Power Ranking Every Atletico Madrid Player from the 2015/16 La Liga Season
Atletico Madrid's excellent campaign in La Liga came to an end on Saturday with a 2-0 home win over Celta Vigo.
The result confirmed a third-place finish, just three points off title winners Barcelona following an exciting close to the year.
Diego Simeone's team have looked the biggest threat to the Catalan club for a long time and have shown great consistency and resilience—yet they fell just short on the domestic scene, although they did make it through to the UEFA Champions League final.
Here we look at the entire squad and rank Los Rojiblancos' performers based on what they produced during the league campaign to see where improvements might be made and which players can be particularly happy with their form during 2015-16.
Unused and Unranked
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Atletico Madrid named three players on their bench during the course of the season who ultimately didn't play a single minute: Miguel Angel Moya, Samuel Villa and Theo Hernandez. The latter two are B team players, Moya is the back-up to Jan Oblak in goal.
Furthermore, three players made insignificant contributions despite getting on the pitch.
Guilherme Siqueira played one game before leaving on loan for Valencia, Nacho Monsalve made one appearance during an injury crisis in defence and Raul Garcia made one substitute appearance at the beginning of the season before departing permanently for Athletic Club.
None of these six are ranked.
22. Jackson Martinez
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There's not much to say about Jackson Martinez's time at the club; or at least, not much positive.
The Colombian striker was a big-money signing last summer but never adapted to Atletico's system or demands, and he netted just two league goals in 15 matches and was sold to the Chinese Super League in February.
Almost the only noteworthy point from his time at the Vicente Calderon was indeed his exit—Atleti somehow made a profit on him.
21. Matias Kranevitter
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Matias Kranevitter joined up with the Atletico squad in winter after completing the FIFA Club World Cup with former team River Plate.
He has had a slow and sporadic introduction to life in La Liga, with Diego Simeone bringing him on as sub at times and not wanting to disrupt the middle of the park for Atletico too much.
Kranevitter featured eight times in La Liga, and the expectation will be that he makes a much bigger impact next term.
20. Jesus Gamez
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Jesus Gamez performed his usual role of back-up full-back with distinction, though without great frequency.
The Spanish defender played 10 times over the course of the Liga campaign, operating on both sides of defence as needed and being his usual solid self without offering too much going forward, which is a natural side-effect of not seeing much game time.
19. Oliver Torres
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Having started the season as Atletico's first-choice on the right of midfield, and with him impressing with a good first touch and ability to exploit space, few would have envisaged such a drop-off.
The No. 10 never really found much consistency in his game after September, and he has been little more than a substitute over the last two-thirds of the campaign.
There's a lot more to come from Oliver, but he must show patience to get his chance—then aggression and the ability everybody knows he has to actually seize it.
18. Luciano Vietto
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Luciano Vietto hasn't been quite as terrible as some like to make out, but he has certainly fallen short in the goalscoring expectations.
Even as a third-choice he should have been pushing for double figures over the season overall, and having played just shy of 1,000 minutes in La Liga, Simeone and Co. absolutely would have been hoping for a greater return than a single league goal.
Vietto's big strength has been in linking play outside the box and running into the channels, but he needs a big year next term if his chance at a top club isn't to pass him by.
17. Thomas
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An outsider looking in for the first half of the season, Thomas found a few opportunities finally come his way in winter and showed team-mates Oliver and Kranevitter how to catch the eye in limited time.
In fairness, Thomas' key attributes are almost perfectly suited to being the impact sub: he's adept at taking possession and streaking forward into space late in the match, leading Atletico's counter-attack when others are tiring and ineffective.
Thomas doesn't really have the control in his game to look like being a regular starter or key player in Atleti's midfield, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a big part to play if he improves his end product.
He can be a game-changer for them, thanks to his physicality and pace, and he made several vital impacts off the bench in La Liga.
16. Stefan Savic
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Stefan Savic might be a little disappointed with his first season in Spain but not because of his performances.
In truth, every time Savic was called upon to play, he did his job well and rarely looked out of his comfort zone—a surprise to those who perhaps thought he might not be a good fit for the Atletico manner of defending.
