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What’s the story?
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone, in a recent interview, took a sly dig at Real Madrid, stating that Los Blancos have no defined style of play.
The Argentine implied that Madrid alter their style based on the talent they recruit, stressing on the fact that while a host of big teams rely primarily on their philosophies, Real Madrid are not one of them.
In case you didn’t know…
Simeone has been at the helm of Atletico Madrid since 2011 and has transformed them into a world-class side. His philosophy relies on defensive compactness and quick counter-attacks.
Despite losing the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin, Juanfran, Rodri, Lucas Hernandez and several other players, Atletico look poised for another great season. They are in the midst of a great pre-season in which they recently thrashed arch-rivals Real Madrid 7-3.
The heart of the matter
In a recent interview with La Nacion, Simeone took a sly dig at Real Madrid, saying:
"When the coaches arrive at a club, we need to understand their history. If we don't understand it, we are destined to have a worse time than better.The healthiest and most noble thing of the coach is to ask: “What is the history of this club?” And to mold your style of play to the history of that club, while still being you, of course.
"Ajax has a defined school, Barcelona has it, Juventus, and Atlético de Madrid, too. Real Madrid, no, because it alternates based on talent, their different ways of presenting themselves."
Simeone explained that teams like Barcelona, Juventus, Ajax and Atletico all have a well-defined playing style and build their team keeping in mind the philosophy of the club. However, according to Simeone, Real Madrid are not like the others as they alter their playing style based on the players at their disposal.
What's next?
Atletico Madrid will continue their pre-season campaign when they take on Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus side on Saturday.
