3 Youngsters Who Can Break into the Atletico Madrid 1st Team in 2017
It has been an up-and-down year for Atletico Madrid, full of high highs and pretty low lows.
But the key to a lot of their success has been a consistency of selection from manager Diego Simeone, who has tended to stick with what he knows as he’s plotted success in both La Liga and the Champions League with a familiar group of players.
Some—such as Yannick Carrasco and Saul Niguez—have kicked on and become vital members of the first team in 2016, but in terms of players rising through the ranks and arriving from the B team, then their impact has been minimal.
Can that change in 2017, though?
With Simeone seemingly going through his long goodbye at the club and a new stadium to enter for the beginning of the 2017/18 season, the times are changing in the red-and-white half of Madrid.
But will that include the addition of some talented youngsters in the year ahead? Here are three young Atletico players who could force themselves into the first-team plans in the new year.
Caio Henrique
Age: 19
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Nationality: Brazilian
One of the jewels in the crown of Atletico’s B team, attacking midfielder Caio Henrique made his first-team debut in the recent 6-0 win over Guijuelo in the Copa del Rey.
The only unfamiliar name picked by Simeone, Caio got 69 minutes under his belt as Atletico strolled to a simple victory, impressing as he did with his clever movement and impressive control.
The fact the opportunity came for the teenager was even more surprising because he only joined up with the B team earlier this year, moving from hometown club Santos after his contract with the Brazilian club expired.
He’d been with them since the age of 10, learning his trade at the same team that produced Barcelona’s Neymar before making the move to Europe when he was ready.
A powerful midfielder who possesses great stature so isn’t knocked off the ball easily, Caio got some valuable minutes on Atletico’s pre-season tour of Australia in the summer, and he’s taken that form into the B team, for whom he’s been a creative and goalscoring presence in the Tercera Division this season.
Surely guaranteed another appearance in the second leg against Guijuelo on Tuesday, hopes are high that Caio can blossom into the type of player Atletico have always needed and often lacked under Simeone—the kind who can put his foot on the ball, unlock packed defences and pick open tight situations.
He should see more game time in the Copa del Rey this season, and from there, he has a great chance to kick on and become a more important player for his club.
Nicolas Schiappacasse
Age: 17
Position: Forward
Nationality: Uruguayan
Another impressive young South American talent on the books at Atletico, Nicolas Schiappacasse perhaps still has a long way to go given his tender age, but he’ll turn 18 in January, and he could well soon be an embodiment of "if you’re good enough, you’re old enough."
A regular goalscorer for Uruguay at youth level—where he has played for the under-15, under-17 and under-20 sides—the teenager has pretty inevitably been compared to Barcelona’s Luis Suarez given his nationality, and if he goes on to have the type of career that he has had, then he will be a special talent.
Schiappacasse has top-flight experience, having played for the Uruguayan side River Plate in Montevideo, but after joining Atletico in the summer, he has been progressing in the Spanish third tier with the B team.
Atletico’s attacking situation is certainly under the spotlight as we head toward 2017, with Antoine Griezmann finishing the year struggling to score goals, Fernando Torres surely coming to the end of his time at the club and Kevin Gameiro not quite a roaring success since his summer move from Sevilla. Throwing in the youngster could be tempting for Simeone.
You have to be careful in such situations, but if the manager has seen enough in him, then he’d be wise to do it.
Those appearances are likely to come in the Copa del Rey, but having played in a top flight already, then Simeone will need to be wary that Schiappacasse’s development doesn’t stall.
His displays in the UEFA Youth League this season—in which his goal in a draw against Bayern Munich secured qualification for the knockout stages in 2017—suggest this is a player who could make an impact in the first XI if he were given the opportunity.
And although Simeone is right to proceed carefully with him, there comes a moment when it might be better just to throw him into the action and see how he gets on.
That particularly seems to be the case for powerful young forwards.
Give him an opportunity, and he might just take it.
Roberto Nunez
Age: 20
Position: Forward
Nationality: Spanish
The path to the Atletico Madrid first team has been a long one for Roberto Nunez, but now he’s there, he is certainly making the most of it.
The 20-year-old Spanish forward from Castilla-La Mancha has been at the club since he was 10 years old, rising up through the C and B teams, as well as playing for Spain at various youth levels. When he was given his chance in the first team in the Copa del Rey against Guijuelo, he made the most of it.
After coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for Carrasco with the score at 5-0, Roberto took just 26 minutes to register his first goal in senior football, expertly controlling a cross from Sime Vrsaljko before dispatching a clinical effort into the bottom corner.
With a finish like that, the fact he’s risen up through the ranks and also has a shock of blond hair make it tempting to compare him to Torres, but Roberto doesn’t need that type of pressure on him as he seeks to make his way in the game.
That long path to the first team is strewn with plenty of competition, but he’s put himself in Simeone’s mind, and he surely deserves more of an opportunity in the new year.
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