there are Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez. Gabi and Arda Turan are in the middle. And in attack, there's Raul Garcia. 

The latter is an Atletico stalwart, a player who's been with the club since 2007 and pulled on the red and white shirt more than 300 times. He's feisty, physical, direct and in-your-face.

Garcia, like Turan, is representative of everything that Atletico have been under Simeone: an outfit that has defied the odds by treading the line. Watch him for just five minutes and you see he is Atletico, and he has been a hand-in-glove fit at the Vicente Calderon.

But change is coming to the banks of Manzanares. 

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"The team needs a change, a new stimulus," Simeone told AS, via Football Espana, in early June when discussing the task ahead of his club. "We've spent a lot of time together. They know my strengths, my weaknesses, and I know theirs. I'm convinced we need a change, an internal movement where the team takes a step forward."

Essentially, the Argentinian recognises that Atletico can't stagnate. For the club to prolong its rise in European football, a period of evolution must transpire in which the team's style and essence shifts. The 2014 Spanish champions can't consistently achieve success by scrapping and fighting for points. They must become more lethal, more efficient. Better. Enhanced. 

Simeone believes his team is "more ready to play in space" and "to move quickly from defence to attack." Thus, the manager is preparing to oversee a transition at Atletico that will retain parts of the club's current identity but introduce new traits.

It will suit some, such as Koke, Saul Niguez, Antoine Griezmann and even Turan. But there will likely be some who the evolutionary process harms, and Garcia seems to be among them. 

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The 28-year-old has been an effective pinch-hinting forward for Simeone. Powerful in the air, able to beat a man in a physical duel, Garcia has thrived in Atleti's combative approach. Often starting on the right and drifting forward in a robust manner, Garcia has been a natural fit for La Liga's most direct outfit.

Across the last two seasons he's tallied 28 goals fulfilling such a role, despite only starting in approximately half of his club's games in that period. Yet Atleti's evolution is likely to negate the need for the "Garcia role."

Already this summer, the club has signed Luciano Vietto, and Marca reports Jackson Martinez will follow. That pair will join a forward ensemble already featuring Griezmann and Fernando Torres, leaving little space for Garcia to force his way in. 

With that quartet, Atletico will be looking to play with more speed and more space. One imagines Simeone wants his team to take on a style similar to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea: organised, defensively sound and content to sit deep, but also ruthless and dynamic once possession is won.

Garcia, in his current form, doesn't fit the mould. 

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In midfield, opportunities are likely to prove just as difficult to come by. "The way I see it, for example, is for Koke to go in the double pivot," said Simeone, speaking of the shift he intends to implement in the middle. "That is going to start generating a team from another idea. And we need that. I'm convinced it's that time"

To accommodate a more talented forward setup, the Argentinian will start looking toward his more gifted rather than his more forceful players. Koke is the obvious choice given that, but Saul and Oliver Torres could benefit too.

Turan, should he remain at the club, will also thrive in a faster, more creative system. Naturally, there will be certain opponents for which Simeone will look to his more physical options, but such instances will begin to become increasingly rare as the manager leads the club down the intended path of change.

Again, Garcia is likely to be a victim in that. Unless—and this is the crucial bit—he too can change. 

To fit in with his manager's vision, Garcia is going to have to prove he can carve out a new role for himself in 2015-16 and beyond. His floating role could quickly become a thing of the past. The midfield could quickly move away from his skill set. Garcia needs to offer something else—something new. 

That's his task this pre-season.