Instead, his disappointment might be in that he didn't get to shine too often; the form of the regular starters and a few injuries for himself meant the Montenegrin defender was limited to 12 league games, overall doing a good job but not making an absolute case for regular inclusion.
15. Lucas Hernandez
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By contrast to Savic, Lucas Hernandez did catch the eye, particularly because he came into the team at a moment of great need and came up with tremendous performances.
With three senior defenders out injured, Lucas was drafted in toward the end of the season and went on to play 10 times in La Liga, centrally and at left-back, and looked every inch the part of a stereotypical Atleti defender: aggressive, aware, conscientious of his responsibilities and perfectly happy thundering into tackles or headers.
He clearly has a bright future and, at 20 years old, could see more game time next year either out on loan or as Atletico's third-choice.
14. Angel Correa
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An excellent performer at times, Angel Correa served notice of his capabilities in his debut season with Atletico.
Equally at home either as the second forward or playing from the left channel, Correa's work rate and willingness to give defenders a hard time is matched by an aggressive demeanour in possession. He runs at the back line, is happy to take players on and always looks to get a shot away, sometimes even when others are better placed.
He'll learn plenty from this term and can genuinely go on to be a star for Atletico and Argentina. Correa scored five in 26 games in La Liga and was a brilliant option from the bench.
13. Tiago
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Something of a forgotten man by the end of the season, Tiago started the year in typically excellent form in midfield but suffered a long-term injury in late November.
Playing in central midfield, his energy and creativity from deep was a feature of Atleti's game, but a broken leg suffered before Christmas means he didn't play again until the final 10 minutes of the season, coming on as a late sub against Celta.
It could well be a farewell performance with his contract up in the summer, though Tiago told Marca's Luis Aznar he hopes to extend his deal for another season.
12. Augusto Fernandez
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Just jumping ahead of Tiago is the man who effectively replaced him, Augusto Fernandez.
The former Celta Vigo man was signed in January to fill the gap left by Tiago's injury and has been a good performer—he perhaps did not reach the heights in La Liga that he has needed to in the UEFA Champions League, but he played an important role nonetheless.
He made 13 league appearances all told and will likely be a big part of the team next season, especially if they play three in midfield more often.
11. Yannick Carrasco
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Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco has been vital to Atletico this season.
He hasn't actually been on his best level of form throughout the entire campaign, but he had two very noticeable peaks when he was one of the standouts in La Liga—and even when not quite at his best, his innate characteristics make him important to Atleti's style of play.
Able to dribble the ball quickly and over long distances, Carrasco is an out-ball as well as an attacking threat, he works hard and has deservedly won a spot in the team having begun the year as a sub. He'll be expected to bring more end product next term, but he looks extremely capable of doing so.
10. Fernando Torres
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From being something of a frustrating figure for months as he seemed incapable of hitting not just a barn door, but any part the barn, Fernando Torres has turned around his form in epic style to end the season on a real high.
The striker is set to be offered a new contract to stay at Atletico beyond this season, per Marca, having ended the season with 11 goals in 30 matches.
After finally netting his 100th goal for the club against Eibar in February, Torres ended the season with nine Liga goals in his last 14 appearances—or a goal every 104 minutes. He more than filled the void left by the underperforming Vietto and the departed Martinez, and he deserves his extended stay at the club.
9. Koke
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Koke has been one of La Liga's best players over the last two or three months of the season, but it took him an uncharacteristically long time to get going.
Earlier in the year, he suffered a frustrating run of form, was subbed off with some frequency and generally didn't quite have the impact on the team that had been hoped.
Since February or so, though, he has been unstoppable; tremendous work rate and positional rotation has been mixed with great end product and a near-telepathic link with Torres at times, with the two combining for a number of scoring chances.
Koke ended the league season with 14 assists, the third-highest in La Liga.
8. Gabi
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Just ahead of Koke for overall contribution to the Liga season is captain Gabi.
The veteran midfielder certainly can't claim to have matched the highs of Koke's recent form at any point this season, but he has been far more consistent overall and has largely kept up the same level of performance throughout.
