Turning ghosts into Vermeeren is a complete nightmare

Arthur Vermeeren's move to Atletico Madrid began as a dream, but quickly turned into a nightmare. With minimal playing time and a language barrier as an obstacle, he was sidelined in Madrid for weeks.

While he struggles to adapt to Spanish culture and coach Diego Simeone's “Chulismo” philosophy, Vermeeren remains determined and focused to get his chance.

Relevo: “The Paradoxical Disappearance of Vermeeren.”

With just one point in the starting lineup and two brief substitute appearances, Arthur Vermeeren has played just 83 minutes in 19 appearances for his new club Atletico Madrid so far. Although Vermeeren was expected to have an adjustment period, no one expected his chances would be this rare.

However, Vermeeren's intention was to play more often for Atletico Madrid. Since his move to Colchoneros, Vermeeren has not featured in any matches and has sat on the bench for eight consecutive matches, without playing any minutes.

“The paradoxical disappearance of Vermeeren after his move to Atletico,” he wrote. Relivo last week. He added: “Simeone does not seem convinced that the Belgian is capable of making a difference in a team that has played a lot of matches in recent months, and sometimes needs to be rotated.”

Ghost-Vermeeren transfer: 'It's starting to turn into a nightmare'

Spanish newspaper ash It's even called “stealth transfer.” While injuries plague the squad and some players groan under the weight of a busy schedule, Diego Simeone is hardly a summons to Arthur Vermeeren at Atletico.

He said: “In Madrid, Vermeeren is known more for his videos with Antwerp than his minutes with Atletico.” ash. “Arthur Vermeeren's move to Atletico Madrid is slowly turning into a nightmare,” he wrote. The last hour On his turn.

After all, the competition for his position is at a high level, including Argentine world champion Rodrigo de Paul, Saúl, Pablo Barrios and Marcos Llorente.

Simeone generally favors experienced, skilled and athletic players, and is not known to be a coaching coach who spends a lot of time developing young talent.

Vermeeren is still young, frail, shy, barely speaking Spanish, and still growing. These factors have ensured that Simeone has rarely called on the Belgian new arrival.

Vermeeren must master Spanish and Cholesmo.

At first, the language barrier was a huge obstacle for Arthur Vermeeren, who did not speak a word of Spanish. But he didn't give up. On the contrary, he is now taking language lessons to make rapid progress.

Although some staff speak English, communication is mainly in Spanish, with the aim of Vermeeren mastering the language as quickly as possible.

For Diego “Cholo” Simeone, Spanish is the only language, meaning another player or coach often has to translate during conversations with Vermeeren. So it's not an ideal situation.

But perhaps more importantly, Vermeeren must master the 'cholismo', which is crucial to his success at Atletico Madrid.

“He has to keep working. He is trying to improve, trying to understand the language better by taking lessons. Things are going much better, and as a result he is communicating more with his teammates,” Simeone told the Spanish press last week.

Despite the difficulties, Vermeeren remains calm and focused. He knows there is a plan behind the scenes and remains confident in his abilities.

“The most important thing is to stay calm, because if I start to panic, things will get worse,” he said in March. latest news. He focuses on his fitness and does intense strength training exercises before training, waiting for his next opportunity.

“So, as soon as I get a new opportunity, I grab it with both hands. Whether I have to wait a week, a month or two, it depends on the coach. It's not good that I'm not playing, but in the meantime I'm trying to prepare as best as I can.”

“Vermeeren is the future of Belgium”

There is a feeling at Antwerp that Arthur Vermeeren made the right decision to leave for Atletico Madrid.

Gilly Bataille, Antwerp player, confirmed The newspaper If Vermeeren had been substituted in the summer, he would have had much more playing time by experiencing full preparation, playing training matches and getting into the rhythm.

“Now it's more difficult to join this team because Atletico is four or five steps ahead. But this is definitely the right choice,” says Bataille. “Arthur is the future of Belgium. “He's going to have a very great career.”

RAFC CEO Sven Jakes has no problem seeing Vermeeren on the bench at Madrid. “No, because I'm sure he took that into consideration. Arthur is a brave man. Not everyone dares to move from Antwerp to Atletico in the middle of the season.” Antwerp newspaper.

“But with him I have the feeling that he knows very well why he did it.” According to the CEO, Vermeeren will mainly use these months to adapt to the country, culture and language. “That's why he stays so calm. He doesn't panic at all.