Saul is a brilliant midfielder and this is a very good signing for us. I think he suffered from burnout and health issues at Atletico in the past season or two, so hopefully Tuchel can make him shine again. If he does, 40m Euros will be a bargain.

 

 

14 hours ago, Night-T said:

Doesn’t necessarily mean as a 10. Could also be as an 8 that does more than just retrieving the ball. But also has a playmaking style that has some offensive creativity to offer. Or maybe he want to have the opportunity from time to time to join a line higher when on offence if someone takes over his position. Rather than the entire time holding back and playing only with a defensive mindset. 

Yeah, I think this is also about his role vs his position. Simeone has oscillated from hyper-defensive to hyper-attacking schemes with Atletico over the last two seasons,

Saul's ability to both attack and defend have meant he is almost always the player best suited to perform a defensive position in any Atletico setup. He's the most attacking player in a defensive Atletico setup, and the most defensive player in an attacking Atletico setup. Losing a defensive specialist like Partey only accelerated this issue.

This video from a few months ago touches on the issues well before the transfer was mooted.

Edited September 2, 20214 yr by SydneyChelsea

Seems like a fresh start is an understatement watching that ^ video. 

We know there is a brilliant player who is fit physically but apparently not mentally. He must have felt a bit trapped in Madrid as Cholo stopped trusting him after bad performances. In Atletico you know they are not changing managers so your situation doesn't really change. 

I feel Tuchel might be just the right person to get his career back on track. 

So what was the reason for his decline in form for the past couple of seasons? 

I read that one of the reasons was when Simeone moved away from 442 and started playing 352. If true, doesn't that mean that our own wing back system may not play to his strengths? 

I've never really watched him so don't know a whole lot about him. 

32 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

So what was the reason for his decline in form for the past couple of seasons? 

I read that one of the reasons was when Simeone moved away from 442 and started playing 352. If true, doesn't that mean that our own wing back system may not play to his strengths? 

I've never really watched him so don't know a whole lot about him. 

I think he came to a point where he burned out. He has been an important player for Atletico for many years but it's not easy to play for Simeone for such a long time, the stress that comes with playing in different systems can overwhelm a player for sure.

These are his stats from last season in comparison to the rest of the Atletico squad:

 

- Best Tackle Success Rate [74%]

- Most Tackles + Interceptions per 90min [4.01]

- Most Blocks Made per 90min [1.91]

- 3rd Most Balls Recovered per 90min [9.21]

Now don't get me wrong he did have a below average season but that's why he's here.

34 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

So what was the reason for his decline in form for the past couple of seasons? 

I read that one of the reasons was when Simeone moved away from 442 and started playing 352. If true, doesn't that mean that our own wing back system may not play to his strengths? 

I've never really watched him so don't know a whole lot about him. 

That is what that video suggests. Probably a bit complicated the real answer. 

-change of formation

-loss of confidence 

-internal pressure to deliver for your club 

-deal that never ends 

-Simeone will be the coach forever 

-losing his pace in the pecking order

-etc

What I read about him is he is very hard on himself and demands only the best. He wants to be the best midfielder in the world. That kind of internal pressure can take toll if you suddenly go backwards. 

I feel he is very humble coming to us and taking on this new challenge. 

1 hour ago, ForeverCarefree said:

So what was the reason for his decline in form for the past couple of seasons? 

I read that one of the reasons was when Simeone moved away from 442 and started playing 352. If true, doesn't that mean that our own wing back system may not play to his strengths? 

I've never really watched him so don't know a whole lot about him. 

Simeone played him as LWB, he’s not happy how Simeone uses him outside the midfield. We have good cover at LWB and Tuchel will play him in the midfield.

8 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Yeah, I think this is also about his role vs his position. Simeone has oscillated from hyper-defensive to hyper-attacking schemes with Atletico over the last two seasons,

Saul's ability to both attack and defend have meant he is almost always the player best suited to perform a defensive position in any Atletico setup. He's the most attacking player in a defensive Atletico setup, and the most defensive player in an attacking Atletico setup. Losing a defensive specialist like Partey only accelerated this issue.

This video from a few months ago touches on the issues well before the transfer was mooted.

That video covers it well - apart from the awful voice over. Very grating.

 

5 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

So what was the reason for his decline in form for the past couple of seasons? 

I read that one of the reasons was when Simeone moved away from 442 and started playing 352. If true, doesn't that mean that our own wing back system may not play to his strengths? 

I've never really watched him so don't know a whole lot about him. 

We are hoping he rediscover his best self like Kova did but cannot rule out he ends up like a Falcao, hence the buy option is not mandatory.

7 minutes ago, DidierDrogbalala said:

 

Kepa is a big friend of his and he sounds really down to earth and honest. Nice.

1 hour ago, Gol15 said:

Kepa is a big friend of his and he sounds really down to earth and honest. Nice.

I agree. Comes across a s a top bloke, totally focused on the team rather than himself as an individual. Best of luck to him.

1 hour ago, Sexyfootball said:

I agree. Comes across a s a top bloke, totally focused on the team rather than himself as an individual. Best of luck to him.

A word that can describe in spanish is "sencillo", totally easy going with no ego problems. I think that he will adapt very well.

he took no 17

19 hours ago, mojo said:

he took no 17

Is there a significance in the no. 17? Ever since Hazard, a lot of good dribblers in our team took the no. 17

7 hours ago, Deino said:

Is there a significance in the no. 17? Ever since Hazard, a lot of good dribblers in our team took the no. 17

I'm not sure why and when it started, but since I was a child (I'm thirty now, so since the 90s at least) I've always seen the no. 17 associated with good dribblers.

Here in Brazil it was always associated with Denilson (from Betis) whom I'm not sure many of you remember but was our spark & plug player of the bench on the 98 and 02 WCs. Cristiano Ronaldo and probably Quaresma (can't remember atm) also wore it when he started playing for Portugal. Just a few examples out of my head. 

7 hours ago, Deino said:

Is there a significance in the no. 17? Ever since Hazard, a lot of good dribblers in our team took the no. 17

Was his original number when he broke through at Atletico 

What I like about him is how much he is embracing being a Chelsea player.

Just take a look on his Twitter.

Is he with the Spanish team or training with us? Could see him making a start or at least a cameo with all the other midfielders are currently on Internationals.

5 hours ago, icecoolguy22 said:

Is he with the Spanish team or training with us? Could see him making a start or at least a cameo with all the other midfielders are currently on Internationals.

Training with us. There are pictures on the club's website.

Depending the fitness of the midfielders on international duty, he can be thrown right into the mix against Villa. I can't wait to see how he'll slot in and what his role will be!

2 hours ago, Valerie said:

Training with us. There are pictures on the club's website.

Depending the fitness of the midfielders on international duty, he can be thrown right into the mix against Villa. I can't wait to see how he'll slot in and what his role will be!

Nobody knows if Tuchel is that intelligent to do that.

1 hour ago, hephzibah said:

Nobody knows if Tuchel is that intelligent to do that.

Given that he speaks four languages, won us the Champions League after half a season in charge and has a more immediate and comprehensive understanding of our players than anyone on this forum I hope that's a joke? 

On 02/09/2021 at 09:49, Gol15 said:

I think he came to a point where he burned out.

 

I think it's quite similar to Varane leaving Real Madrid. Some players just need to move on and try something new.

Crazy good thread.