Antoine Griezmann Special 

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1:11Alan Shearer:Hello and welcome to the Rest is Football La Liga edition with Alex Alger and me, Gary Lineker. Alex, we're going to do something a little bit different. Well, not altogether different because we've done a couple of them now. little specials during the international break because obviously there's no La Liga football going on Spain have qualified for the World Cup so we'll do one of those episodes where we talk about well he's actually not a Spanish player the two people we've done so far Lamin-Yumal who is and we've done Kylian Mbappe who is not Kylian Mbappe is French clue there same nationality So I don't think it'd take, well, actually, it could be another Frenchman, couldn't it?

1:56Alan Shearer:Someone like Karim Benzema, but it's not. It's someone who's still playing, albeit largely off the bench these days. But what a career he had. Antoine Griezmann. Antoine Griezmann. You speak French properly. Je parle français. I know. Of course you do. You speak all languages known to humans. So how do we pronounce his name? Is it Antoine Griezmann or is it, oh, we always got it wrong? No, that's perfect. That's how you say it in French. Okay. I'm sure the Spanish struggle a bit with that surname. Griezmann. I bet they say Griezmann. Griezmann, yeah. Antonio. They always used to call me Hijo de puta.

2:36Alan Shearer:No, that was my nickname. No, they used to call me. Censor that, censor that. No need to censor that. That's just a Spanish swear word. Lineker. Lineker. Lineker. Yeah. Yeah. What do they do with you? imagine oh they struggle alex al joe yeah exactly that exactly that and my spanish teacher at school called me that as well al joe i quite like that because the j obviously is maybe i should change it yeah i'll get everyone to call me that here but because the j is always they don't have the j exactly i heard something the other day now i know we're going all over the place but that's the nature of podcast because i was in mexico and they don't use the yes you know like the a C followed by an E or an I and Zs and stuff like that is always the.

3:24Alan Shearer:I was told that that started because one of the kings, one of el reis del pasado of the past, spoke with a lisp. Oh my goodness. I never knew that. Well, I'm not taking this as red, but I'd like to know whether we need to Google this if it's true. And therefore everyone... out of respect or otherwise, or I doubt they were taking the piss, spoke from there on in, it was always the. Wow. I didn't know that. I didn't either. I'd like to believe that's true. And it might be, it might be absolute nonsense. Because that's how the king was speaking. Everyone spoke like that. That's what someone told me.

4:10Alan Shearer:I don't know how reliable that. Who told you that? How reliable is the source? I think it might have been. How many mescalitas down were you, Gary? Quite a few at the time, quite a few, which I thought was really interesting. I think it's really interesting. It does explain a lot because they don't sort of like that in South America. They don't use that at all in South America, you know, do they? Yeah. No, no, no, no. So in South America, it would be Leicester or Leicester. Leicester. And in Spain, it would be Leicester. Yeah. Or Leicester, they'd probably say. Yeah. Anyway, little Spanish history lesson.

4:47Alan Shearer:I like that. I like that. I wonder if Antoine Griezmann knows that. Well, Antoine Griezmann was obviously born in Macon in 1991. His grandfather was a footballer, actually, played for Pacos de Ferreria. And he grew up in France, played in France. But at 14, he was discovered and went to Real Sociedad. And there are worse places to grow up than San Sebastián, Sebastian, one of the food capitals of the world. So many top players come from that region, don't they, as well? He was living very close to the border, so he was actually in France, but then commuting across the border to go to La Real's academy and then broke into the first team and they were in the segunda division at the time, but then got promoted.

5:36And he's been in La Liga ever since. This is his 16th season in La Liga. And in terms of longevity, his first belt at Atletico Madrid, his best year is prime Antoine Griezmann. But he's still at it. We speak about him a lot in this podcast, don't we? Still, I know his roles change, but he's still a key player for Diego Simeone. And I go as far as to say the best player, the best Atletico Madrid player in the Simeone era. Well, outfield player maybe, because Oblak might have a word or two to say about that.

6:06Alan Shearer:Well, yeah, I know this is unfair, but I just, I always had this loathing of goalkeepers. even though lots of them are my friends. Because they saved your goals, Gary. No, they get in the way. What's the goals? They do get in the way, but there are a lot of things that I like about Antoine Griezmann. I've actually never met him, but he strikes me as a really nice, intelligent young man. You can tell that with the way he plays, that he's a very intelligent footballer and he's also incredibly versatile, as we've seen throughout his career. He could play up front, he could play just off, he could play probably either the wide positions.

