Julian Alvarez has been included in Atletico de Madrid’s squad for Saturday’s La Liga meeting with Athletic Club at San Mames, following the close of the transfer window and the end of speculation linking the Argentina forward with a move to Barcelona.
Alvarez was the main subject of Diego Simeone’s six-minute news conference before the fourth-round fixture. The Atletico manager confirmed the forward had trained well and would travel with the team to Bilbao, although he did not reveal whether Alvarez would start or begin on the bench.
“Alvarez is training very well and tomorrow he will be in the squad. He will be part of the group travelling to Bilbao for the match,” Simeone said, in comments published by Sport.
The Argentine manager added: “We are expecting the best from Alvarez, just as we expect the best from all of his team-mates.”
Pressed repeatedly on how Alvarez could change his situation after remaining at Atletico, Simeone avoided discussing his likely role against Athletic Club. Instead, he spoke at length about the chance the 25-year-old has to learn from the experience and use it to develop personally.
“I want to be very clear. For me, life is full of opportunities. Perhaps this is the opportunity that has been given to Julian Alvarez to put many things in his life in order,” Simeone said.
“We spend all our time learning and, unfortunately, we spend far too much time passing judgement. We all judge this person and that person. We should judge less and focus more on learning.”
He continued: “I believe the step Julian is about to take in his life will be pure learning. He has the opportunity to make himself a better person through everything he needs to resolve internally.”
Simeone said his main wish was to see Alvarez settled and enjoying his football again.
“To see him happy, that is what we want. For him to be well and happy, to feel comfortable and to give us goals,” he said.
Alvarez stayed at Atletico after the transfer deadline, with his reported desire to join Barcelona ultimately coming to nothing. His return to the squad against Athletic Club will be his first since the transfer market closed.
Llorente and David
Simeone also discussed Marcos Llorente and Jonathan David ahead of the trip to San Mames.
Llorente announced on Thursday that he had retired from international football with Spain. Simeone said the midfielder would continue playing for Atletico for as long as he wanted.
“He has incredible clarity in his thoughts. He understands that the decision he has made about the national team is what he feels. I congratulate him, because the ego always makes us stay longer in a place where we may no longer feel that we belong. He is doing what he feels,” Simeone said.
The manager also called on new signing Jonathan David to adapt quickly and rediscover the form he lost during his spell with Juventus.
“We need the Lille player, and we have already spoken to him. He can help us because of his qualities. I need him to adapt as quickly as possible, but we see him as extremely motivated and with a great desire,” Simeone said.
With the transfer window now closed, Simeone repeated his familiar assessment of the financial structure of Spanish football, pointing to the spending power of Real Madrid and Barcelona compared with Atletico and the rest of the division.
“What has been happening for more than 15 or 20 years will not change. Real Madrid and Barcelona, then us behind them, trying to get as close to them as possible so that we can compete,” he said.
Despite that gap, Simeone publicly congratulated Mateu Alemany when assessing Atletico’s work during the transfer window.
