Ranking and Grading Atletico Madrid's Defenders on Form This Season
It's no secret, but it's certainly becoming more widely know with each passing week: Atletico Madrid's biggest strength is their defence, one that could take them toward the UEFA Champions League and is keeping them in touch with Barcelona in La Liga.
Atleti have conceded the fewest goals of any top-flight team in Europe's biggest five leagues, allowing a mere 12 in 29 games in league play this term. In the Champions League, it's just three conceded in eight matches.
The defence is fantastic, both individually and as a unit, and we've ordered them according to performances over the season as a whole.
It's worth noting the midfield offers an awful lot in technical and tactical protection to the back four and that goalkeeper Jan Oblak is among the best in Europe, but those who make up the defensive quartet on a regular basis deserve attention.
Unranked Others
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The Atleti defenders will be ranked and graded according to individual displays over the course of the season in all competitions. However, it is limited to the half-dozen who feature with some regularity, meaning some don't make the cut.
Two names bear mentioning but have not featured enough to warrant ranking against the regular defenders in the squad.
Lucas Hernandez has recently been handed a chance to play a couple of games, at left-back and centre-back, because of injuries elsewhere. He has certainly done himself no harm with some solid and reliable displays. He totals five appearances and can expect to add more next season.
Guilherme Siqueira filled in at left-back on seven occasions in the first half of the season but joined Valencia on loan in January.
Elsewhere, from the B team, Nacho Monsalve, Theo Hernandez and Borja Gonzalez have all been in the matchday squad once apiece but have not taken to the pitch.
Finally, Emiliano Velazquez and Javi Manquillo are out on loan. The former is at Getafe and has wavered between good and a complete liability in an inconsistent season at centre-back. The latter, at Marseille, is earning rave reviews from right-back.
6. Jesus Gamez
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Grade: D
A slightly lower-than-standard season so far for Jesus Gamez, very much the backup full-back of the team and perfectly capable of coming in and performing when called upon.
The problem for him has been he hasn't really been asked to take part too much. Last year, there were inconsistencies at left-back that saw Gamez play a more than reasonable part in the side. But this term, the wide areas have been fairly consistent, especially first-choice right-back Juanfran, who occupies Gamez's natural position.
He has racked up just over 1,000 minutes of game time, per Transfermarkt, but only one 90-minute performance in La Liga in 2016 so far. A comfortable squad member, the type every team needs, but it's not been an extraordinary campaign and certainly less involvement than last term.
5. Filipe Luis
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Grade: C
There's still time to improve this, and there can be no doubt Filipe Luis is on an upward trend, but it took him a long time to reach this level of form.
Signed back from Chelsea in the summer a year after departing, it was no surprise the left-back came straight back into the Atletico team. But his early-season form wavered outrageously between being impressive and a total liability. His use of the ball was poor in the final third, he made errors defensively and contributed little to Atletico's fast buildup play.
In the last two months, however, he has certainly been far better. And since his red card at Barcelona on Jan. 30, Filipe has been a determined presence in possession, getting forward to great effect and linking particularly well with the likes of Saul and Koke.
At his best he's an X-factor for Atletico in creating chances, and he could yet have a much bigger say on the season than the first few months suggested.
4. Stefan Savic
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Grade: C+
More game time and fewer injuries and this could be an even more impressive grading.
This was a summer signing that looked to be out of place and a potentially poor decision, but Stefan Savic has impressed almost every time he has taken the field in an Atleti shirt, being far more aggressive and aerially proficient than had been expected of him.
He shows little trepidation coming into the best defence in Europe, and Diego Simeone has entrusted Savic with several key games: Benfica away, Sevilla at home and Villarreal at home. Between those three opponents, only one goal was conceded and Atleti won all three games.
It's an extremely tough back line to break into, as evidenced by Savic's tally of around 1,300 minutes and just eight appearances in La Liga, per Transfermarkt, but he has exceeded expectations and set a platform to play a greater role in future seasons𠀔—if luck is on his side and he continues to show consistency.
3. Juanfran
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Grade: B+
A great season for Juanfran should end with him heading to UEFA Euro 2016 as Spain's first-choice right-back.
He has been consistent to the point of overlooking what he contributes at times; phenomenally strong and reliable defensively, Juanfran also began the campaign with a fine offensive contribution, attacking at will and combining superbly with the wide midfielders.
A midseason drop-off in that regard saw him revert to the safe, defence-first full-back for which he is admired in some quarters and derided by others, but it meant that Atleti's defence stayed strong and compact while the offensive side of the team suffered some down time.
Like Filipe Luis, he's finishing the campaign strongly in an attacking sense too, surging forward with regularity and showing his technical strengths are not just limited to blocking crosses and making challenges. A fantastic performer all season long.
2. Jose Gimenez
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Grade: A-
It's so hard to go through an entire season as a centre-back without making the kinds of errors that cost chances, goals or points, and Atletico Madrid's regular pairing are no exception.
That said, Jose Gimenez makes fewer than most and certainly less than any defender with a comparable level of experience in top teams. He's so consistent and robust that even when an error can be pinned on him—the draw against Deportivo La Coruna earlier in the season springs to mind—he simply gets on with the game and ensures the next chance is cleared, the next shot is blocked and the next opportunity snuffed out.
Gimenez has been monstrous at times for Atletico and has visibly grown in stature and confidence, maturity and responsibility within the team this term. His technical ability is at times overlooked, and he's more than capable of bringing the ball into midfield from time to time. But above all else, he's a fiercely determined competitor who embodies the traits of Simeone's team from the first minute to the last.
1. Diego Godin
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Grade: A-
As with Gimenez, so too with Diego Godin.
The elder Uruguayan has made the odd mistake this season: a rash foul to concede a penalty against Valencia and the ludicrous red card against Barcelona. It's fair to say, though, he earns the team an awful lot more points than he costs them.
Godin is a tremendously consistent defender for the most part: strong and determined in the air, a non-stop organiser of the team as a whole and a warrior who will not hesitate to make a block, challenge or lunging interception if he senses danger.
He'll also stride forward and be a threat late in matches, as his assist for Antoine Griezmann so late on against Sporting Gijon in November showed. And if there is a question over his contribution this season, it would be that a man of his aerial prowess should contribute more goals than the one he has managed. The same goes for Gimenez.
Overall, though, there can be no doubt Godin has had an immense season once again and remains a bedrock for Atletico's potential success. He's as near-perfect a defender as there is likely to be in the modern game.
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