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Former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy has expressed his desire to see Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone succeed Thomas Tuchel. Cundy believes the Argentine tactician's appointment would make the west Londoners the “most hated club in the world.”
Diego Simeone is one of the most famous, successful, and controversial managers around. Since taking charge of Atletico Madrid in December 2011, he has led them to two La Liga titles and two Europa League triumphs amongst other honors. He has also helped the Spanish outfit reach two Champions League finals, losing to their fierce local rivals Real Madrid on both occasions.
Atletico have been criticized for being too pragmatic and showing excessive on-field aggression under Simeone. On Wednesday night (13 April) itself, the Los Rojiblancos stars were involved in a brawl with Manchester City players after their Champions League quarter-final second leg clash. Atletico and City played out an intense goalless draw, but Simeone's men were knocked out of the tie on aggregate. It caused some serious unrest on the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium pitch as well as in the tunnel.
Chelsea, of course, have had their fair share of pragmatism and controversy, courtesy of Jose Mourinho’s two spells at the club. Seemingly missing the olden days, Cundy has publicly backed his ideological successor to come to Stamford Bridge, naming Simeone as Tuchel’s ideal replacement.
He said on talkSPORT:
“He'd be perfect for Chelsea, I'd love to see him in the PL. We'd be the most hated club in the world. If for whatever reason Tuchel goes in the next 2-3 years and Simeone rocks up imagine how hated we'd be!”
In February, renowned reporter Manu Carreno claimed that Atletico were in talks with an undisclosed manager to replace Simeone at the end of the season. Whether they are still intending to follow through is anybody’s guess at the moment. The Argentine manager’s current contract with Los Rojiblancos runs until June 2024.
Chelsea are unlikely to replace Thomas Tuchel anytime soon
Since taking charge of the Blues in January 2021, Tuchel has turned the Blues into a determined, disciplined, winning machine. He led them to Champions League glory in his debut campaign and won them their first-ever Club World Cup in December 2021.
The Blues lost the League Cup final to Liverpool earlier this season before crashing out of the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid on Tuesday night (12 April). However, it is to be noted that while the defeat against the Reds was on penalties, Madrid had to go into extra time to snatch a narrow aggregate win (5-4). Chelsea are still alive in the FA Cup and will face Crystal Palace in the semi-finals on Sunday (April 17).
Tuchel has done well to instill a footballing identity. If given enough support, there is no reason why the German mastermind would not be able to outsmart Premier League’s best coaches.
With Tuchel at the helm, Chelsea should fancy themselves going toe-to-toe with Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League next season.
