Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone are challenging the existing hierarchy in Spanish and world football. Since Simeone’s arrival in 2011, Atletico have been on a resurgent run, winning at least one domestic or European trophy every season.
The secret for this resurgence is down to their inspirational manager, Diego ‘Cholo’ Simeone. The Argentine has managed to challenge the Real Madrid-Barcelona duopoly in Spain on a shoestring budget. Inspite of losing his best players to bigger clubs with more resources each year, (Falcao, David de Gea, Arda Turan) he manages to keep up a consistent level of performance.
Simeone has won the Europa League, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Super Cup, and the La Liga with Atletico. While his passionate and inspiring presence has resulted in quite a few touchline suspensions, it has also led Atletico to the Champions League semi-finals and within one point of leaders Barcelona in the La Liga this season.
Simeone is often seen pumping up his players and riling up the Vicente Calderon crowd to even higher decibel levels, prompting highly motivated performances on the pitch.
He demands complete dedication to the cause of winning; winning at all costs if need be. One famous quote sums up his philosophy and expectations from players is, “effort is non-negotiable”. We list a few quotes which sum up the inspirational qualities of the charismatic Argentine coach.
1) Simeone is a fighter
Former Atletico Madrid team-mate Patxi Ferreira spoke glowingly of Diego Simeone’s strong character and leadership capabilities saying, “Diego Simeone is the kind of person we want to be in a war.”
Patxi played with Simeone during his stint with Atletico where they won the La Liga and Copa del Rey in 1992.
Simeone comes across as one of the most passionate coaches in world football today. Players swear by him and are willing to give their all to win. He inculcates such a fierce team spirit that the players take to the field like they’re going to war.
Lunging into tackles, making unbelievable blocks and running themselves into the ground, they do not give an inch to the opposition and are often an impenetrable wall in front of their goal. There is an unbelievable unity in the squad which is apparent when the team enters the football pitch.
2) He plays only to win
El Cholo cannot bear those who do not conform to his winning mentality. With Simeone, you either adopt his win at all costs mentality or you’re out, he cannot bear those who harbor doubts in him and his team.
He recently spoke about his side’s chances of winning the league, “It will be tough, but we will play as the schedule demands us to which is to win, win and win again,"
Star Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann endured a difficult time at the club in his first season as he had trouble adopting Simeone’s philosophy, ”Simeone has great rigour, discipline and intensity in workouts, it changed me completely. For the first six months of the championship, I struggled. I worked, I worked hard and I am now a major player for the club.”
Simeone does not care for price tags or reputations. You either fit in with his ways or you do not. He believes that it is his job to convince the players that team can and will win inspite of the odds.
3) He has a big game mentality
The Atletico Madrid manager has a relentless drive for victory. Simeone expects his players to know what is required when they play a match regardless of it being a La Liga game or a cup final. He manages to instill belief in his players and management that the club can do it, that winning is possible and a necessity.
Summarising this belief, he said, “When I reach a Cup final, my players already know what is going to be my headline quote: You don’t play finals, you win them.”
This unbending will to win inspires his players to give their all on the field. This will to win is the reason why the Argentine has been able to work his magic with the club inspite of it having players and a budget inferior to that of clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The incident against Malaga, where Simeone instructed a ball-boy to throw a ball into the field of play during a Malaga attack, signifies his will to win. While he got banned from La Liga games for the rest of the season for his actions it would likely not have mattered much to him as they won the game. All that matters is,the game has to be won at all costs.
4) Simeone believes working hard will lead to victory
The Atletico Madrid manager explains the secret to his winning philosophy as,”Atlético are about passion, hard work, humility.”
The above qualities personify Simeone as a coach and player. He is known to be relentless in training, demanding as much commitment in training as he would expect from his players on match-day.
There is no space for pride in Simeone’s team. He explains the need to have the humility to put the team above the individual saying, “I don’t want players who want to be the main characters. If you don’t give it your all and I can feel it, someone else will take your place. Nothing is guaranteed, and if you fall asleep, you’re out.”
His team, Atletico have personified those qualities since he has taken over. The players seem to put their lives on the line to win, taking full blooded shots on their bodies, fighting for their teammates and executing difficult defensive plans to perfection.
5) He is a firm believer in shaping one’s destiny
The Argentinian coach does not leave much to chance. His approach is such that all possibilities in a game are taken care of. It has been drilled into his players to know the exact position they need to be in. Atletico pride themselves on organisation and discipline while playing.
Simeone is of the opinion that, “I don’t believe much in luck. I believe more in work, in convincing, in stubbornness, and in capacity.”
Even though their style might not be the most aesthetically appealing, Atletico personify the values closest to Simeone. They might not be the most talented group of players but under Simeone’s management, they have been inspired and motivated to such an extent that they overachieve.
Without El Cholo’s guidance, they would be nowhere close to competing with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga, let alone the Champions League. Atletico may not have individuals like Neymar and Ronaldo but what has been instilled in them by Simeone is a will to win and motivation levels which are second to none.
