MADRID, 23 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Atlético de Madrid announced the arrival of Diego Pablo Simeone on December 23, 2011, exactly 10 years ago. The ‘rojiblanco’ club was not going through its best economic or sporting moment and relied on the character and claw of the Argentine to lead a new project that would put Atleti at the level of the greats of Spain and the entire European continent.
A great challenge that at that time might seem far-fetched, but, after 10 years, it seems like a success. Now, Atlético cannot be understood without the ‘Cholo’, who has become the benchmark and prophet of a team built to his liking, with the ‘Simeone warriors’ always ready to ‘die’ on the pitch defending the ideas and the Argentine system.
Thus, we review 10 moments that have been able to mark this historic decade of Simeone at the head of an ‘Atleti’ that changed his story from the hand and heart of ‘Cholo’.
1. Debut against Málaga at the Rosaleda (January 7, 2012).
Atlético de Madrid was immersed in a bad dynamic of results from the hand of Gregorio Manzano and the arrival of Simeone was seen as the best revulsive. In that first meeting he could not go from a draw to zero. This was the beginning of the construction of the foundations of ‘cholismo’, which injected the team with a winning and competitive gene that it would not abandon to date.
2. Immediate success: first title as ‘rojiblanco’ coach.
The Argentine coach only had to wait five months at the helm of Atlético to lift his first title. On May 9, 2012, Atlético de Madrid lifted the Europa League after beating Athletic Club (3-0) in a historic final due to the superiority of Madrid, with an omnipresent Radamel Falcao who made a double.
3. Direct access to the Champions League 17 years later.
On May 8, 2013, Atleti beat Celta in the League, securing a place among the top three in the league and, therefore, direct access to the Champions League, something that the club had not achieved since the 1995 season. 96. A milestone in the rojiblanca entity, which saw its economic and sporting situation take a 180º turn, thus confirming the change of course.
4. Copa del Rey against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.
But that was not the only achievement achieved in 2013, since on May 17 the players led by Simeone lifted the Copa del Rey after beating Real Madrid in the final held at the Santiago Bernabéu. The rojiblancos won in extra time (1-2) after a header from Miranda, which meant the tenth ‘cup-bearer’ title and breaking the bad streak of 14 years without winning the derby.
5. First league title in 2014.
The 2013-14 season was unforgettable for the colchoneros. Without Falcao, but with David Villa, Simeone manages to build a solid block, which shows that he can solve any type of game. This allows them to reach the last day of the league at the Camp Nou against Barcelona with options to be champions. He needed not to lose and Godín’s header from a corner kick allowed him to balance Alexis Sánchez’s goal and be crowned champion 18 years later.
6. Ramos deprives him of a historic double.
A week after winning the first league of the Simeone era, the Argentine coach faced the greatest challenge of his time as Atlético de Madrid coach: his first Champions League final. He faced Real Madrid, his greatest rival, whom he already demonstrated that he could win, but, after going almost the entire game winning 1-0, Sergio Ramos’ goal in the historic 93rd minute destroyed Atleti’s European dream, which he let go in extra time and saw how the ‘Orejona’ slipped from his hands.
7. Historic 4-0 against Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderón.
The Argentine took revenge for that painful result in the following season. On February 7, 2015, Atlético gave a soccer recital at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, defeating their main rival 4-0, with goals from Tiago, Saúl, Griezmann and Mandzukic.
8. Second Champions League final and enigmatic message.
Fate would have the two teams from the capital meet again in a Champions League final. This time in Milan in 2016. They started by scoring the whites through Ramos and, after Griezmann missed a penalty, Carrasco tied in the final bars of the second half. In extra time there was no movement and the penalties smiled at Real Madrid in a final that aroused some criticism of his approach by putting Thomas in instead of Correa and in whose subsequent press conference he left a trace of doubt about his continuity.
9. Failure in the Champions League and triumph in the Europa League.
Despite being a club already established in the Champions League, in the 2017-18 season they fell in the group stage, behind Roma and Chelsea, and losing to Qarabag, going on to play the Europa League, an award they knew a little at first, but he finally ended up winning, adding one more title to his record as a rojiblanco coach.
10. Simeone’s second league title.
The 2020-21 season was historic for Simeone. He reached 200 victories and 500 games directing Atlético. A campaign that closed in a spectacular way, winning its second league, again on the last day, after being the most solid and serious team, winning again the battle against Real Madrid and Barcelona, teams that have shown that they can fight anything. from you to you.