6:47Alan Shearer:But even in, was it the last World Cup, wasn't it? Didier Deschamps used him almost pretty much as a defensive midfield player. So to be able to be that sort of footballer speaks a lot. He, like so many other players, when he was very young, he didn't really get a look in in France because they said he was too small. And that's, do you know what? I always found this, and it's still true to this day, that clubs look into you, they can predict now how tall you're going to end up. And they still judge people by the fact saying, well, he's probably not physical enough, he's not big enough, when they're a child.

7:29Alan Shearer:And it's just bemused me because of all the sports that you don't have to be a bloody giant to play. I was going to say, it turned out okay for Messi, didn't it? The two greatest players ever are diminutive, right? I mean, two greatest players of my lifetime, I should say. I can't count Pele because I didn't see enough of him. But Diego and Messi. I mean, strong, yes, because they've built their physicality, but small. But Griezmann's always been pretty. He's never really become a – you don't see him as being particularly strong, but he's incredibly strong mentally, I would say. We couldn't do an Antoine Griezmann podcast without me consulting my half-glass-empty Atletico diehard fan, Eric.

8:17Alan Shearer:Did you seek out his view? Yeah, I needed to. I needed to. And we know that he's not always overly positive. Please tell me he doesn't like Antoine Griezmann. No, no. So I spoke to him this morning and he said, true golden ball winner of 2018, forgiven for joining Barca and for that dumb documentary with Pique, which, by the way, just to put some... What was that? There was a... So Pique's production company... Oh, was this when they did the incredible announcement when we were all waiting for him, saying I'm signing for Barcelona? Yeah. And it was almost a Leonardo DiCaprio moment, wasn't it?

8:56Yeah. It was called in. Exactly that. But not as good. Yo no me voy a ir. It was called La Decision, the documentary, which Pique helped to set up. And so it didn't go down very well with the Barcelona fan base or the Atletico Madrid fan base, because of course he then did leave a year later, having said he was going to stay. And then obviously returned back to Atletico Madrid, which didn't go down well when he went back to begin with, with a lot of the fan base who were unhappy about it. Anyway, we all make mistakes, but I think making that documentary was one of them, because Pique got in trouble as well with the Barcelona president.

9:34They're like, what are you doing here?

9:36Alan Shearer:Because he's, I mean, Pique, obviously we all know, he's a hugely popular figure in Barcelona. Often tipped actually to be a future presidente del club because, you know, he comes from quite family and lifetime, socio. Absolutely. Anyway, so he said he was forgiven. So Eric has forgiven him. So that's good. I'm sure I'll be pleased to know that. And what you were saying earlier about how intelligent he is, He said his football IQ is up there with the very best in the game. And then he went on to talk about this season and just saying how he suffered burnout last season and Simeone learned a lesson from that.

10:10He says if he's playing 30 minutes or coming on at halftime, he's always going to be the best player on the pitch. His contract runs till 2027, but he thinks he's probably going to go to the States because we know how much he loves the NFL, the NBA. He was at the Burnabout at the weekend. He's an American sports fan, is he? Yeah, he loves it. Have you interviewed him? Alex. No, I've never received him.

10:32Alan Shearer:No. No, we need to get him on the pod. I think he'd be good. His English is all right. It's pretty good. So maybe we can get him on. He would be a great guest. Talk about all his hairstyles. I like his mullet, by the way. I'm not sure about mullet. What do you think? He's a good looking guy and I think he always looks pretty stylish, but I'm not sure anyone carries off a mullet that well. Yeah. Well, that is the one negative thing Eric said. Except for Tommy Fleetwood. What a waste of a decent head of hair. I like Tommy Fleetwood's mullet. The rest is gold. Fans will know who that is. there isn't a rest is golf I'm just saying please don't go off now and go I didn't know there was a rest is golf where can we find it it's not on YouTube yeah anyway yeah Eric said what a waste of a decent head of hair there it is that was him at the NFL yeah oh wow he's really gone for it now hasn't he yeah I can see that Alex for those just listening on the audio version Alex is just holding up a picture describe it I'll describe it as Chris Waddle circa 1990 1990.

11:29Alan Shearer:How about that? Exactly. Who wore it better? Anyway, he's had a fair few hairstyles in his career. He's had a fair few honours and a fair few goals and a fair few wonderful moments as well. He got picked up, didn't he, after a couple of years at Real Sociedad, where he started to catch the eye a little bit. Yeah, it was 2014 and he went into an Atletico Madrid side that had just won La Liga and got to the Champions League final. He was replacing Diego Costa and David Villa, who had just left the club. So big, big shoes to fill. But as I said at the beginning of this podcast, I think those were his prime.

