BEWARE THE HUNTING DOGS!
SAUL NIGUEZ is braced to go up against Liverpool’s midfield ‘animals’ and has warned his Atletico team-mates...
ATLETICO MADRID midfielder Saul Niguez is a Liverpool fan. Not in the way Fernando Torres was, with his ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ captain’s armband; more as a big-hearted soldier who appreciates a team driven by players cut from the same cloth. ‘I was watching the game against Norwich on Saturday,’ he says at Atletico’s training ground on the eve of tonight’s Champions League last-16 first leg. ‘If not for the goal from Sadio Mane, who produces an extraordinary control, they don’t win. But for a long time now they are winning games they could have drawn or even lost. ‘They always find a way, sometimes in the last minutes, and that tells you about what they have inside, their character. It’s not luck, it’s work.’ Some Atletico Madrid supporters might say it’s the way their team used to play when they won La Liga in 2014 and reached two Champions League finals. Are Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool what diego Simeone’s Atletico once were? ‘It’s a different system and different players,’ says Saul. ‘They play more with a counter-attacking style with the three very good forwards and the perros de
presa (hunting dogs) in midfield.’ And this is where the professional admiration kicks in — top dog for Saul is Jordan Henderson. ‘They all run and press and they manage it so well because it’s not just running for the sake of running. It’s very well organised. ‘If Mohamed Salah goes wide, then Henderson comes inside. If someone else goes inside, someone else goes outside. ‘And maybe some don’t rate Henderson as highly as Georginio Wijnaldum, Naby Keita or Fabinho but I think he is the one that brings the team together. ‘Henderson does the dirty work that Gabi Fernandez used to do for us, that I have to do, that Koke does. He is an example in so many facets of the game.’ When Saul emerged as a 19-year-old prospect in 2013, regularly attracting Manchester United scouts, it was his attacking qualities that stood out. They are still showcased in Spain’s midfield but when he plays for his club these days his job is more one of self-sacrifice. He recognises how hard Liverpool work and how their way of playing can seem disordered but is anything but. ‘It’s very hard to escape that pressure when they come at you like that,’ he says. ‘One man comes out and his team-mate doesn’t say, “Where are you going?” He goes with him. ‘They all go. And if they get turned at least seven of them, the four at the back and the three in the middle, charge back. ‘It’s incredible. They press like animals because they know that even if they lose it they’re still going to have at least seven running like mad to win it back.’ Saul is describing Klopp’s Liverpool but it sounds like the Atletico side that reached those two Champions League finals. In 2016 Saul played 120 minutes in Milan and scored his spot-kick in the shoot-out. He then consoled team-mate Juanfran as he missed and real Madrid won. ‘It’s the worst thing that can happen to you in your football life,’ Saul says after a thoughtful silence. ‘After so much work, expectation and passion, to see all your people who have gone to another country to see you, fill half the stadium, and then you don’t win. It’s the feeling you have let them down.’ He’s a football romantic. Listening to him talk about that night and Atletico’s old Vicente Calderon stadium shows as much.
Three sides of the famous ground have been knocked down and Saul believes the old main stand, yet to be demolished, should be left untouched. ‘i think they should leave it there just as it is. People will come and see it. ‘i take friends there and they want photos. i tell them, “Here is where i scored, right here”. it’s uniquely historic. ‘My best memory is a defeat at the Calderon against Real Madrid (in the 2017 Champions League semi-finals). We won 2-1 on the night but were knocked out. ‘The whole stadium stayed at the end. The rain was coming down and the Real Madrid fans put on raincoats while ours were taking their clothes off and singing. ‘you think: how can i not give everything when i play for these people?’ That was the night Simeone said he would need to clone some of his ageing stars. Gabi, Diego Godin, filipe Luis and Juanfran have all gone and Saul admits instilling the Atletico way into the new players will take time. He has been impressed with Kieran Trippier, who should be fit for the second leg. ‘We all thought maybe an English footballer would not be so open minded,’ he says. ‘But he wanted to learn Spanish and is committed to the cause. His character has helped us a lot.’ Others have found it tougher. ‘We have brought players in with lots of quality but they have to adapt. it happened with Antoine Griezmann. ‘for six months he didn’t do it and then it started, because he understood the work the team needed from him. When your best player is defending it makes every other player follow. ‘it’s the same with pressing. if someone goes, you follow. if one goes and you’re not sure, the whole thing falls apart. The mentality has to be: if he goes, so do i.’ This brings us back to Liverpool. ‘We know their strong points but we know their weaknesses too,’ says Saul. ‘We have to make the most of the game at home.’ And Anfield? ‘Torres says it’s amazing. i’ve never been. it will be special.’