João Félix is a player of the highest quality. However, during his three seasons at Atlético de Madrid, he has rarely managed to show that level of performance over a sustained period of time. Nevertheless, after a complicated start to the league, the Portuguese forward is showing the form that all football fans have been anticipating from him over these past few campaigns.

For this reason, at the MBP School of Coaches, we are going to focus on what aspects João Félix is excelling at from an individual level, and how these are contributing to Atlético’s attack.

Analysis

Before looking in depth at the areas Félix is individually standing out in and their impact on the collective, we must understand the character of the player. The No. 7 is someone without a fixed position on the pitch, and this can be shown in his heat maps.

Although Félix usually plays as a center forward (when using a base structure of two strikers) or as a left winger (when Simeone plays with three up front), his own inherent tendencies, encouraged by his strong socio-affective structure, encourages him to move all over the opponent’s defensive line. In this way, he seeks to associate with his teammates and generate positive synergies that allow the team to solve situations collectively with greater effectiveness.

For example, when Felix operates as a striker, it is common to see him execute the individual forward fundamental of ‘offering continuity support’. Through the application of this, Felix manages to give attacking fluidity to his team by always offering a passing line in progression, whether in the organizational phase of the game, or in the defence-attack transition. In addition, an aspect that he executes with perfection is that of offering support in the free spaces (intervals), thereby having more time and space to execute the subsequent action.

Likewise, when Félix starts as a winger, the Portuguese player’s habit is to reduce his height in depth, in order to help in the construction of his team’s play. In addition, it is here out on the wing where Felix provides the majority of his assists. Once the ball enters the finishing zone, Felix is able to execute the universal fundamental of ‘passing with an advantage’ to the players further forward, helping to put teammates through on goal.

Furthermore, another aspect to highlight, and one which has shown a great improvement in recent years, is the Portuguese player’s ability to finish first-time.

Unlike the goals scored in previous seasons, many of which came from individual plays by the player himself, the goals that Felix has scored during the 21/22 season have come from one-touch finishes. This factor is due to a better interpretation of the spaces inside the box in crossing situations.

Thanks to this improvement in his game, Simeone’s side can develop different ways of attacking the box. In addition, players such as Renan Lodi and Llorente have indirectly benefited from this, as both players have been positioned out wide during the last few games and have been responsible for delivering crosses into the box.

Conclusion

All players need the right context in order to shine. For this reason, we cannot ignore the role of the Argentine coach Diego Pablo Simeone in the development of Felix’s game. After three seasons working together, it seems that the Colchonero coach has managed to build a suitable framework which the Portuguese forward can shine in.

At the MBP School of Coaches we are closely following the evolution of the Metropolitano team, and especially the key figure of João Félix, a player of excellent quality who will surely leave his mark on the game in the years to come.