12:09I know he's had some good seasons since, but I think they were his prime, prime years. Antoine Griezmann in his prime 15 plus goals in La Liga, 20 plus in all competitions for five seasons. Each of his five seasons from 2014 to 2019. but the one thing I would say about Antoine Griezmann is numbers are amazing and especially in an Atletico Madrid side that has been extremely defensive hasn't it over the years and flair players have struggled there like the likes of João Felix is a good example of that João Felix sorry I should say but Antoine Griezmann has never won La Liga he wasn't there for Atletico Madrid's two La Liga win

12:49Alan Shearer:that must have hurt him I know we're skipping forward a little bit in his career but I mean to have spent Five years there and been a club hero and then nearly left and not left and then did actually leave. And then in that period, I know what it's like as a footballer. It's almost human instinct, isn't it? When you've been somewhere and you've been an important figure and then you leave. I mean, it happened to me at Everton. I mean, the year after I left, Everton went on to win the league. Bittersweet because you're obviously happy for your performance. Exactly what it is. The bitterness is not against the club ever.

13:29Alan Shearer:It's not because you do. I mean, I only had one season at Everton and it was pretty the only season in the mid-80s that didn't win anything. We should have, but we got key injuries towards the end of the season. We lost Peter Reid for a bit. We lost Paul Bracewell. We lost Neville Southall, which was really important. And I know this is not Spanish football, but it did result in me going to play in Spanish football because I think if we had won the league, then they wouldn't have accepted an offer. So still to this day, it's one of the, you know, I never won a league either. So you just think, oh, if only.

14:03Alan Shearer:If only I'd have done two or three more years there, which would have been, you don't get to choose necessarily when one of the giants comes in for you. And I know in those days as well, Atletico wouldn't have been considered as big as they are now because it was, I mean, it still is obviously predominantly the two giants in Spain. but you have to include Atletico in there now as a big club and especially for him as well getting to Champions League finals and not winning either but I guess he can console himself with the fact that he's got a World Cup but you can't compare them I would take a World Cup over a Champions League trophy a Champions League trophy over a La Liga trophy over a Premier League trophy over an FA Cup trophy the World Cup the World Cup gives you footballing immortality yeah and the fact that I think he well he scored a penalty didn't he in the World Cup final they won as well so he's played such a vital role in that French team as well he now no longer plays international football which is probably a wise move in terms of his longevity and being able to play for Atletico Madrid week in week out and have a rest during the breaks but yeah I still think he'll look back on his career and maybe think I should have won a few more trophies.

15:23Alan Shearer:Yes, so should Anton Griezmann, not just you, Alex. Me as well. It's too soon, Gary. Too soon. It's not all about trophies. His first spell at Atletico was pretty impressive, wasn't he? It's funny because as you look at the way Griezmann plays, you don't necessarily associate him with, and it's a bit clichéd here, with a Diego Simeone kind of player. Yeah, because like I was saying earlier about the flair players that have tended to maybe not do so well under Diego Simeone because of the way he likes to play. But Antoine Griezmann has done, he's done brilliant, absolutely brilliant under him. And that 2017-18 season was a really, really good one.

16:10I think it was 29 goals in all competitions. And then he was third in the Ballon d 'Or that year, if you remember, behind Messi and Ronaldo?

16:17Alan Shearer:I think he's been third twice. And he could have won it that year. It's very difficult to win it in an era, as we know, because they won it every year until Modric came along and won it when they get towards the latter stage of the career. But it was always Messi or Ronaldo. I mean, how can you compete with those two? I always think it's like the alternative Ballon d 'Or. Who was third? Who was third in all of those years? Yes. Take those two out because they're on another level. Take those two out. You've got, you know, to finish third is a great achievement. Yeah, absolutely. He is ahead of Messi, Ronaldo and something though, by the way.

16:59He's the foreign player with the most appearances in La Liga.

17:04Alan Shearer:That's a good one. Yeah. On that high note, let's take a quick breather. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? ZepBound Terzepatide may be able to help. ZepBound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off. ZepBound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. ZepBound contains Terzepatide and should not be used with other terzepatide-containing products or any GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines.

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19:01Alan Shearer:along the way. WISE keeps things simple. WISE is a smart way to move the currencies you need around the globe. It works in more than 160 countries and with over 40 currencies. Most transfers arrive instantly. WISE uses the mid-market exchange rate, like the one you see on Google, with no markups or hidden fees. So when money needs to move, you can see the rate, know the fee, and get on with it. Join millions saving billions on hidden fees by downloading the Wise app today. Be smart, get wise, T's and C's apply. Welcome back to the Restless Football La Liga special edition on Antoine Griezmann with Alex and me, Gary.

