Gabi's Huge Improvement Pivotal for Atletico Madrid's Champions League Hopes
Atletico Madrid were taken the entire distance by a PSV Eindhoven side who proved as defensively sound as Atleti themselves over two legs in the UEFA Champions League, but the Spanish side eventually progressed on Tuesday night after a penalty shootout.
Few would doubt it was La Liga's representatives who deserved to triumph after being the much more attack-minded side over the two legs, but it took the combined efforts of Atletico's sporadic defensive excellence and the mental strength that has come to typify the Diego Simeone era to see them through.
Nobody exemplified that in the second leg more than Gabi, the key central midfielder and captain who has returned over the last month or two to a level of form much closer to his best from a couple of seasons ago.
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He's already an indispensable part of this season's team, but playing at the level he is at present, he could make all the difference in pushing Atleti toward lifting the Champions League trophy.
Box to box
By most descriptions, Gabi fits the mould of a defensive midfielder, but his role is really far more all-encompassing than that.
He protects the defence, for sure, but part of his defensive work takes place high up the field, pressing the opposition down the right channel with great frequency and looking to tackle players quickly after they have received possession, forcing either a turnover or a backward, hurried pass.
He's a link man from defence to attacking midfield by way of quick, efficient passes rather than the more elegant, measured vision of Tiago, but Atletico's play at times benefits from that sharper tempo.
In short, Gabi's game takes place very much between the two penalty areas, combative and aggressive in both halves and attempting to set a platform for the rest of his midfield partners to play off.
His stamina is impressive, and against PSV in particular, he was one of the few who still looked to have miles left in the tank during extra time, while he is extremely well-versed in the tactical intricacies Simeone demands from his team and changes up during the course of any given match.
Experience and composure
Atletico under Simeone tend to have a group of experienced, senior pros surrounded by the quicker, offensive few: Diego Godin, Tiago, Juanfran and Filipe Luis are the current batch of elder statesmen, as well as Gabi himself. It's a smaller group than Atleti have previously seen in the side, after the likes of David Villa, Miranda, Arda Turan and Raul Garcia have all left over the past couple of years.
That places greater responsibility on the ones who remain to guide a bigger group of talented players, and forces more expectation on those who have been in place a few seasons, such as Koke and Jose Gimenez.
Gabi has been part of the team's growth under Simeone; it's not only about tactical knowhow on the pitch, but also in preparing for games, coping with training and knowing how to maintain poise and confidence during runs of games that don't go quite as well.
As captain, his presence in the dressing room is undeniable, and on the pitch, it is often he who will challenge or talk to the referee when things don't go Atletico's way.
Previously, Gabi has shown an aptitude for set pieces, too; it hasn't been seen at all this season, but his penalty was expertly taken against PSV and speaks further volumes of his mental resilience and composure.
On the 2014 path
Gabi is, in many ways, the complete package for a modern central midfielder—with the exception of a diligence about his passing for too much of the early part of this season. His form was good early on, but costly mistakes against Barcelona and one or two others as a result of loose control or a wayward pass seemed to quickly impact on his confidence.
Last season, he lost his place in the team for a while, and this year, it wouldn't have been too much of a surprise if it happened again at one point. But while Tiago was injured and the midfield changed frequently, it was apparent Simeone needed the stability Gabi's presence provides.
Over the past month, he has looked far more involved, important and relentless in his on-pitch work; this is the closest Gabi has come to his 2014 form, when he skippered and drove the side toward La Liga's title and the Champions League final.
He was an unstoppable force at times that year, surging from deep to join up the attack and patrolling in front of the defence with a determined menace that matches that of Godin himself.
Gabi's performances against Real Madrid, Valencia and now PSV have been of the same ilk, and that can only point one way for Atletico: toward success.
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