For the first time, Diego Simeone is playing the rotation game. It also reflects something deeper, something seen more as the beginning of a transition
At 9.30am, the same time they started serving breakfast at Atlético’s, Diego Costa walked into a Majadahonda clinic across the other side of Madrid, but he wasn’t going to be kept from them for long. He had barely been in the country 15 hours, touching down just before five on Friday, and he was only in the clinic 60 minutes or so, most of it spent getting reacquainted with familiar faces. There were no photos, shirt off, suckers on, thumbs up, and when he was asked if he had passed his medical he pointed to the doctor and said “I don’t know, he knows”, but he was beaming. He stopped for a snap with a Málaga fan nursing a broken and bandaged arm and leg, like something out of a cartoon, then climbed into the car and set off 33km round the M40.
Outside the Wanda Metropolitano some were still drinking hot chocolate and eating churros, offered in an attempt to get them there early ahead of the 1pm kick-off on Saturday, while others had moved on to beer. Not far away lay the plaques dedicated to Costa and everyone who had played for Atlético 100 times; he hadn’t seen his yet, but fans gathered taking photos. Inside, friends waited. As he had touched down the day before at Barajas – the only airport named after a member of the A Team – Costa said he was coming “home”. Tiago was at the gate, Diego Godín greeted him in the tunnel – “Welcome, my friend. You’re home now,” he tweeted – and Filipe Luís was delighted too. Afterwards, he said: “I’m immensely proud Diego has chosen Atlético.”
Related: A stadium called Wanda: opening night at Atlético Madrid's new home | Sid Lowe
Continue reading...