Between the 90th and 95th minutes of Atlético de Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad in their final home game of the season, Antoine Griezmann made three critical interventions around his own penalty area.
With his side defending a narrow lead and seeking to avoid throwing away a victory from a position of total control for the second time in four days, Griezmann, the team’s best forward, led from the back.
Earlier in the match Griezmann had first given Atleti the lead with a golazo from the right hand edge of La Real’s penalty area, striking the ball through a sea of bodies into the far left corner of the net. Later he provided the assist as the excellent Nahuel Molina gave Atleti what was to prove the decisive goal. And still, deep into injury time, the team’s best attacker was also its most effective defender.
It has been thus since December 29. Griezmann, with Nahuel and others, went off to the World Cup in Qatar in November with his club in crisis. Atleti finished bottom of its Champions League group and stood fifth in La Liga having earned just one point from the previous three matches, all of which were against very modest opposition. The mood in the club was sour, and for the first time in the decade I’ve lived in Madrid, Diego Simeone’s long tenure as manager seemed under serious threat.
Griezmann came within a couple of penalties of returning from Doha with a second World Cup Winners medal, but even as runner up he enhanced his reputation as one of the world’s greatest players. Nahuel and fellow Argentine Rodrigo de Paul went one better, starting in the team that beat France into second place.
All three came back to Madrid with confidence and form. Nahuel, nervous and hesitant before Christmas, may now be the best right back in La Liga. Griezmann, who was hardly out of form before, has been transcendent. He might be the best player in the world in the last six months.
During the 6-1 demolition of Sevilla in early March, the Guardian’s Spanish football guru Sid Lowe tweeted, “That was a glorious pass from Griezmann”. Seeing the Tweet after the game, I couldn’t figure out which pass Lowe meant. I narrowed it down to three. The slide rule through ball to Memphis for the first goal. An improvised lob over three defenders’ heads onto the right boot Alvaro Morata for the fourth. Or my personal favourite, a 40-yard, blind, swivelled volley into the path of Yannick Carrasco mid way through the second half. This one I still see in my daydreams, although I suspect Lowe was referring to the Morata assist, a sumptuous piece of creativity. For good measure, Griezmann also scored a golazo into the top right hand corner of Sevilla’s net from about 25 metres.
The Sevilla game was probably the highlight of the season, but in every single match there has been at least one moment in which he takes the breath away. It has been an incredible privilege to watch this man play this season. In my many years of watching live football, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed watching a player more.
It got to the point in later games in the season that I’ve watched Griezmann rather than the ball – to see how, where and when he moves, but also to try to understand how opposing teams are trying to deal with him.
The reality is that they don’t. Griezmann is constantly in motion, usually somewhere between the midfield and his forward partner, playing the pivot role between defence and attack and making sure of a steady stream of possession to Nahuel on the right wing and Carrasco on the left. The range of passing is extraordinary from deft flicks and back heels, to long range drives that land on the head of a pin. His movement and sharp reading of the game means he regularly finds space between defenders that opens up dangerous situations.
And then there is his prodigious work ethic and tracking back to help out with the grunt work, as seen in the dying minutes of the win against La Real. Griezmann, unlike the departed Joao Felix, understands how to play a full role in a Diego Simeone team and does it as well as anyone.
Underlining just what a phenomenal season he had, Griezmann finished with 31 goal contributions (15 goals and 16 assists), comfortably more than any other player despite having started the season playing only 30 minutes of each match as Atleti engaged in a bizarre contractual wrangle with Barca.
In another country he would be the face of the league, a celebrated superstar of the game. The reality in Spain though is that such privilege is restricted to the players of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
That doesn’t matter too much. He is loved and cherished at Atleti, where he has now completed his full redemption arc following his ill-fated and badly handled move to Barcelona in 2019. Since his return at the beginning of 2022 – a move not welcomed by everyone at the club – he’s fought hard to win back the affection of fans. His performances this season and obvious love for the club seem to have earned that.
At the end of that final home match Griezmann, with his three daughters, approached the Fondo Sur to salute Atleti’s ultras. Moments later, he was in the stands himself with the microphone leading the singing. It was a wonderful sight and as he walked away, the ultras sung his name for the first time since 2019. The new season cannot come soon enough.