Koke, a captain for history

He Athletic he only has in his head the Champions. The possibility of fighting for the European title in a completely atypical year, with the qualifiers from the quarterfinals to a match and with the side of the red and white box apparently clearer, With teams of lesser names and honors than those who will play the other way, the hopes of the fans increase.

Of course, the team does not want the least confidence towards any rival and know that any relaxation against him Leipzig will suppose the elimination, since there is no margin for error. We must remember that if Liverpool, third team with the most titles in the history of the competition (6) and reigning champion of the Champions League, he is not in the tournament, it is because Atlético eliminated in eighths just before the coronavirus health pandemic paralyzed the world in a memory tie.

And if there is a player that unites the illusion for the tournament and prudence before what comes it's Koke. The mattress captain could be the first captain Much of the hopes of Simeone's will depend on the club's history in lifting the trophy and its level. The vallecano is capital for Cholo and returned from the break in a great state of form, being decisive close to the rival goal. His goal against Real Sociedad, after a great combinatorial play with the participation of Herrera, Costa, Trippier and Morata, who left a great heel before Koke's definition, certified the third mattress place and a new podium, the eighth consecutive with Simeone on the bench.

In two years I could beat Adelardo

In that match also, the midfielder reached 456 games with Atlético's first team, the only one he has played in his entire career. The number with which Aguilera said goodbye to the club and which places Koke, at 28, as the fourth player with the most games in rojiblanca history. Since Simeone's arrival on the mattress bench, Koke averages 48 games per season (He reached 58 in 2013-14), and is only missing on the pitch when he suffers from muscle problems or has to meet a penalty match. Some absences in which its role is most noticeable, where in this course it has been lost six league matches (two wins, two draws and two defeats), one in the Cup in which Atlético was eliminated by Cultural and one in the Spanish Super Cup, falling on penalties against Real Madrid after he had relapsed from his injury in the semifinals where he scored Barça. If you keep that average participation, in a few months he will have surpassed Collar (470) and Tomás (483) and in two years he will be able to catch up with Adelardo (553) as the player with the most games in Atlético's history (He is already the most in European competitions with 95 matches, 15 more than Godín, his first pursuer).

Since Cholo started directing his career (40 games in the 2011-12 season), avoiding that any exit could be considered when Malaga was trying to get their services, it has been their connection between midfield and the front, becoming the league's most-assisted midfielder of the decade. Despite the fact that its presence in the final meters has gone down, with its best version between 2013 and 2016, achieving 13 assists in the League title season (2013-14) and 16 in the campaign (2015-16), continues as a vital player in Atlético's scheme and when he is fine he speeds up the game a lot and gives another rhythm to a team that has a hard time breaking lines while standing still.

Koke you know what it is losing two Champions League finals cruelly on the pitch, something that makes him cautious. But it is impossible not to have the illusion of fighting again until the end for that trophy that has slipped three times and that would be the best farewell for Mono Burgos, honored with the '6' in front in that last league match. The Champions League is three wins away, it is the message that invades the locker room and, in the case of achieving finally success would be the prize for consistency. A title that the vallecano dreams of raising, not only for him, but also for the Gabi, Godín, Fernando Torres, Juanfran, Filipe, Raúl García and the rest of his companions who stayed on the road.