The golden decade of Cholo Simeone

Last update 29 December, 2021 por Alberto Llopis

There are dates that are not forgotten. this is one of them. He 23 from December to 2011 signed with Atlético and 27, Diego Pablo Simeone I was going back through the Vicente Calderón door. He did it outlining a smile in one of the worst moments of the mattress club. An illusion, un compromiso y un sentimiento que no se ha diluido en toda una década y que ha conseguido alzar al Atlético de Madrid a uno de los puestos más influyentes dentro del panorama futbolístico mundial.

Have been 10 años, in which the rojiblanco club has wanted to commemorate through its official media with an interview in which the coach takes stock of the elapsed time, the successes achieved and the future challenges in which he hopes will be another decade.

La década del Cholo Simeone en el banquillo del Atlético

The return of Cholo

Simeone began his career as a coach in his country, Argentina. Allí, a inicios de 2006 begins what would be his first stage in the Racing Club de Avellaneda, team to which he would return after a one-year break in which he directed Calcio Catania. Sin embargo, neither his roots nor Serie A seemed to make him forget his time at Atlético de Madrid.

There are many good words from the coach to the club in the years he spent away from the peninsula. And it is that since he left the rojiblanco team as a player or when in Racing de Avellaneda he changed the field of play for the bench, Simeone always had a goal: “Me preparé para llegar a este momento”.

He invariably knew that one day he would catch up with Atlético. “I looked for him from the first day I left Atlético de Madrid as a footballer, knowing that I had to prepare and form my work group so that one day the possibility of returning would appear. It was a challenge and I knew that if that situation arose it would be in a difficult moment, como le pasa a todos los entrenadores”, expuso el técnico en la entrevista conmemorativa que publicaba el el club el día de hoy.

Contra viento y marea

That is how, un 23 from December to 2011, the miracle occurs and Diego Pablo Simeone González signs as coach of Atlético de Madrid. An arrival that filled the former rojiblanco player with enthusiasm, but unfortunately it was not reciprocal. And the thing is that there were not many cholistas, neither among fans nor among journalists. The supports were counted on the fingers of one hand ... and there were too many fingers.

That's why, having bet on his signing for years was a reason for satisfaction for the above signer when Simeone was fulfilling objectives one after another, given that, not even the most optimistic predicted that ten years later the Argentine coach would continue to lead the mattress team with eight titles y two end of Champions behind their backs. Now him ‘Cholismo‘ es casi una religión.

Simeone's primary goal was clear. You had to give intensity to a squad that seemed interesting, but unfortunately he was in an undesirable situation. Cholo watched all the rojiblanco team's matches, so he knew the fandango terrain he was getting into, And what is more important, I thought I had the key to clean it.

One of his objectives was to feed Radamel Falcao with balls, player in whom Simeone saw potential after having already been his pupil in the ranks of River Plate. Adrian, Arda Turan and Diego Ribas also liked them a lot, but above all his obsession was to avoid the grotesque defensive mistakes that Atlético had made in the previous five years. Something that Aguirre had tried to eradicate without success, Abel, Quique and Manzano, pero que el Cholo consiguió en pocos meses.

The inflection point

But the real leap would come with the King's Cup 2013. Aquel día se alinearon los astros en el estadio Santiago Bernabéu, That day began an era of growth and success for Atlético de Madrid with Simeone on the bench. Finished with 14 years of not winning at Real Madrid. In that final of 2013, the mattress club beat the eternal rival with a header from Joao Miranda in extra time. A bit that put the 1-2 on the scoreboard and that it was the turning point that they had been waiting for so many years (and working). “It was the inflection to realize that we could also in local football, where then winning whatever was almost impossible against Barcelona of Messi and all those who accompanied him or Ronaldo and all those who accompanied him at Real Madrid”, remembered.

Since then, the team has always qualified for the Champions League since its first full season (2012/2013), in addition to always being among the top three in the League, of which he managed to lift two trophies as champion, the one of 2014 y 2021.

Una década de Simeone maravillosa

Since that 27 from December to 2011, when he was introduced as a rojiblanco coach, son already ten years at the helm of Atlético. “I am grateful. To Enrique (cherry tree, president of Atlético de Madrid), for the person he is, for the love, the security and tranquility that it transmits and to Miguel (Angel Gil Marín, CEO) because I always say he's a genius at his thing. The achievement, from the work that we were able to transmit, take it to the place where it is”, he said.

“My return always felt like a responsibility. People hoped that much of what he had given as a footballer could now be represented as a coach. And that responsibility grows year after year. We have brought the club to a place that people ask for more. And it's okay to ask for more. It is the best way to demand the coach Simeone and whoever comes after, because the club is in a moment of growth and the fans have to demand more. I focus on continuing to have the energy and strength to convey what I feel about what this club needs. I have no doubt that I am very clear about what this club needs”, he concluded.