In England, where there is no catch or the top strength, the difference in the squad in these five years is shocking, and the only constant is the diminutive right-back. At Atletico, at Tottenham, or even in England, he won't be the biggest protagonist of the team, but without him in any team, the tactics will be a little bit unsmooth. Kieran Trippier, a low-key but unpretentious star.
Let the world know who Kieran Trippier is
It was the 2018 World Cup Semifinals.
England vs. Croatia, the desperate England was actually taken by Southgate to the top 4, a height that even local fans could not believe. All the fans in England, even the world, are almost crazy, they don't have a lot of super stars to press the line, and there is no help from the super goal machine, all the players are like small screws, slowly and accurately helping the team to improve.
Trippier is like one of the screws, silently outputting in the position of the right wingback. And the classic scene is also coming. Just 5 minutes into the opening round, the set-piece near the penalty area, that little No. 12, will make everyone in the world remember his name, only to see a relaxed foot, the trajectory of the football is like a rainbow, just fly to the dead corner, all the current England fans stood up, yes, they have not enjoyed the feeling of dominating the game for a long time. It was Trippier's free ball that brought them reverie, dreams, not so far away.
Although it was croatia that finally went to Moscow to play, but that good memory, all England fans will not forget.
A lonely night in Madrid, inside the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Despite being at Cruyff Stadium, Spurs beat Ajax of the Youth Storm without Kane, immersed in the joy of success. But it was Liverpool, who also made a miracle at Anfield, who had just lost the Premier League title by a slight margin.
In absolute strength, Spurs have no strength to fight back, and Liverpool, who have failed once, have also done their best to fight for it in order to regain a lost title. The score of 2-0, it seems so reasonable, but it is so unwilling, past Manchester City, Ajax, but met the strongest team in the world that year, no one is not crying.
Silently weeping on the sidelines, there was also such a player, Kieran Trippier.
Yes, although Trippier will not be the protagonist of all the teams he has stayed in. Not at Tottenham, not at the England national team, not even more at Atletico Madrid, but he always had a lot of memorable classic moments.
From wet and cold England to warm Spain
Two months later, Trippier returned to his sad place, mixed with some loss, wandering, and more joy. That new journey is no longer White Deer Lane, but Wanda Metropolis.
On July 18, 2019, quietly, Trippier joined Atletico Madrid, compared to João Felix, who joined Atletico that year, joined the team at a price of more than 100 million, reinforced the center-back Felipe, Real Madrid's prince Marcos Llorente, young potential right-back Renan Lodi, and Trippier, who took over juanfran's position, does not seem to have received everyone's attention. And it is true that he is such a low-key player.
After the World Cup, There has been a very noticeable decline in Trippier's form, not only the proud assist ability, from 5 in the 17/18 season to 3, but also the problem of defensive catch-up is often not catching up.
So why would Simeone buy such a player?
Maybe it's just seeing Trippier's persistence! Some players are always very magical, you see he plays football and you don't think he's going to go down all the time, and Simeone can often tap these players into his team, and Simeone believes that Trippier can adjust his form to face La Liga games, whether it is attack or defense. This time, he also bet on the right treasure!
When joining Atletico, There is also a small anecdote on Trippier's side, although with The strength of Trippier at that time, there must be many teams in the Premier League, but he chose Atletico Madrid for why, some people say that he wants to play in Europe, some people say that he just wants to change a new environment, but do you remember that last year, Atletico Madrid was banned from chelsea Trippier when he was in the Round of 16 of the Champions League?
He was banned because Trippier told his friends that he might go to Atletico and ask his friends to place more bets on the market. Of course, it is a good thing to want to secretly help friends make money, but the inside information was finally seized by the relevant authorities, so Trippier was banned.
At that time, in the face of Chelsea's change of coach, the team had a new look, And atletico's injured camp was already difficult enough to win the game, and Trippier's influence was naturally indescribable. In the end, of course, it also stopped in the round of 16.
Of course, in the first season of Atletico, it is quite normal to have a little bit of dissatisfaction, especially the style of the ball is more physical contact, the style of the ball is more contact, the style of the ball is quickly switched to la Liga with attention to detail, plus the team transferred is the most defensive team in the world, with the defensive madman coaching Atletico Madrid. Although there have been teams like Burnley that played a 4-4-2 defensive counterattack, the offensive strength and defensive weakness has always been Trippier's biggest flaw, and this was one of the reasons why Spurs were willing to let him go at that time.
Simeone was able to reinvent him and fully exploit Trippier's strengths. After Griezmann left Barcelona in the 19/20 season, Atletico did not have a qualified set-piece player, and as long as it was a corner on the right, or a set-piece, we could often see that the diminutive Trippier would stand near the ball, that creativity was not atletico, and it was more needed by Atletico.
Of course, the transformation is not only these, in terms of defense, relative to the Spurs period will often be easily broken through at 1-on-1, to Atletico's Trippier's footsteps are more cautious when staring at defense, and it is also a lot less for the previous reckless foot to try to steal, because you have a coach around you who will yell at you when you lose your position in defense! Just because of these step-by-step guidance, Trippier also has a more offensive and defensive "closer" balanced full-back appearance.
What's more, Atletico's team defense allowed him to no longer have to worry about no one to help wipe his ass after being passed, because Thomas Parte, Saul Neggs, Cork and even a few of the defenders at the time could help him with these tasks. Many times Trippier only needs to stand in a specific area to defend, and does not have to move widely to consume his physical strength.
The outstanding performance also made Trippier, who fell out of the national team list in 19 years, immediately selected to go back. You know, after 19 years, England's right-back talents have sprung up one by one, Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold, Chelsea's Reese James, and the older and more stable Kyle Walker.
And Trippier can actually be selected when he leaves the Premier League, and he can have his shadow in the European Championship qualifiers, the UEFA Nations League, the World Cup qualifiers, and even Southgate will use the starters. This surprised many people, didn't he already leave the Premier League? But strength is to allow Trippier to play in a low profile again and again, and continue to let everyone see his simple and unpretentious performance.
Go home?
Trippier, 31, may be a little homesick. After playing in the European Championship, the rumors about Kieran Trippier's desire to return to England did not stop for a day.
With Marcos Llorente in the Spanish national team being used by Luis Enrique as full-back, Trippier's position at Atletico right-back doesn't seem to be so unique either. Coupled with the consideration of his family, Trippier cannot live in Madrid for a long time, and it is time to make the decision to break up. On 7 January 2022 he managed to return to England and successfully took all the football philosophies he had learned to a team that needed to reinvent his defence.
The £12m move to Newcastle United is not only to return home, but also to return the favors of benefactors. Eddie Howe, a mentor at Burnley, waved at Trippier at Newcastle United, making Trippier, who was already eager to go home, completely intolerable and accepted the challenge.