Why Jackson Martinez Is the Atletico Madrid Player Who Must Produce After Break
Jackson Martinez will be feeling the pressure at Atletico Madrid.
Signed from Porto in the summer to replace Mario Mandzukic, the Colombian striker set Atletico Madrid back €35 million.
That fee in itself is quite a weight to bear. As are the comparisons to Radamel Falcao, one of his compatriots who made the same journey from the north of Portugal to the Spanish capital in 2011.
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At €40 million, Falcao is also the only player in Atletico history who cost more than Jackson.
Jackson himself asked not be held up against the now-Chelsea loanee, saying, per Sport: "Falcao is Falcao and Jackson is Jackson; you are a journalist but there are others who are different, it’s the same."
But adding to the pressure were comments from club president Enrique Cerezo. Although he meant them as praise, he may have made things more difficult for Jackson. Cerezo said to AS (h/t Sport):
"Jackson belongs to the Rojiblanco squad and he is a great footballer, in my opinion the best number nine in Europe. But you have to give him time, have faith in him, because he hasn’t been at Atletico long. He’ll grow more confident if we keep on encouraging him when he’s on a bad run. I’m sure he’ll score a lot of goals. No doubt about that.
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Cerezo said that before the Madrid derby, but it was actually Real Madrid's striker, Karim Benzema, who found the net in the 1-1 draw. In the end, Atletico were saved by another summer arrival, Luciano Vietto.
The 29-year-old hitman has only scored one goal in an Atletico Madrid shirt, a largely irrelevant strike at that.
He notched the third goal in Atletico's 3-0 win away at Sevilla after coming on as a substitute for the final 12 minutes.
It was a lovely hit, but it was one that was more important in aesthetic terms than tangible worth for his side.
Beyond that, there has just been pain in front of goal.
Against Benfica in the Champions League, for example, Jackson had a great chance to send his side 2-0 up, but his header struck the post.
After that, the Portuguese side turned the game around, winning 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon.
In some games Jackson looks like a useful target man who brings team-mates such as Antoine Griezmann into the game; in others he seems to be on a different wavelength to his colleagues and the ball doesn't seem to stick.
Jackson spoke out about his struggles in front of goal, explaining he has been backed completely by his team-mates and the staff at the club.
Per Sport, he said: “It is frustrating because I can feel the support I have from the fans, my team-mates and the the coaching staff. I want to give my all so that things go well."
His manager, Diego Simeone, has also spoken out in support of the striker, claiming he is confident in Jackson "until death".
Simeone said, according to Sport: "He's a very important player for us and he knows that he has to grow a lot still. But we are confident in him until death. Jackson will appear at the most important and key moments."
Atletico need Simeone to be right. Fortunately, he often is.
With Jackson firing to the best of his abilities, their title challenge would be alive and well.
La Liga is intriguingly poised at the moment, with the Rojiblancos just three points off the current leaders, Villarreal.
Along with Celta Vigo, the Yellow Submarine have crashed the party at the top, leaving Real Madrid in second and Barcelona fourth.
Atletico are fifth but close enough to be confident when the season resumes after the international break.
The more games Atletico play, the better they should be, as they have plenty of players who are new and are still jelling.
Jackson is one of them, and when it clicks for him, Atletico will be a significantly greater force.
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