How Joao Felix can confound Atletico Madrid struggles when La Liga returns

Background noise has enveloped Joao Felix. Atletico Madrid’s new ‘Golden Boy’ steadily lost his sheen throughout 2019/20 after a benchmark €126 million switch from Benfica and stellar pre-season. This made him a keen topic of conversation. Conjecture about an expensive 20-year-old’s failure to match precipitous expectations will always garner intense interest. March’s enforced stoppage because of the Coronavirus helped decelerate the dissection of a talent who recorded, an underwhelming, six goals and two assists across 28 appearances. The volume, though, is about to crank up when La Liga returns for the 35-day sprint planned by president Javier Tebas from June 12. A defining test awaits. Outspoken ex-Real Madrid and Netherlands playmaker Rafael van der Vaart joined a chorus in February picking at Diego Simeone’s brutalist tactics, telling Ziggo Sport that Felix is “at the wrong club and under the wrong coach”. Hardened words from a figure who is no stranger to the struggle presented by matching sky-high demands from a young age. Simao Sabrosa sagely told Sport TV back in August his fellow Portugal forward “does not fit with the style of play at Simeone’s Atletico Madrid”. Subsequent struggles were no surprise to the astute 40-year-old who notched 32 times in 168 run-outs for Los Rojiblancos between 2007-2010. It is hard to dispute these assumptions. Felix has failed to impose himself in the 4-4-2 system favoured by Simeone. Too often he’s resembled a spare part when partnered with either Alvaro Morata or Diego Costa up top. No surprise when Atleti, markedly, rely on full-backs Renan Lodi and Kieran Trippier delivering quality crosses into an imposing striker. Predecessor Antoine Griezmann, however, managed to excel in this system. The deft France forward’s replacement, in the wake of July 2019’s contentious €120m defection to Barcelona, has stumbled in those footsteps. Felix’s heat map, according to Wyscout, for 2019/20 showed him positioned on the left flank and towards the halfway line. This is despite, largely, being listed on the team sheets as a second centre forward. This is a reverse image to his own at Benfica from 2018/19’s electric breakthrough (bottom), and is distinctly different from Griezmann’s rampaging approach (top) from the same campaign in Madrid. Felix’s average per game of touches in the penalty area is markedly down (2019/20 – 2.3; 2018/19 – 3.6), plus received passes (2019/20 – 16.4; 2018/19 – 19). The hard-working ‘Simeone effect’ proposed by Van der Vaart and Sabrosa is further evidenced by fact his offensive duels have gone up (2019/20 – 8.3; 2018/19 – 7.9), progressive runs have more than doubled (2019/20 – 1.5; 2018/19 – 0.7) and more dribbles are being notched (2019/20 – 3.6; 2018/19 – 2.8). An average of two recoveries per game has remained static, yet Felix is doing fewer in the opposition half at Atleti (1.1) than Benfica (1.3). Intriguingly, this isn’t reflected in defensive statistics. Averages per game are slightly lower at Atleti for; aerial duels (2019/20 – 2.5; 2018/19 – 2.8), defensive duels (2019/20 – 2.4; 2018/19 – 3) and fouls made (2019/20 – 1; 2018/19 – 1.2). Interceptions, at 1.1, are the same. A fundamental shift, therefore, has been demanded, only, in regards to the club-record purchase’s offensive approach. Friction reached a head in March 7’s penultimate fixture before the stoppage. Simeone was booed by the Wanda Metropolitano support after he hooked lively goal scorer Felix in an eventual 2-2 draw with Sevilla. This rancorous game, though, also evidences that the situation is not irredeemable. Indeed, mirrored frustrations from World Cup 2018 winner Griezmann’s at Camp Nou point towards the ubiquity of such issues at the highest level. A cure for Felix is two-fold. The break has provided unexpected time, both for himself and Simeone. Pondering about a possible solution is in the interest of both parties, with responsibilities shared. 5 - @atletienglish's João Félix is involved in more goals than any other player in the 2019 International Champions Cup (two goals and three assists). Ace. pic.twitter.com/kt34oRZ8Il— OptaJose (@OptaJose) August 10, 2019 Felix must fit into the proven – albeit frayed – structure at Atleti. The club, however, must endeavour to avoid a shared fate with unsuitable France winger Thomas Lemar, whose anemic output is not reflective of the €70m sent Monaco’s way in June 2018. A pair of such expensive failures cannot be tolerated. Felix, also, has a reputation to repair. Comparisons to lauded contemporaries Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho flowed when he recorded 20 goals and seven assists across 43 iridescent appearances for Benfica last term. They have gone deathly quiet. Elite performances must follow. Atleti, meanwhile, must strive to move up into the Champions League places from sixth. Only five points separates third-placed Sevilla and seventh-placed Valencia. Every weapon at their disposal is required in a packed field. Insight into how the determined Felix might overcome this obstacle arrived in recent days. An illuminating answer was presented when quizzed by Brazil icon Kaka. “Well, in the beginning, what was the most difficult for me was not the team per se, apart from the game, because on the field my colleagues from Benfica welcomed me really well, always making sure I was integrated with the team and feeling good,” he said on adidas’ insightful The Huddle. “But what affected me the most was to deal with the media; newspapers, social media which I used to follow. I liked when they were saying nice things and I didn’t like when they were saying bad things. “At one point I stopped following it and I’ll never again.” This resolve should not shock from someone who transcended from hardship at Porto’s academy, blossoming into a potential mega star at Benfica. Latent talent is not the issue. It is whether he is destined to thrive or flounder in the Spanish capital. Felix has been written off before. Don’t make the same mistake again.

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