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Diego Simeone is one of the most successful managers in the game, especially in the last decade.
The former midfielder has done a commendable job at Atletico Madrid since assuming their reins more than a decade ago. Simeone has delivered two La Liga titles in the last eight years at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The Rojiblancos have also fared well in Europe under the Argentine tactician. They have reached two Champions League finals in the last decade, and won the Europa League twice.
Simeone's coaching philosophy involves setting his team up in a compact defensive shape, making it difficult for the opposition to score. Despite his reputation as an overly defensive-minded manager, many attacking players, especially goalscorers, have thrived under him.
On that note, here's a look at the five players with the most goals scored under Diego Simeone:
#5 Koke - 44 goals
Koke is one of the most underrated midfielders in the game at the moment. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old is one of the last vestiges of the true one-club man, having spent his entire career at Atletico Madrid since debuting in 2009.
The Spain international has made nearly 500 appearances for the Rojiblancos under Diego Simeone, contributing 44 goals and 106 assists. He bagged six goals and 14 assists in 2013-14 as Atletico won their first La Liga title in 15 years.
Koke has been the epitome of consistency in a brilliant but often underrated Atletico team. Although his goal contributions have dried up over the years, he remains a key player under Simeone.
The Argentine recently said about the player, who has scored just once in over 80 games since 2019-20:
"Koke is an extremely important player for us, for the way he plays, for the way he interprets tactics. Since we arrived here he has developed a great deal and today he is one of the best players in La Liga. Everything he is achieving is based on his efforts and hard work and that is great for anyone."
Koke has one assist in 30 games across competitions this season.
#4 Angel Correa - 58 goals
Angel Correa has been one of the most consistent, if not spectacular, players to have played under Diego Simeone.
Since arriving at the Wanda Metropolitano in the summer of 2015, Correa has made over 350 appearances across competitions, bagging 58 goals and 52 assists. He played every league game in their triumphant campaign last season, contributing nine goals and eight assists.
Correa has seemingly continued from where he left off last season. He has 15 goal contributions (11 goals, four assists) in what has been a dismal campaign for Atletico.
Seven of those strikes have come this year, making Correa the joint top-scorer across Europe's top five leagues in 2022.
#3 Radamel Falcao - 71 goals
Radamel Falcao is one of the most prolific goalscorers to have graced the game, especially in the last decade.
The Colombian striker thrived under Diego Simeone, under whom he scored 71 goals in over 100 games across competitions for two different clubs. Most of those strikes came at Atletico Madrid, where he scored 58 times in just two seasons under Simeone in the early 2010s.
He scored nine times in Atletico's triumphant 2011-12 Europa League campaign, including a brace in the 3-0 win over Athletic Club in the final. Simeone said about the striker after that triumph:
"I've known Radamel since he was a boy – I had him at River (Plate in 2008); we won a league together. I love him as a person and admire him. There's no ceiling to his ambition."
Falaco, 36, currently plays for Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, where he has scored five times this season.
#2 Diego Costa - 75 goals
Diego Costa is one of the best attackers to have flourished under his namesake Simeone,
The 33-year-old striker bagged 75 goals and 36 assists in 177 games across competitions under Simeone. Almost half of those goals (36) came in 2013-14, including 27 in Atletico's triumphant La Liga campaign.
Costa was also part of the Rojiblancos' victorious La Liga-winning team last season. However, his contribution was limited to - two goals in seven games.
Simeone recently said after Costa left Atletico for a second time last year:
"I am grateful to him, like all the people who gave us their hearts. Diego was one of them, as much from a sporting point of view as from a human point of view."
The 33-year-old is currently without a club.
#1 Antoine Griezmann - 141 goals
Antoine Griezmann is one of the best players to have played under Diego Simeone.
In 276 games across competitions, Griezmann has bagged a rich haul of 141 goals and 53 assists for Atletico Madrid under the Argentine tactician. That includes eight goals and three assists across competitions this season on his return from Barcelona on loan.
In his most prolific campaign under Diego Simeone, Griezmann bagged 32 goals and seven across competitions in 2015-16. Atletico lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final that season.
