Madrid (AFP)
Diego Simeone is going through one of his worst periods with Atletico Madrid in his ten years in the Spanish capital, but the Argentine coach hopes to restore confidence when his team hosts Manchester United in the first leg of the Champions League final on Wednesday.
After he was eliminated from the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup 2021 that was held last month, and his exit from the final price of the local cup this season, in addition to seven defeats in the league in which he conceded 34 goals in 25 games, all following spending 77 million euros in the transfer market. The Spanish champion seems to have lost his luster.
Since the end of November, Atlético’s season has been turned upside down. After each setback, Simeone came out at the press conference to say that he was “first responsible” for what happened.
Last season, Cholo was able to adapt his defensive playing style with his attacking talents with the presence of Portuguese Joao Felix, Uruguayan Luis Suarez, Marcos Llorente and others, to lead his team to the league title for the second time in his era following 2014. But this season, the 51-year-old is struggling to find the combination.
Last December, Rojiblancos suffered four defeats in a row in La Liga for the first time under Simeone. Recently, doubts regarding the team’s capabilities increased following the harsh 4-2 loss once morest Barcelona at Camp Nou, before a shocking defeat at home last Wednesday 1-0 once morest bottom club Levante.
According to Cadena Ser, the leaders of Atletico Madrid considered looking for a replacement for Simeone at the end of the season. However, the club was quick to refute the rumors.
Club president Enrique Cereso was decisive in his interview with Cadena Cope radio, saying: The idea that Simeone would stop coaching Atletico Madrid had not even crossed our minds. It wouldn’t be fair or logical to look for another coach. We will continue with Simeone for the next period.
On Friday, before the training session, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, the club’s largest shareholder and CEO, gathered the players and coaching staff for twenty minutes at the Atletico training center in Majadahonda, on the outskirts of the capital, to assess the situation and motivate the players for the final part of the season.
In a statement issued immediately on the club’s official website, Khel Marin said: “We have an obligation to maintain our calm and calmly analyze the situation.” This is not the first time we have experienced such a situation.
In the middle of the 2019-20 season, the tournament’s suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic was a turning point for Atletico. When competitions resumed in the summer, Madrid rose from sixth to third place in the league to secure a place in the Champions League.
Simeone said, following the 3-0 victory over Osasuna last weekend, in the last preparations to receive the teammates of Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who rained goals once morest Atletico in nine seasons at Real Madrid: “There was a period in which we suffered in defense, and we faced situations during which we felt comfortable previously. . But we managed to take control, and the team has scoring talents.
He continued, “The strong blow ” once morest Levante” hurt us. But we had a remarkable reaction within days. This team is always hungry to win.
The coach with the highest income in Spain (with a total of 40.5 million euros annually, according to the press), is also the coach who won the most titles in the history of Atlético, including two titles in the European League “European League”, “2012 and 2018” and two runners-up in the Champions League. 2014 and 2016”, and he extended his contract last summer until June 30, 2024.
Will he leave before that time? Will it stay until following? The clash once morest Manchester United on Wednesday may provide the first clues to the answer.
