11 years with Koke

Koke (28 years old) is the great emblem of Atlético. The youth squad and current captain of the rojiblanco club represents many of the values ​​that are part of the rojiblanca philosophy: struggle, effort, ability to excel and perseverance. It is one of the essentials for his coach and the image on the lawn of what Simeone wants from his team. He is the most veteran of the squad, since this will be his tenth full season in the first team, although it is part of the mattress template since January 2011.

However, his debut with the majors took place several months before. Specifically, it was September 19, 2011, in a league game of the 2009-10 season. The third day of the domestic championship was played and Atlético visited the Camp Nou to face Barcelona. On the rojiblanco bench was a club legend, Abel Resino. In the 67th minute and with 4-1 on the scoreboard, Koke entered the field to replace Paulo Assunção. The final result was 5-2 for the locals, so surely the mattress captain will not have a good memory of his debut with the club of his life.

Koke wanted to remember that important date and yesterday he published a message on his social networks in which he commemorated this event with the following text: “Happy to wear this shirt on the day that marks 11 years since I made my debut with Atleti” #AupaAtleti. The ephemeris It coincided with the training match played by Simeone's team against Almería yesterday at the Wanda Metropolitano and that ended with a 4-1 Atletico victory with goals from Morata, Costa, Mollejo and Saponjic. It was the last (and only) rehearsal before starting the season next weekend. It will be on Sunday 27, against Granada, at the Wanda Metropolitano on the third day of LaLiga.

During this time, Koke has lived through the glorious time of Atlético, which coincides with the arrival of Simeone to the club. Since being part of the first team, the rojiblanco captain has won seven titles: a League (2013-14), a Copa del Rey (2012-13), two Europa League (2011-12 and 2017-18) and a Spanish Super Cup (2013-14) and two European Super Cups (2011-12 and 2017-18). However, has remained at the gates of the great dream title: the Champions, having lost the two finals that the colchoneros have played in recent years.

Since its debut 11 years ago, Koke has accumulated 457 matches played between all competitions, staying at the gates of the club's historic podium. He is fourth and is ahead of Collar, with 470 games; Tomás, with 483; and the undisputed leader, Adelardo, with 553. So, You need to add 97 more duels to rise to the first place in the ranking. Last season he played 42 games, missing eight games due to a muscle injury, and is essential for Simeone. Therefore, taking into account that it participates in practically all the matches in which it is available, it would take approximately two and a half seasons to become the player who has worn the red-and-white elastic the most times in the club's history (if you can maintain the current pace of matches).