Player Focus: Undervalued Tiago Continuing to Show His Worth for Atletico

Amid all the media speculation of an exodus from La Liga champions Atletico Madrid last summer, there was little attention paid to the future of midfielder Tiago Mendes. Players of the quality and profile of Diego Costa, Thibaut Courtois, Felipe Luis and David Villa all left, while Colchoneros fans were relieved that other stars of last season’s La Liga and Champions League campaigns including Diego Godín, Koke, Miranda and Juanfran all turned down big money offers and chose to stay.

There was less concern either way over whether Tiago would return to Chelsea and rejoin his former coach and countryman José Mourinho. After all Atletico were well stocked in his position, with Gabi, Koke, Mario Suárez and emerging youngster Saúl all around. When the 33-year-old eventually ended up staying at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, it was not headline news.

At this stage in his career, it was assumed that the former Braga, Benfica, Chelsea, Lyon and Juventus player was on his way out. With Diego Simeone’s side looking to play a more possession-based style this season, some pundits even decided space needed to be made to put playmaker Koke permanantly alongside captain Gabi in Atletico’s deep midfield two.

But those assumptions were wrong - and Tiago has been among Atletico’s most important players so far in 2014/15. His influence was again seen last Saturday, when Malaga came to the Calderon having won five on the bounce in La Liga, but were both out-classed and out-battled, beaten by 3 goals to 1. Atletico’s number five was the clear man of the match, scoring the opening goal himself and assisting another while picking up a 9.31 WhoScored.com rating.

Speaking after the game he typically played down his own role, saying the important thing was that the team had taken the three points against a difficult opponent. “The win was very important, against a really good team in Malaga,” he said. “Once again at the Calderon we were stronger and a great team. We just keep doing our work, it was important to win today after losing our last game. We live for these victories and are very happy.”

Tiago’s outstanding personal display had been no outlier. He now has an overall rating of 7.62 so far this season, putting him ninth of all players in La Liga. The only players ranked higher are much higher-profile superstars from Real Madrid and Barcelona along with his teammate, Spain international Koke. The player who took a pay-cut to stay at Atletico last summer has been invaluable to his side through the season’s opening months.

Simeone hailed Tiago’s contribution in Saturday's post-match press conference, when asked what he brought over other options in midfield. “I'm very happy with him being here,” Simeone said. “The difference with the other players is that tactically [Tiago] understands better the momentum of the game.”

The statistics show the ‘understanding’ that his coach so values. Tiago has made 2.6 interceptions per game [joint-most for Atletico with Godín] and has committed an average of 1.9 fouls [no teammate comes close], while managing to get away without being booked even once. His 80.9% pass completion is actually better than Koke or Gabi, while an averageof 48.7 passes per game is pretty impressive considering Atletico’s evolving style is still not really based around keeping the ball for long periods. 1.9 aerial battles won per game is well ahead of Saul [1.6], Mario [1.4], Koke [1.1] or Gabi [1].

His contribution has not been purely defensive, by any means. Saturday’s goal was Tiago’s third in just seven La Liga appearances this season - already an improvement on last term’s tally of two in 23 appearances. The near post header against Malaga was also almost a carbon-copy of his goal in September’s 2-1 derbi win at Real Madrid - when he was also his side’s best player [7.67 rating] while outshining Madrid’s Toni Kroos [6.87] and Luka Modric [6.57] in the centre of the park. His form this season has also been so good it has brought a return to the Portugal squad and team, after a few years in international wilderness, and he's helped put their Euro 2016 qualification campaign back on track. 

Just as noticeable has been that among the games Tiago has missed through injury this season have been the most disappointing Atletico displays: the 3-2 Champions League loss at Olympiakos, a 2-2 draw at home to Celta Vigo and a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad. Conversely he was excellent in their other stand-out performances - the home wins over Sevilla and Juventus. 

Such importance to the side was pointed out by AS’ Atletico correspondent Inaki Diaz Guerra in his match report for the Malaga game. “Tiago has become indispensable,” Diaz Guerra wrote. “The rojiblancos always play better when the Portuguese is there. And after five games out through injury, the midfielder returned to impose order and direct his side. If his hints about leaving last summer for Chelsea caused some unease on the part of the fans, that is already forgotten. The Calderon has submitted to the evidence – with Tiago everything is much easier.”

A closer look at Tiago’s CV shows that despite never really being the fans’ or pundits’ favourite, the unobtrusive midfielder has managed to be a key member of league-winning teams in England, France and Spain. A polished media performer in at least three languages, he has been tipped to move into management when his playing career ends. For the moment, however, Atletico fans and pundits alike are now finally really appreciating how useful it is to still have him around.

How important do you think Tiago is to Atletico Madrid? Let us know in the comments below