Atlético will be in the next Champions League again. With their victory in Elche, the rojiblanco team ensures that they finish the season among the top four classifieds. What’s more, together with Sevilla’s draw, Simeone’s team climbed to third place after a long time off the podium. A Cholo who celebrated 400 official matches at the helm of the club in the League and celebrated it in the best possible way.
What has already become routine, was not so not so long ago. Simeone took charge of Atlético at the end of December 2011 with a team that he had only qualified for the Champions League twice in the entire 21st century. After notably improving the results as soon as he arrived, he did not have time to catch up with Málaga in fourth place. Since then, all the complete seasons of Cholo at the helm of the team They have finished with Atlético among the top three in LaLiga. Two times champion (2013-14 and 2020-21), another two second (2017-18 and 2018-19) and five third (2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2019-20). It remains to be seen his position this campaign in the last two days, but the objective is fulfilled.
Perhaps in this 2021-22 season the most unsatisfactory Champions League classification has arrived. The team defended the championship title and had been reinforced in the summer with very important names such as Griezmann, De Paul and Cunha. However, a defensive fragility never seen with the Argentine coach meant that he was soon out of the fight and that the Champions positions became very complicated. Atlético bottomed out in their home loss against Levante and since then they started a “League of 14”, as defined by Simeone, which has led the club to ensure economic solvency with a two-game advantage.
Simeone has achieved a historical regularity in the mattress club, that in the entire era prior to his arrival he had qualified only seven times for the highest European competition. This year Atlético fell in the quarterfinals against Manchester City. At this stage Simeone has reached the final twice, the semifinals once, three times in the quarters and twice in the round of 16, falling once in the group stage (they would end up winning the Europa League). In the entire history of LaLiga, only Miguel Muñoz had achieved ten consecutive qualifications for the European Cup. “When I arrived, they told me that they needed four or five qualifications for the Champions League in a row… we already have ten. Miguel Ángel will be happy”, commented a satisfied Argentine coach. Cholo has achieved Champions stability at Atlético.