It’s painful to watch a footballer suffer so explicitly on the field of play. When Julian Alvarez stepped on to the San Mams pitch in the 58th minute, as a replacement for Lee Kang-in, Atletico Madrid already losing 2-0. Athletic Club had just exploded after the interval, scoring twice in two minutes through Nico Williams and Robert Navarro.
The intention was clear: bring Alvarez on to save a collapsing ship. Instead, the Atletico Madrid faithful in the away end bellowed a barrage of boos and whistles as he emerged onto the turf.
An utterly toxic environment
This was not the reaction for a bad performance on Saturday night; rather, a continuation of a prolonged and draining summer of drama. During the World Cup, the Argentine declared his “dream” is to play for Barcelona.
However, Atletico Madrid CEO Gil Marin chose to feed his pride who and blocked the move. They stood their ground, with various executives claiming he would “never, ever” be sold to Barcelona, while Diego Simeone stubbornly retained him, claiming he would learn “a lot”.
There is no learning in this kind of a toxic environment though. The fanbase has not forgiven him. In a recent home draw against Villarreal, they sang for him to leave the club: a sentiment that continued against Bilbao as he was mercilessly jeered for every touch of the ball.
Sacrificed at the altar of pride and arrogance
By holding onto a player against his will, Atletico Madrid have trapped a world-class talent into a terrible situation. Alvarez looked completely devoid of confidence, and spent thirty minutes chasing shadows with nothing to show for it as Oihan Sancet put the icing on the cake for Athletic in the 90th minute, making the scorile 3-0 to Athletic Club.
Holding a player as a pawn to make a point in the transfer market, it ultimately benefits no one. It disrupts squad harmony, it antagonizes the fans, and most devastatingly, it destroys the confidence and ambition of a player. Julin Alvarez has the misfortune of being the latest victim of the Atletico Madrid stubborness and small club mentality.
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