Although it seems that time flies, Diego Pablo Simeone has already been on the bench for 15 years. The Argentine made his managerial debut on February 25, 2006, in the defeat of Racing Club against Independiente by 0-2. A few days before he had hung up his boots in Racing itself, going directly from the pitch to the bench and from having teammates and friends to footballers at his command.
Since then, the coach has been building a career in his native country until, after leading Racing, winning champions with Estudiantes, touching heaven and hell with River Plate and leading San Lorenzo for 47 games, made the leap to Europe in January 2011 hand in hand with Italian Catania. A fleeting stage of six months before returning to Argentina, again to Estudiantes. But, after having gained baggage and experience, It was time for him to take command of Atlético de Madrid for the first time on January 7, 2012.
In the probably club of his life, the story speaks for itself. More than nine years in a, until then, completely unstable rojiblanco bench, with 511 directed matches, 307 victories and seven titles (a League, two Europa League, the Copa del Rey, two European Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup). Something that places him as the most awarded coach in the history of the club and that It keeps him one victory behind Luis Aragonés to also position himself as the coach with the most rojiblanco victories. A milestone that he is resisting with the last three punctures, but that he could reach with almost 100 fewer games than El Sabio de Hortaleza (he directed 611 games as a mattress coach).
Cholo has spent much more than half a career as a coach at Atlético, but he also has a story behind him, hardening himself in Argentina and taking his first steps in Italy. Outside of Atlético, Simeone led 205 games, with 98 wins and a title Apertura with Estudiantes and Clausura with River. A coach who, with a style just as passionate as when he played, has gone game by game, day by day reinventing himself until he became, with his Cholista philosophy, one of the best coaches in the world. 15 years of work and effort, with Atlético as his great work so far and the representation of a philosophy of life and game that is celebrating its anniversary.