Is it just poor form, or is Antoine Griezmann declining as a player?Diego Simeone and his Atletico were praised for securing the loan deal for Barcelona forward at the start of the season. In the business sense, it’s still a remarkable coup. They sold the Frenchmen to Barca for a lot of money and then secured the loan back to help the Catalans battle financial problems. But on the sporting side, Griezmann’s return to the Metropolitano has been underwhelming at best.The 31-year-old France international had the worst season in a decade, scoring just eight goals. We’d have to go back to his Real Sociedad days for a season in which he’d failed to enter double digits regarding goals scored.Griezmann’s numbers since 2014He has not scored since 6 January – against a third-division team in the Copa del Rey. Since then, he made just four assists. But it’s not just that the numbers are poor. Griezman’s overall input and influence in matches have been nearly non-existent. Playing in a rigid system set up by Simeone did little to help Grizi’s cause, but that cannot be the only reason, simply because he used to hit big numbers in his first stint in red and white stripes.While Griezmann suffered his first severe muscle injury midway through the season and he didn’t look the same player since. Simeone asks him more to blend into the collective than before his departure to Barca. The relationship with the Argentinian is not the same as before. In conversations away from the pitch, Griezmann admitted that he’s slightly surprised by some overly defensive-minded tactical instructions.Friday, 21.45: (5.40) Austria (3.70) France (1.79)Can this difficult period also find its source in mental wear and tear after more than ten years at a very high level? Quite possibly – even though the player says he’s as motivated as ever and has a big desire to do well for his country in Qatar. Everyone seems to have forgotten that he had scored nine goals in 2021 for Les Bleus, one more than Kylian Mbappe – and as many as Karim Benzema. In total, he scored 42 goals in 105 appearances made for his country.📊| Antoine Griezmann, on loan from Barcelona at Atlético Madrid, has not scored a single goal for club or country in his last 21 appearances!#FCB 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/3JC8xfaVwI— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) June 7, 2022 France head coach Didier Deschamps talks to Grizi a lot and supports him. There is a lot of trust invested in the attacker. The coach who won the World Cup both as a player and a tactician knows that form is temporary.”It’s not his best time, but that’s not why we’re going to question everything. He was confronted with certain collective and personal situations, he suffered one of his first injuries after very long seasons, but I know his qualities and his mind.”It will be a few months for Griezmann, both on the club level and for Les Bleus.
