Johnny Cardoso has continuously taken steps forward in his career and his most recent one is surely the biggest yet.
Cardoso made the move to La Liga giants Atletico Madrid earlier this summer in a permanent deal from fellow Spanish club Real Betis. The New Jersey native made the roughly 329-mile move north to Madrid, joining up with Diego Simeone’s squad ahead of the new campaign.
After originally breaking through at Brazilian Serie A side Internacional, Cardoso’s growing role in South America earned him a leap to Real Betis. A new opportunity working with longtime manager Manuel Pellegrini allowed Cardoso to test himself in one of Europe’s top-five leagues, while also featuring in a European Final (UEFA Europa Conference League).
Now with a move to a title-challenger in Atletico Madrid, Cardoso is ready to bring the same intensity that helped him get to where he is today.
“It’s a dream come true being here, experiencing this with my family,” Cardoso said during a club interview after his presentation at the Metropolitano Stadium. “It’s a huge club which has the same ambition as I do.
“It’s a privilege to be with all the staff and especially [Simeone],” he added. “He [Simeone] played in my position, and I’m ready to evolve and learn from him.”
Cardoso signed a five-year contract with Atletico and will wear the No. 5 jersey this season, a number that was open following Argentina international Rodrigo De Paul’s move to Inter Miami. He is one of six summer signings by the club, joining Thiago Almada, David Hancko, and Alex Baena as some of the newest faces in the red, white, and blue of the Atletico colors.
A hardworking and versatile midfielder, Cardoso will aim to lift his first trophy at club level this season as Atletico aims to make a deep run in all three of its competitions. He came close to doing so against Chelsea last May until a second-half comeback from the English club condemned Real Betis to a 4-1 loss in the Conference League Final.
Atletico will have La Liga, Copa Del Rey, and UEFA Champions League aspirations this season and Cardoso believes by next May, it will go down as a memorable one for him and the club.
“I have a lot of confidence in the project, with what the club has said to me,” Cardoso said. “We have the same hopes, to keep growing and to win trophies. It’s a team that has brought in a lot of players, a lot of young players, to blend with experience. We play in a lot of competitions, and we have total conviction of being able to fight for all of them.
“We’re all at the same level,” he added. “Atleti are a very big team….Simeone has been showing me things from the start, I’m learning a lot. It’s going to be a special season.”
Atletico Madrid opens La Liga play on August 17 against Espanyol.
big time move of course
what a great opportunity to learn from a master tactician who excelled at Johnny’s position as a player.
re. the nats, let’s see how Simeone deploys him vs. how Poch has used him; if there are differences, and I expect there will be clear ones, let’s see first how Johnny responds for Someone, and then compare. that’s what I think
Super excited to watch him this season. I watched a lot of Betis last year, and he was amazing. Great to see the warm welcome Atleti fans are giving him.
You’d hope he would have and will do much better but…. it’s not THAT much of a mystery why Johnny has struggled. He’s a player who has had to adjust to new team mates, new culture and a very foreign way to look at the way the game is played with a program that has been in turmoil and played abysmally for the last few years. His runouts have never had consistency- completely haphazard as to how when and where and with whom he is played. I’d venture to guess he’s seen a completely different lineup every time he’s been on the field. None of that is conducive to thriving.
agree with all of this rico po, plus what I say above I think is important too
This is interesting.
It’s funny how Johnny Cardoso is valued in La Liga to be picked up by one of the best teams in that league (although that remains to be seen as a REGULAR starter) and USMNT fans like to criticize him for not excelling on the National team. We all know that in the past SOMEHOW his La Liga Value doesn’t seem to translate into success on the international stage. So, if he becomes a regular productive player for Atletico Madrid, is it that Johnny is STILL not good enough for the National Team…….Or maybe, just maybe, it is that OUR NATIONAL TEAM is not good enough to play with Cardoso style of play? I guess we’ll know by mid-season.
Food For Thought
you’re basically filling the “club form” glasses with wine from a slightly different bottle. same glitch. it’s like saying well but sargent has 15 league goals for norwich, he can’t suck. well, i just watched both him and johnny suck this year. i trust my own eyes.
story i heard johnny played well in the first betis-atleti game last season. and that’s what did it.
had a rival college coach (who had recruited me) who told me i made an all-tournament team on his nomination and not my coach’s. it’s not just who you know but who you impress.
we’ll see what happens at atleti. it sounded to me like betis pressed and pushed him high. atleti generally sits back, hunts in packs, and counter-attacks. i am skeptical he actually fits what atleti uses. but they are paying a ton of money, so he will likely see the field a fair amount to try and make it work, regardless what i think.
Not much to think about.
Every single season players move to another team. Results vary.
There are a million reasons for how and why this happens.
Johnny is a success at Betis for certain reasons. Those same reasons don’t exist at the USMNT.
It’s the same thing when the USMNT brings in new players.
Real Betis is a completely different team from the USMNT.
Different managers, players, league, competition and maybe most important of all, a different timetable and schedule.
With the USMNT, you get two caps in a row and then you do not get back with the national team for another year when you get maybe two games a row again. Do they get, maybe, a week’s worth of training together? With the USMNT the games come AFTER training, so if the manager wants to address something he might have to wait a few months. Some guys are on top day one.
With Betis you get a month of pre-season, five- six training sessions every week, at least once a week and sometimes more you get a game. If you lose form and need to sharpen up most teams have a Cup competition that they can slide you into, or if it gets really bad they can loan you to some MLS team.
In other words, if you don’t become an important player right away, a club has quite a few alternatives , and time, to get you integrated into the team and playing well.
With the USMNT some players comparatively speaking fit right in and get it right instantly or they, theoretically, don’t get called back.
Johnny has 22 caps since 2020.
He has 45 games with Betis since he got there two seasons ago
It does not seem like a big difference until you look closer. In short, the USMNT has been lackluster for most of his 22 caps, while Betis has been having a good year, with Johnny an important part of that. When the USMNT can get around to spending time with Johnny, who should be better for having worked with Simeone then maybe he will be better.
Or not. This is not an exact science.
Talented US youth striker Marcos Zambrano signs with RSL. I think its great these young guys are realizing MLS is better option than wasting away in Europe now.
Super stoked for him and this chance, and hope he makes the most of it. As someone who didn’t see him with Betis much, I still kinda struggle to get it though. Have to assume there is much more there than he’s been able to show with the US. Hard to believe he is going to Atleti while Weah, Reyna, Turner, and maybe McKennie are in club limbo. Good luck Johnny!