Cholo’s moods: tears, snorts, euphoria …

Simeone is a competitive animal and he suffers from the bench with every Atlético setback, just as he enjoys every good deed. He doesn’t hide it either, but lately the tension invades him. In the New Mirandilla, television cameras captured Cholo’s emotions well after each goal and how he was shaking off the burdens of the result. “We have all been Simeone”, commented many athletic fans when they saw how Simeone snorted and fell on the armchair almost passed out.

Carrasco crossed from the left wing and, while Lemar headed at the far post, Cholo pushed the ball with the same gesture from the technical area. The ball went in and the coach didn’t even celebrate it, he turned around, approached the bench and sat there sighing. The 0-1 took a good weight off him. Because, when Griezmann scored the second, yes, Simeone exploded with joy. The technician ran out and embraced Nelson Vivas. The Argentine went through all the states in Cádiz, from heartbreak to euphoria.

Milan’s blow was hard, as much as Simeone admitted after the meeting that he was “more optimistic than ever.” But the tension has been building up from before. In the previous match, Atlético-Osasuna, the coach also suffered a great deal. The meeting was heading dangerously towards 0-0, until Felipe scored with a header in the 86th minute. El Cholo did not take the jumps or races of other times, he turned almost deflated and hugged himself, tears in his eyes, with his second. As the players went berserk around him, he could barely contain his excitement.

Atlético is going through a delicate moment, straightened in part with the resounding victory against Cádiz. But the football of the team, except for specific moments, does not come close to the best moments of last season, in the League the results have not started as desired and in the Champions League the pass is very crude, although if the rojiblancos measure up in Porto they will have it within reach. And Simeone does not shirk responsibility. Know that the demand goes up and that’s where the burdens come. That is why each goal is a liberation and each triumph, a balm for Atleti’s wounds. And Porto will be the point of greatest tension in a long time …