Diego Simeone’s reluctance to change is costing Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone needs to adapt if he’s to take his Atletico Madrid side to greater success.

In recent seasons, Atletico Madrid have been one of the major success stories in Europe as Diego Simeone has turned them into a team capable of taking on the very best. His influence has been huge, and he’s taken Atleti to a level where they expect to compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid.

He relies on positional play, but he interprets the style more defensively than, say, Pep Guardiola, who likes to keep hold of the ball as much as possible. Atletico are most comfortable as the underdog, sitting deep and breaking up opposition attacks before launching quick transitions to take advantage of their disorganized opponent.

This tactic brought them a Liga title in 2014 and took them to two Champions League finals, both of which they lost to city rivals Real Madrid. Atleti’s most recent piece of silverware was last season’s Europa League.

Even as Atleti have become one of Europe’s best teams, however, there’s been a growing sense that they need to become a more proactive side if they’re to topple Real and Barca on a consistent basis. Their ability to see off opponents with 1-0 wins is impressive, but it comes with risks. Players can’t afford to make mistakes and the poor form of one defender — like Diego Godin earlier this season — can have a huge effect on results.

There’s a real chance for Los Colchoneros to win another Liga title this season with Real Madrid in disarray and Barcelona struggling to adapt to a 4-3-3 under Ernesto Valverde, although they’re certainly favorites for the title after humiliating Real on Sunday. If Simeone is going to push Barca, he needs to make use of his attacking firepower and utilize his summer signings effectively, rather than continuing to rely on veterans who are out of form or past their peaks.

Simeone’s cautious approach means he mostly uses a midfielder out wide in order to have three central midfielders on the pitch as well as keeping the 4-4-2 defensive shape. This limits them offensively because they can become predictable, and heavily reliant on Antoine Griezmann to produce chances. The Argentine manager has tried to experiment previously but often moves back to what he knows rather than sticking with something risky if it doesn’t produce instant results.

His personnel choices bear this out, with Juanfran, Filipe Luis and Diego Godin still more or less guaranteed starters regardless of form. Luis and Juanfran were particularly poor in Atleti’s 4-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund last week, the heaviest defeat in Simeone’s tenure, and it should serve as a warning for the future.

Thomas Lemar and Rodri are the only summer signings who rank in Atleti’s 11 most used players this season. Altogether, the six signings have featured for 2092 minutes so far this season.

Gelson Martins and Nikola Kalinic have barely featured even though the Portuguese winger would add an extra dimension to their attack and Diego Costa has been out of form. A change of approach is needed from Simeone to make full use of these players.

Atletico have the necessary set of players to make a 4-3-3 work. Rodri is an excellent pivot capable of dictating the tempo of matches. Along with Koke and Saul Niguez, he could form a formidable three. Saul is easily one of the best box-to-box midfielders in world football while Koke provides a lot for the team in the buildup stage as well as creatively. They also have Thomas Partey who could be more of an enforcer in the defensive midfield role than Rodri if needed.

Thomas Lemar, Gelson Martins, Angel Correa and Vitolo are all excellent options for the wings while Griezmann has the intelligence to play as a false 9 while also being versatile enough to play out wide and drift into central positions. Costa and Kalinic are both capable outlets who can lead the line.

The defense would have adjust to playing a high line more often, but Jose Gimenez is certainly capable of doing that while Godin has the intelligence to adapt. Lucas Hernandez can play centrally or as a left-back, and he will provide the sort of solidity Simeone desires even if Atleti are more committed to attack.

A 4-3-3 is more suited to controlling games than a 4-4-2 and defending with possession denies the opposition chances as well as making them take risks in order to regain it. A defensive-minded 4-4-2 approach which emphasizes the underdog nature of the team could still be useful against sides such as Barcelona, but tactical versatility is needed if they want to be consistent enough to seriously challenge against their main rivals in the league.

Knockout competitions such as the Champions League can be a bit more forgiving due to luck and refereeing decisions having a large impact, and making fewer mistakes than an opponent is an effective tactic. However, last season’s group stage exit showed that approach isn’t foolproof.

They may still act like underdogs, but Atletico have the capability to be so much more. It depends on whether Simeone is willing to leave his comfort zone.