Last Friday’s Spain-Portugal was a match of lights and shadows for the Atlético de Madrid fans. On the one hand, Koke reached his 50th international level. He is the first player in Atletico history to do so. Fernando Torres added 110 appearances with the national team, but only 42 of them as a first-team footballer. On the other hand, the divorce between the Metropolitan and Álvaro Morata was confirmed, a footballer who has never been forgiven for his Madrid past or his recent declaration of “love” for Juventus. The whistles from a stadium that should have supported him rather than criticized him symbolize the true relationship between the striker and the stands. It is clear that he will never wear rojiblanco again.
“Uno di noi” , “one of us.” A phrase that has never been related to Morata and the Metropolitan stand. The forward’s Madrid past has always weighed him down like a stone and he has never been able to enjoy the condescension that Diego Costa has received. Morata tried to make a clean slate when he arrived at Atlético, assuring that his heart had always been rojiblanco, but very few believed him. That’s why his departure to Juventus last summer was no drama. That is why no one was surprised when upon his arrival in Turin the first thing he did was profess his devotion to · »Vecchia Signora». And that is why the whistles of yesterday Friday, when in injury time the shot that would have meant Spain’s victory against Portugal crashed on the crossbar, he had to listen disconsolately as they sang “Morata, how bad are you” from the stands.
Álvaro Morata will never score goals again as an Atlético de Madrid player. Juventus will exercise the clause that allows him to extend his loan for another year and will almost certainly also execute the purchase option. The player and his family are happy in Italy and have no intention of returning to Madrid, despite the fact that this week, and to cover his back, the striker slipped that he also felt “very comfortable” in Spain. In reality, the relationship between Álvaro Morata and Atlético de Madrid ended the day that Simeone chose Diego Costa as the starter in the Champions League quarter-final tie against Leipzig.
On the other hand with Koke everything is good news. His relationship with the stands also went through a turbulent time, but now no one disputes his hierarchy. He only has Adelardo ahead of him to become the most important player in the history of Atlético de Madrid and since yesterday he is the first in the club to reach 50 caps. Quite a milestone for a team that has contributed many footballers to the national team, but has failed to ensure that almost none of them have continuity.
The low representation of rojiblancos players in the ranking of more games with the national team is very striking. Fernando Torres was the ninth winner, with 110 winches, but only 42 of them were at Atlético since in 2007 he was transferred to Liverpool, so technically 68 caps correspond to his time in England.
You have to go down a lot on the list to find the second athletic player, which was the winger Manolo Sánchez , who added just 28 caps. To put it in perspective, Adelardo was only 14 international and Luis Aragonés just 11. Saúl Ñíguez , whose time at the club also seems to be coming to an end, has worn the national jersey in 19 appearances. These data further emphasize Koke’s success in the national team, overcoming the initial rejection of the coach Luis Enrique, who removed him from the lists after the World Cup in Russia.
