A captain down – does Atleti need a third?

Arthur looks at the captain situation now Raúl Garcia has departed

Posted by on October 13th, 2015 in General -

Who would our third captain be?

Who would our third captain be?

With the departure of Raúl García, not only did Atlético Madrid lose a wonderful player, and an even better person, but a captain as well.

Since then, the club hasn’t announced who the replacement captain would be. The press speculated that it would be Koke, but no official confirmation was given.

So who could join Gabi and Diego Godín as captain? Tiago? Koke? Juanfran? Fernando Torres?

Tiago was one of our captains during the 2013/14 season. However, after his brief flirtation with Chelsea, he lost his captaincy.

He’s a natural leader and a definite starter for Cholo. But if he was stripped of his captaincy, it was definitely done so for a reason.

Koke has worn the captain’s armband in a few matches in his career so far, but is the 23-year-old midfielder the right man? His presence on the pitch is a must for Atleti, but his leadership skills are yet to be seen.

Juanfran has never captained Atleti despite being a part of the team since 2011. His locker room presence, alongside his performance on the pitch, makes him a good shout for the vacant spot.

Fernando ‘El Niño’ Torres is another option. After his ‘Erasmus’ in England and Italy, Torres returned to Atlético Madrid as a man. He was captain back in 2003, but that team can’t be compared to today’s Atleti.

However, his locker room presence is massive, and he’s an inspiration to ‘canteranos’ everywhere.

Another question that can be brought up is: does the team need a third captain?

With so many options, maybe the vacant spot will be alternated. Without an official confirmation, everything will be pure speculation.

For the time being, the third captain is a mystery, but whoever wears the armband will hopefully captain the team to Neptuno.


  • starvs

    Hard to go wrong with either Juanfran, Koke, or Torres. They all bring something valuable/deserving to the table as captain. I think making it Juanfran would symbolize the importance of hard work, dedication, and teamwork, as that is certainly what Juanfran is all about and how he has ingratiated himself to the fans here (and earned himself a place with La Roja). Koke is obviously a symbol of the future of Atleti, and his quality of play and loyalty have earned him the right to be captain, but his actual leadership skills are a question mark (to be fair, not really needed at this point with the other strong veteran leader we have). And Torres is obviously El fucking Niño, the legend of all Atleti legends (along with Aragones) don’t need to say anything there really; but he is also no longer a starting caliber player (although can still make an impact).

    I say roll some dice or something really, as all three are worthy choices.

  • Ahmad Hossainy

    First : it’s a little late to open a discussion about this subject .

    Second : what I read in the press wasn’t speculations, they confirmed that it’s Koke, after he was elected by a voting between the players, if I remember correctly, it was in AS .

    Third : it was very obvious since last season that Koke is the 4th captain, and now after Raul has left, he is automatically third .
    He was the captain against Bayer in the Calderon, over Juanfran who was a starter at that game (also over Miranda & Mario who started that game as well) .
    After 3 weeks he was captain again against Real Sociedad, this time over Tiago & Torres who started that game .

    I think it’s the right decision, he showed a great leadership skills, despite that Arthur didn’t see it, he is a canterano, his position in the field is good for the captain’s job, he is an undisputed starter unlike Tiago & Torres, he has -despite his young age- a huge experience, he is calm, and he is loved and respected by his teammates, by the coaching staff and by the fans .

    But I really wish to see, at least once, Juanfran wearing Atleti’s captain armband .

  • Ringo

    I think it should NOT be Juanfran. Obviously he’d deserve such recognition, but we cannot forget he already takes on two roles on the pitch, if not three. I think this would give him too many tasks and therefore I’d pick someone who’s already in a central part of the pitch. Let Juanfran stick to his wing and his defending, offensive positioning, intense running and crossing.

    Koke (if in center midfield) and Tiago are pretty much ideal, since their play already involves paying attention to pretty much everyone and Torres used to be our poster boy. Koke could actually take on both the poster boy and leader role, so I’d pick him.

    Perhaps the armband could keep him focused, this season he has been a bit “rushy.” Hope he’s recovered well from his injury. We have talented players to replace him, but the team was a bit slower than usual without him. Also, he already was third captain by pretty much moving forward a spot from fourth captain.

  • I agree. JuanFran is the true example for the other players. He is cool headed, keeps his down and works hard. Koke should be replace Gabi. Time for the changing of the guard. So here is my choice in order, 1) Godin 2) JuanFran 3) Koke