Former Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona forward David Villa has back Los Rojiblancos to have a strong season this year, after a positive start under Diego Simeone. Two worrying draws against Villarreal and Espanyol had drawn concern, but Atletico now have four clean sheets from their opening five games.
Villa knows exactly what a title challenge looks like, having won twice with Barcelona and once with Diego Simeone at Atletico, El Cholo’s first title at the club in 2014. Unsurprisingly, Villa had warm words for the Argentine.
“Very good. He is a fantastic coach, a fantastic person and the truth is that I learned a lot from him. I have some very good memories.”
The side in which Villa played went to a Champions League final the same year, but Spain’s record goalscorer surprised by saying that the current Atletico side had a more complete squad.
“I think they have a much larger squad with good players. We had a much shorter squad, with young players. They have a squad, but then they have to prove it on the pitch,” he told Marca at a sponsorship event.
“More complete, for sure. Yes, yes. More complete, for sure.”
🚨🇪🇸 JUST IN: Pablo Barrios is already working on the pitch. The recovery time could range from two to four weeks.@mundodeportivo pic.twitter.com/MqEmayC9Lu
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) September 17, 2024
So far Simeone has chopped and changed through five weeks, rotating the attacking firepower that he has. With the Madrid derby on the horizon though, many will be keen to know whether new signings Alexander Sorloth and Julian Alvarez start alongside Antoine Griezmann in the big games.
“That is a question for Cholo. I believe that the players… I always say the same thing, that quality players can always fit together and play together. The three of them are three great players, but of course, everything has to come together, the whole team. It’s Cholo’s decision. I am convinced that one day they will play, no doubt.”
Villa also refused to criticise Valencia owner Peter Lim, noting that without the relevant numbers and information, it was hard for him to make a judgement. However he did express concern over Los Che’s form, which has them with just a point from five games, and rooted to the bottom of the table.
