QUICKLY winning friends and admirers is not always easy for British players who join Spanish clubs, but Kieran Trippier's first few weeks at Atletico Madrid could not really have gone any better.
Since joining from Tottenham on a three year contract for a fee of around €22 million in July, Trippier has settled impressively quickly at the Wanda Metropolitano. The England international is the only one of Atletico’s summer signings to have played every minute in La Liga so far, and is already seen by rojiblanco pundits as a key member of Diego Simeone’s new-look title challenging side.
Opening weekend in La Liga saw Trippier provide a peach of a cross which invited Alvaro Morata to head home the only goal of a tight local derby battle against Getafe, drawing not completely over the top comparisons in Marca with David Beckham’s deliveries during his time at Real Madrid.
Kieran Trippier has attempted more tackles than any other Atleti player this season (7) and he’s won 100% of them.
Simeone’d. ❌❌❌ pic.twitter.com/VSy1PfFhDh
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 5, 2019
It has been immediately noticeable how Simeone has instructed Trippier to provide the team’s width down his side, with nominal right-midfielder Koke or Thomas Lemar generally tucking inside. He was pushed even further forward when El Cholo switched to three centre-backs for their second La Liga game against Leganes. And again was involved in the only goal, plus helping bring a clean sheet, as Simeone's side settled quickly into their traditional 1-0 winning ways.
Trippier’s third Atletico outing was more eventful for the team than him personally. Atletico went 0-2 behind early at home to Eibar, with both goals coming down the left of the defence, but roared back to win 3-2 and make it three wins from three. The only team in La Liga with a 100% record lead the table by two points from Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao, and are already four and five respectively ahead of presumed title rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona.
This excellent start was not really to be expected when Atletico were shaking up their squad last summer, and especially with veteran defenders Diego Godin, Juanfran Torres and Felipe Luis among those to leave. It has been pointed out that the last time Simeone’s side won their first three games was 2013/14, when they took advantage of both Barca and Madrid having below par seasons to claim the title. Although the Argentine himself has been understandably playing down such talk.
Kieran Trippier on Diego Simeone: "The defensive side, I feel like he'll improve that massively for me. I've learned so much already during the two months I've been there. He's just incredible to work with. He's totally different to any other coach I've had." pic.twitter.com/Z9zuZLUMoP
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) September 9, 2019
“We need to build now another team,” he said just before the international break. “Today we began with three new defenders [Trippier, Mario Hermoso and Renan Lodi]. It is not easy for eight to leave, eight to come in, and for the team to compete. But the players are adapting and are motivated. We need to think each game is a final, there is no other way.”
Trippier’s impressive adaptation to Simeone's way of thinking also brought an England recall. He won a first cap in 11 months while playing the 90 minutes in Saturday’s 4-0 stroll past Bulgaria at Wembley – making him the first La Liga-based player since Beckham to pull on the three Lions shirt.
While back in London, Trippier felt able to open up to the Daily Mail about how badly last season had gone for him both for Tottenham and England. Not the only member of Gareth Southgate’s World Cup 2018 semi-finalists to suffer a post-tournament hangover, he accepted that his level had dipped badly, to the point of calling the second half of the season “just like a car crash”.
Not all players are so honest about their own performances. While Tottenham appeared to be happy enough to sell last summer, the feeling is that Trippier himself also needed a change of scenery. He certainly looks to be really enjoying the lifestyle in the Spanish capital. And – unlike some other British ex-pats – has put some effort into charming the locals.
The headlines from his presentation at the Wanda in July was how chuffed he was at the opportunity to join Atletico and that his “main priority” now was to learn the language.
“The Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world, but I didn’t think twice when Atletico were interested,” he said. “Not many British players come abroad, but I always wanted to play abroad, especially La Liga. And I always wanted to speak Spanish. I can say hello, how are you, como estas? I try and do my best. This is a great opportunity now, and I want to enjoy the challenge.”
Deliberately or not, there was a clear contrast with Madrid’s Gareth Bale, who infamously still never speaks Spanish in public, even after over six years across town at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. And Trippier's continuing praise for everything to do with Spain and Atletico has been lapped up by local fans and pundits, who are loving what they hear.
After a return to La Liga with Saturday's tricky visit to Real Sociedad, the next big challenge for Atletico will be Tuesday’s Champions League Group D opener against Juventus at the Wanda. Juve's Cristiano Ronaldo is the player most Atletico fans both dislike and fear the most, so shutting down the Portuguese would be another step towards firm favourite status for Trippier. Given how everything has fallen for him so far in Spain, it would be no surprise at all.
