Truce fails: Álvarez loses reconciliation gamble against Barcelona

From applause to jeers

Argentine striker Julian Alvarez was one step away from winning forgiveness from Atletico Madrid's fans.

No setting could have been better than Barcelona's visit. Here was Alvarez's chance to close the chapter on the controversy that had followed him all summer, and to win back the trust of fans he had clashed with repeatedly.

Positive signs had emerged over recent weeks. His goals had fed the optimism.

According to the newspaper Sport, the reconciliation had been going well, with Alvarez rebuilding his standing among supporters who had lost much of their faith in him. Then came the chance to take the decisive step. He failed once again.

There was no reconciliation. Julian Alvarez was back to square one. He squandered two very clear chances, the first above all, heard the jeers return, and learned that everything he had built with the fans could vanish in a single night.

What was going through his mind as he raced towards Joan Garcia? Plenty, perhaps. The chance arrived suddenly in the sixth minute, and it was perfect for him: the whole pitch open, only Joan Garcia between him and the goal, a moment to atone for his mistakes and bury the stormy summer of his controversial conduct and his public declaration that he wanted to join Barcelona.

Lack of confidence

Maybe the pressure of needing to score, of needing to make amends, weighed heavier than it should have. He hesitated. He hesitated far too long, until the moment slipped away. By the time he tried to go past the keeper, Joan Garcia had closed the gap and nicked the ball off him. Credit the Barcelona goalkeeper too, for a superb intervention worthy of applause.

Alvarez had wasted the chance, but he refused to fold. Just four minutes later, he made up for it with a wonderful assist for teammate Giuliano Simeone, who finished to make it 1-0. A fine pass to his compatriot, proof that Julian was still very much in the game despite his earlier miss.

Fate, perhaps, handed Julian Alvarez another chance to atone. This time he was further from goal. With Joan Garcia off his line and the defenders closing in, he decided to catch them out with a lob over the keeper.

Brilliant idea, poor execution. The ball sailed well over the crossbar. In fairness to Julian, the attempt was no easy one.

Two clear chances against Barcelona, both squandered, and the jeers rang out again from fans whose patience was beginning to run dry.

That attempt drained the last of the stands' goodwill. They were no longer willing to forgive. The latest miss triggered a wave of fury at the Metropolitano, and the jeers rang out loud once more.

Both incidents betrayed the same symptoms: hesitation, a lack of precision, and above all the absence of the boldness that once defined Julian and now seems to desert him.

Simeone continues his support

Diego Simeone kept his full faith in the striker and refused to take him off. Alexander Sorloth's introduction pushed the Argentine over to the left, but by then little could be changed. Barcelona were the stronger side, and Atletico closed out their week with two painful defeats.

Simeone's trust in the Spider never wavered. He backed him from the touchline and left him on the pitch.

Through it all, the coach kept encouraging him, celebrating his efforts and renewing his support in the press conference. "We love him very much, and we need him," he said. "We need the best version of Julian Alvarez, and we will work with him."

An apology alone is not enough

His public apologies, it seemed, had already been forgotten, even though he had offered them after scoring his first goals at the Metropolitano, against Deportivo La Coruna.

"I wanted to apologise to our fans for my words during the World Cup," Julian said at the time. "It was a mistake, both in the way I expressed it and in the timing. More importantly, I understand the fans' anger. If I were a supporter, I would be angry too, especially given the way they backed me. They were extremely generous towards me, and I appreciate that a great deal. I also want to thank the team, because my teammates supported me throughout this period."

He had ended his goal drought against Stuttgart, and after his decisive strike against the side from La Coruna, Atletico's red and white faithful answered with thunderous applause and a warm welcome.

The wounds appeared to be healing. The Argentine looked to have won back much of the affection he had lost. The clash with Barcelona last night proved the road to reconciliation was not as smooth as it had seemed.