If the essence of Argentine football had a definition, only two words would be needed to describe it: Diego Simeone. Atletico Madrid's head coach is an icon of Los Colchoneros and his desire to win is always present in every game he directs. However, that fighting spirit has led him to adopt a timeless playing system, which he has no intention of stripping of, even if his position as coach is at risk.
Unfortunately, not everything has been rosy for Diego and his eternal ideology of play. Criticism has always rained down on him, no matter what titles or games he has been able to win as coach. The genesis of these statements against the Argentinian lies in his proposal to play every match with his team, Atletico Madrid. El Cholo has been known to implement a fairly defensive system of play, in which the priority is to keep a clean sheet and then focus on scoring goals. This has fed the media and various coaches to make negative comments about his tactics, cataloguing Simeone as a coach who does not like to play good football. After the match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, in the round of 16 of the Champions League, the coach of the English team, Jürgen Klopp, said: "I don't understand how, with the quality he has, he plays this kind of football. Winning is always good. When I see players like Koke, Saul, Llorente... they could be playing a different kind of football."
The German clearly expresses through these words the uncertainty that the way of playing of the Madrid team generates to him and he does not understand a supposed waste of the conditions of the players that Diego lodges in his group. However, by expressing that these players have the capacity to play a different kind of football, he is referring to a much more offensive and aesthetic football. What you fail to understand, dear Jurgen, is that El Cholo does not want aesthetics in his team, nor does he want to be pleasing to the eye of the beholder, since the only taste he finds in football is in winning.
On the other hand, the advantages that Diego obtains and has obtained, through his approach as a coach, have been splendid. His defensive pillar is the origin of a whole cooperative operation on the part of his players. There is no simple line of four defenders in the Argentino's team, but a collective of eleven players willing to pass the ball line when possession does not belong to them. The effort must be present in each of the members of their squad, even before any individual talent or ability is shown. This is expressed by Simeone himself with his phrase "Effort is not negotiable. Nor do I tolerate conformism. Passivity is far from me." This is what the Argentinean reflects in every match and in every dispute for a title.
This character has the ability to isolate the conformism of each of his players and inject them with an overdose of love for the red and white shield. It is inexplicable how such a defensive spirit can achieve so many positive results. It is precisely this conservative idea that has led Cholo to win two European Super Cups, two European Leagues, a Spanish League, a Spanish Super Cup and a King's Cup with Atletico Madrid. These are definitely decisive titles that have marked both his professional career and the history of a club that had shone shortly before his arrival.
On March 11, 2020, a rainy night in Liverpool takes over Anfield and more than fifty thousand people gather in its stadium to witness what would be one of the most dramatic and unexpected comebacks in the Champions League. El Cholo and his warrior side face the almost unbeatable Liverpool of the smiling Jurgen Klopp. The match has a special tension, as the first leg in Madrid was won 1-0 by Atletico. The English team is forced to come out on top with that result in order to force a penalty shoot-out, or win by a two-goal margin or more to go straight into the quarter-finals. The match begins and, as usual, Atleti surrenders possession of the ball to the home team. However, Liverpool fail to be very sharp and effective in their attacks until a Wijnaldum header in the 42nd minute of the first half. The stadium bursts into joy with a rather Anglo-Saxon Yessss!, replacing the traditional world-class goal scream.
The first half is over with the series tied but El Cholo keeps a cool head. However, they are so cold that their opponents take the opportunity to bombard the goal of Jan Oblak in the second half, who has to dress up as a hero to avoid the goals. The Colchoneros lose their structure and Diego's defensive figure is no longer as perfect as it once was.The final whistle blows for the 90 minutes and 30 more minutes are played.
In the 93rd minute Liverpool make it 2-0 and Simeone asks for calm, not demanding anything else. Three minutes later Marcos Llorente, an unexpectedly strong player, scores a goal from another match and puts Atleti back in the quarter-finals. Also two more goals arrive without much elaboration and the madridista team ends up winning 3-2. Many couldn't believe it, but Diego was a believer in victory for 120 minutes and never let his head drop. Maybe his defensive and not very risky approach played a bad trick on him, but his heart and effort were enough to cultivate it in his players and harvest a victory.
Other sources:
- https://es.besoccer.com/noticia/la-respuesta-de-simeone-a-klopp-por-cuestionar-el-estilo-807708
- https://www.iprofesional.com/notas/209853-emprendedores-lider-simeone-Diego-Simeone-10-frases-de-un-lider-para-emprendedores
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