19:44Alan Shearer:It must have been actually quite a difficult decision to eventually leave them, particularly after what we talked about earlier in this episode about the fact that it looked like it was for all the world and all the money that was going to go to Barcelona. And then they did this bizarre show you mentioned with Gerard Piquet. And then to actually go through that again, he must have been, I would imagine at this stage, slightly edgy about how it would be announced. Yeah, actually going to Barcelona, do you mean? when he left a year later. And also letting everyone know. Everyone that had watched the documentary.

20:25Alan Shearer:What he should have done is the one with Gerard Piquet, the sequel. The sequel. La Decision. La Decision. Pardos. Yes, Pardos. Yeah, interesting. Yeah, and I think that move to Barcelona, looking back, he might regret. He was arguably the second best number 10 in the world at the time or in Europe at the time, I'd say. And then Messi being the best. It was never going to be easy going into that team. He was, I'm not comparing him to Messi. I'm not saying he's on Messi's level, but he was the equivalent. In terms of importance to a team, that's what he was, Atletico Madrid. Yeah. And it was going to be very hard for him to go into that Barcelona team and fulfill the same role and be as important, which he wasn't.

21:14I'm not saying it was a flop his time at Barcelona because he still scored a lot of goals, but it wasn't a great time for him.

21:21Alan Shearer:No, it wasn't. It didn't really happen for him. He did okay. But I think that, I don't think it was a question of his ego being damaged by the fact playing with Messi because Messi's not that sort of person anyway. And he's a generous soul. But I just think that it didn't quite, I mean, there's a lot of great players at Barcelona, not just obviously Messi. and there has been for a long time, a couple of decades now. But he wasn't the only one big signing that didn't fit in either, did he? I mean, the current Ballon d 'Or winner had struggles. Now, I know predominantly probably because of injury, terrible injuries.

22:03Alan Shearer:But yeah, there was a time also when Barcelona started to struggle financially and they got into a bit of a pickle there. And they spent 120 million on him. And they spent, what was it, 130 million on Coutinho? At that point, they just were spending money like it didn't matter. On players they didn't need maybe. And then, of course, they didn't really have the comparative success that that sort of money would deserve for those players. So he wasn't the only one struggling because, you know, the three of them really, the three monster signings, it didn't really happen. and you wonder whether that pressure of playing under that price tag makes a difference.

22:48Alan Shearer:I'm not sure it does. I just think it just didn't quite fit. They didn't work out who was playing where. One or two of them got injured. And I thought, I mean, Griezmann didn't do awfully. I mean, he still put in some decent performances. But as you quite rightly said, he went from being the big star to just one of the others. Yeah. And maybe because you mentioned the pressure and the price tag, but maybe because there's been such a big build-up to this move, a documentary, as you say. And I'm sure he did feel the pressure to hit the ground running. And then I think he'll probably look back now and think, did that move to Barcelona maybe tarnish my Atletico Madrid legacy?

23:31Eric's forgiven him, but I don't know if there are other people and other Atletico fans that might think, you know, when he went back, you know, you left us, you went to Barcelona. And it probably would never quite be the same, you know, the feeling towards Antoine Griezmann at the club. Although he is, of course, an Atletico Madrid legend and always will be remembered as that.

23:55Alan Shearer:I mean, the fact that he's made more appearances than any other foreign player in La Liga is quite an extraordinary statistic, particularly when you consider how long Messi was at Barcelona. Yeah, and Atletico Madrid's top goal scorer of all time as well. He surpassed Luis Aragonés. Yeah, Luis Aragonés, who I played for. Great character, great person. I presume it was the same Aragonés that coach Spain. Yeah. Before I say it, it's not another person. Yeah. It's funny when we were just researching this and it came up that Luis Aragonés was the previous top scorer. I played for him for a year. I didn't realise he was that good.

24:36Alan Shearer:I didn't realise he was that good a goal scorer. Did he never mention it? No, do you know what? By the way, guys, listen to me because. Obviously, he was the guy that led Spain to their first international victory after such a long period of time that started that thing in 2008 and then they won the World Cup in 2010 and 12. Not under him. He won the first one. And what personality, what character he was. and I loved playing for him. He used to do this thing before the game where he'd get a whole team in the dressing room and he was a real players man. And he's quite, he had this big, deep, gravelly voice and he used to get everyone and he goes, and he goes, vamos muchachos.