His work rate and determination set the tone for the team—he presses high and roams into the right channel to lead the attack when necessary and his ball-winning capacity remains extremely high.
He's still a vital member of the side at 32 years old.
7. Filipe Luis
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Filipe Luis returned to Atletico in the summer after just one season away and initially struggled to readapt to La Liga and life under Simeone.
His first couple of months were erratic at best, but early in winter, he seemed to settle down and find his best level of fitness, which in turn contributed to being able to be a force in attack while being part of the league's most stringent and organised defence.
The Brazilian has been in excellent form for the past month or two and has had both notable highs and lows, from his fine goal against Las Palmas to his red card against Barcelona.
6. Saul
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Saul Niguez was the top midfielder for Atletico Madrid this season, no question.
The 21-year-old broke into the XI in November and played well enough to keep his position—then he nailed down a regular starting berth when Tiago broke his leg.
Since then, Saul has been an indispensable part of the team, owning the middle third of the pitch with his mix of skill, power, heading ability inside the penalty area and versatility to cover every role.
He has played off the front man, in central defence, on both sides of midfield and every conceivable tactical role in the middle, and he has excelled at each. He's arguably La Liga's best young performer this season and it would be a travesty if he misses out on Spain's national team squad selection for UEFA Euro 2016.
Saul scored four in 31 games in La Liga.
5. Jan Oblak
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La Liga's best goalkeeper this season, the utterly unflappable Jan Oblak is a monstrous specimen between the sticks.
Having usurped Miguel Angel Moya as the team's Liga No. 1 at the back end of last year, this term Oblak made history. Just 18 goals conceded all year means he equals a La Liga record: 0.47 goals per game conceded on average, equal with Paco Liano of Deportivo La Coruna, from 1994.
Sure, Oblak has a great defence in front of him, but the Slovenian more than played his part with some outrageous stops and, more importantly, utter assurance and control in dealing with high balls, through passes or one-on-one situations.
4. Juanfran
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Juanfran will start as Spain's first-choice right-back in the Euros this summer, and for good reason.
He is utterly dependable and a tremendous performer in his defensive work who rarely gets beaten, allows crosses or is caught not marking his man. At the other end he can drive forward down the channel, link play infield and is composed enough to pick out a clever pass rather than an aimless cross.
Juanfran played over 3,000 minutes in La Liga this season, one of only three Atleti players to do so. It demonstrates the level of trust in him from Simeone and the amount of consistency in the right-back's game.
3. Jose Gimenez
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There's certainly a case to have either centre-back ahead of the other, but we've landed Jose Gimenez in third overall for Atleti.
The younger Uruguayan has been phenomenal; early in the season, it was he who was the composed and consistent defender, keeping his game together while Diego Godin had a short-lived meltdown, and his commanding presence at the back has been a key part of all the clean sheets earned.
Gimenez doesn't often put a foot wrong: a rare mistake led to a draw with Depor, but he more than made up for that many times over with his committed blocks, challenges, covering behind team-mates and organising of those in front of him.
2. Diego Godin
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We just about place Diego Godin ahead of Gimenez, though, for some genuinely top-class displays around the middle third of the season.
This was the time of year when performances perhaps weren't of the highest overall order for Atleti, yet they still managed to consistently win thanks to their stronghold at the back, which Godin remained key in. It was this run of games that showcased why, for many, Godin is the best pure centre-back in world football.
A run of injuries at the back end of the season hasn't been too disastrous thanks to the aforementioned Lucas, but Atletico will be glad to have Godin back for the Champions League final nonetheless.
1. Antoine Griezmann
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Top of the charts for Atletico this season is Antoine Griezmann, their best and perhaps overall most important player.
The French forward is a fantastic talent, a goalscorer in so many ways and a tactically vital cog for Simeone's team. Whether playing as the striker, the second forward or a threat from wide, Griezmann's pace and work rate are always a prevalent part of Atletico's method of attack, while he is capable of finding the net with his head, from range or with a solo run and finish.
A marvellous goal against Real Sociedad will live long in the memory, but it was just one of 22 league strikes from the No. 7, who once again finished as the highest scorer in La Liga outside of Real Madrid and Barcelona players.
