Atletico Madrid defender opens up on process of adaptation to Diego Simeone and La Liga | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid defender Nahuel Molina has explained that his shaky start to life in Madrid was down to a period of adaptation rather than nerves. Molina arrived in Madrid from Udinese for €20m, an investment for which many Atletico fans wanted to see their right flank locked down long-term.

Molina started off poorly, getting sent off early and making several costly mistakes. Doubts were raised about whether he could make the cut, but after winning the World Cup with Argentina, Molina returned and ended up as Diego Simeone’s most used player over the course of the season. For many, he was the best right-back in La Liga during the second half of the season.

“I don’t think it was a nerves thing,” he told Diario AS, after he was asked whether the World Cup gave him the confidence to kick on at Atletico.

“It had more to do with all the change that I had to make. I came from another totally different league, from a totally different club, with other aspirations, totally different from those that Atleti has.”

“So, all that, arriving at a new club, a coach who demands a lot of you every day, players who demand a lot of you every day, because my teammates are also very demanding, I think it was the change that I struggled with a little. I don’t blame it on nerves or because I felt bad. Nothing like that. It is simply an internal process that happens to all players when they change clubs and it was my turn [to go through it].”

Molina has asserted himself as the standout option on the right side, although occasionally Simeone has used Marcos Llorente there again. However his words are a reminder of the unreasonable expectations placed on most players, with fans and owners expecting immediate results. At times, that period of adaptation can sink a player if they are not shown the patience required.