Emma Jemegah, just back from Laliga tour
They enjoyed cult figures while at Atletico Madrid. The fans sang their praises whenever they turned up for either training or match. They were the ultimate heroes while the romance lasted.
But that is no longer the story today, as the duo of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Antoine Griezmann have erred and are now persona non grata, especially inside the Wanda Metropolitana, the home ground of Atletico Madrid, a magnificent edifice.
Last Saturday, while the fans were anticipating the Madrid derby between Atletico and Real, which ended goalless, angry Atletico fans were seen defacing the emblems of both Courtois and Greizmann emblazoned on the floor of the stadium among other former and legends of the club.
The Atletico fans are still angry that Courtois, whom the team paid heavily to prize away from Chelsea at a tender age and helped to become one of the best goal tenders, dumped them “unceremoniously” to swap the Atletico shirt for that of their eternal rivals, Real Madrid.
He was called all sort of names, including a traitor and his emblem on the Wanda Metropolitana stadium’s floor was badly defaced with rotten food and all sorts of dirt.
During the course of the match, the jeers from the over 65,000 fans whenever Courtois touched the ball was deafening. It was as if the whole stadium turned against the Belgian international.
One of the fans, Alvaro, described Courtois’ decision to swap Atletico shirt for that of Real as the greatest insult to the club.
“He’s a traitor! We gave him the opportunity to become somebody, even when Chelsea dumped him on us. We even paid heavily to bring him permanently to Atletico, but he displayed his disloyalty by leaving us for Real Madrid.”
Courtois graduated from the youth system of Genk. In July 2011, he joined Chelsea for a reported £8 million, and was immediately loaned to Atlético Madrid. In three seasons at Atletico, he won the Europa League in 2012, the Copa del Rey in 2013, and the La Liga title in 2014. He also won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for best goalkeeper in La Liga, for his performances in two latter seasons.
Courtois returned to Chelsea in July 2014, and in his first season he helped them win the League Cup and the Premier League title. Two years later, he won the Premier League Golden Glove as Chelsea, again, won the league. Later, Real Madrid signed him for £35 million, making him La Liga’s most expensive goalkeeper, surpassing the record set by Jan Oblak.
The anger was only extended to Griezmann because his own emblem is not too far away from Courtois’. Nonetheless, the fans are equally not happy that he left the team when he was needed most.
Griezmann joined Atlético Madrid for a then-club record €30 million in 2014 from Real Sociedad. He adapted his game in Madrid from a winger to become a complete forward, and quickly became the focal point of the team. He would go on to break the club’s scoring record for a debut season, and was named in the 2014–15 La Liga Team of the Season. He was also named La Liga Best Player in 2016, and finished third for both the 2016 Ballon d’Or and 2016 Best FIFA Men’s Player awards. Griezmann was again nominated for the awards in 2018, finishing third and sixth, respectively, as he helped Atlético win the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, scoring twice in the final. Griezmann also won the 2014 Supercopa de España and 2018 UEFA Super Cup during his time in Madrid, and ranks as the club’s fifth highest goalscorer.
In July 2019, Griezmann departed Atlético to join league rivals, Barcelona, in a €120 million deal, making him the joint-fourth most expensive football player of all-time.
At UEFA Euro 2016, Griezmann was the top goalscorer and was voted the Player of the Tournament. He later won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a tournament in which he scored four goals, which earned him the Silver Boot as the second highest goalscorer of the tournament, won the Bronze Ball as the third best player, and was named man-of-the-match in the final.