As far as I'm concerned, he's still that guy who fails to change a game. He's still that guy who's not worth to build a team around him. He's still that guy who everyone overrated his every single move here.
He's all full of would'ves, should'ves and could'ves.
Players do need to perform, you're right about that.
It's fair to say that he hasn't produced up to the expectation, given the price tag. It's fair to say that he's not a superstar who a top club should aim to 'build' a team around. But a team is more than one player, and he could be quite useful in a more balanced squad.
I think it's also fair to say that he's played at two
intensely dysfunctional teams the past couple of seasons, and that clearly he's a better player than he's shown during that time. Those environments were conducive to failure - all you have to do is look at the clubs internal turmoil, and obviously their
team results. If he's going to return to form, he needs a stable environment, and some continuity.
He was able to change games at Bremen, that's why he was bought in the first place - he had tore the Bundesliga up. He also had some pretty epic perfomances in their Europa run. Now the onus is on him to show that he can do that for Atletico. He'll need a little time to settle in, but I think he'll be a nice piece of business for them. They got him for dirt cheap - pretty sure this guy cost them less than Pepe cost us.
Anyway, I'm really not some Diego superfan, buddy. People might think that, but I'm not. I defend him a lot, but it's because I don't like some of the specious arguments that people come up with (like "he sucked at Wolfsburg, so he's a terrible player"), I thought he deserved more of a chance here (he worked hard, seemed like a good teammate even if the end product wasn't always there - that team was rubbish), and I prefer to place the blame on incompetent management. He shouldn't have been the scape goat for all of that disfunction, and Marotta (and others) basically treated him as such.