Tiago Mendes He was a player of
Atlético de Madrid
several seasons. Later he was an assistant in the coaching staff of Simeone. The trainer bug got him and now he is in the lower categories of the Benfica. The Portuguese reviews his extensive sports career at the ib Tribuna Expresso ’in his native country, with a great section for his time in the mattress set.
He was not well at Juventus and Atlético appeared
“In that winter market, I try to leave. And where did you want to go? I wanted to go to Spain. I wanted to try Spanish football, what I was missing, and I really wanted to play in Spain. And what happens? Atlético de Madrid appears, who wanted me on loan for six months, with a purchase option if they were among the first four. They would buy me for the same amount that Juventus had paid for me, 13 million. Only Tottenham appears, who loves me and pays Juventus the 13 million at that time. Juventus, of course, wanted to sell me to Tottenham because they would immediately receive the money they had invested, they lost nothing. ”
He did not want to go to Tottenham and Atlético's first attempt failed
“No, I didn't want to go to Tottenham [laughs]. He wanted to go to Atlético, because the family did not want to return to England. My wife told me that she does not want to return to England and I want to go to Spain, so I told Juventus that I would not go to Tottenham. Until Juventus said “you are not going to Tottenham, you are not going to Atlético, you are going to stay here”. And it stayed like this, I stayed six more months, I thought six more months. I thought he would stay until the end of the season and then leave. But the end of the season is coming and the only thing that appears is Everton. ”
His arrival at Atlético
“Ranieri is fired with four weeks to go. Ferrara is coming and I wanted to leave immediately because it didn't seem like it was for me. Ferrara comes to talk to me and tells me that he wants to change everything at Juventus, to have the ball with Diego Ribas, who will sign Felipe Melo to play with three in midfield. At that moment, Deschamps wants to take me to Marseille, but I tell him that Juventus does not want me to leave and that I will stay. Because he had also played for Lyon and, honestly … Lucho González ended up going to Marseille at that time. Everything starts to go very well with Ferrara, I start to play, we start to win, until I get injured. The injuries start again. I remember going back to a Champions League match against Bayern Munich and tearing myself apart again. I was of the opinion that Juventus was no longer for me, that I was out of luck. I ask to leave in January. Atlético de Madrid was in a difficult moment but I wanted to leave. ” to Spain, I decided to take a risk and leave ”.
Arrived on loan
“I was on loan until the end of the season, but I ended up staying the entire race.”
Early times at Atlético
“From the first day it was spectacular. Atlético was below half in the standings. But why was it so special to me? Because from my first call, as soon as I start to heat up, fans immediately start chanting my name. I was coming from a moment in Juventus where the fans wanted me very far. Feeling that affection without even wearing that shirt filled my ego immediately. And I started playing and the criticism was good, the fans loved me, in the first game I played in the Cup I scored a goal, we drew 1-1 at home but then we managed to qualify for the next round. In other words, everything started to go well. What did not happen at Juventus, where it seemed that everything was so difficult. There, everything started to go very well and naturally ”.
They win the Europa League
“Not me, the club wins it. I don't win because I already played in the Champions League for Juventus. Juventus falls in the Europa League and I cannot participate in the same competition as Juventus, so Atlético cannot enroll me in the Europa League. But I'm there in the final with them, on the bench. “
Then they put him away at Juventus when he returned
“It is the worst there is. It is feeling that people don't even want to know about us. But it is soccer and part of it. They knew that I did not want to stay there, only that Atlético could not pay, spend money either, so that ends up being a fight between the clubs and between the player. The manager who had arrived, Conte, had been told by the board that he was not part of the team and that an exit had to be found. And he doesn't put me to train with the main team, he sets me apart. ”
And then…
“They wanted to renew another year of loan, but I did not want to, I wanted to go to Atlético. Obviously I was making much less, I lost money, but I would rather go to Atlético and be happy. But I got to a stage with a week to go before the European Super Cup, I didn't even have a chance to earn a spot to play the Super Cup. ”
Quique Flores
“I loved it. I felt that I was always an important player for him. A coach who did not have an easy life either, because the Atlético group was not easy ”.
Why wasn't it easy
“In terms of union. There were many egos on that team. At the time, the club valued attackers much more than defenders. For amateurs as well as for managers or journalists, the greatest were always the forwards. This almost always happens on all computers. Whoever scores goals is worth and the others are worth nothing. When it is lost, it is the fault of some, and when it is their fault, it is the fault of others. And there it was very strong, very marked and that did not help in the union of the team ”.
And Manzano arrives
“Yes, for six months. The club really hits bottom in terms of results and Simeone arrives in January. “
Simeone
“The most important coach of my career. Or rather, it is not the most important thing in my career, because I had already made a career before he entered my life, he has caught me since I was 30 years old. But he was the coach who marked me the most in my career ”.
The motives
“Because I had a leadership that I identified with a lot. At a time when I'm already thinking about going to a less competitive league, he convinces me to be an important player again. And it marked me a lot. I thought he had already done everything in football and he thought he still had a lot to give. It was my last years that marked me a lot as a player and what makes me want to be a coach right now. It's because of what I experimented with him and with that group of players. ”
The titles
“The only thing we did not win was the Champions League, the rest in Spain we won everything.”
The most special title
“The Spanish league. It was impressive. Winning a Spanish League against Real Madrid by Cristiano and Bale and Barcelona by Neymar and Messi is incredible. For a club like Atlético, it was incredible to have won that league. Obviously everything started with the Copa del Rey final that we won against Real Madrid, at the Bernabéu. I think winning the championship begins in that final, that's when we started to believe. “
“Atlético had not beaten Real Madrid for 12 years and we managed to solve that problem at home in a Cup final. It was incredible.”
His flirtation with Chelsea
“That was after being champions and playing the first Champions League final. I am about to return to England, it is true.
And why didn't he come back?
“Good question. It is fine like this and it is better not to say much more, but things do not arise and Atlético and Simeone do everything possible to get him back … and I returned. The money there no longer made a difference. Especially since I don't go to Chelsea and I have another club, in Spain, which gave me much more money and decided to stay at Atlético ”.
“Atlético had not yet hired anyone for my position, but I did not want to go to the other club without knowing and being sure that Atlético loved me, because I was still very attached to Atlético. When we contacted Atlético, the president asked Simeone and he simply said: “Let him come tomorrow.” It was already decided ”.
When he hung up his boots
“I decide to end it when my last year is suffering. Because I fractured my leg in November 2015 and until the end of the season I play ten minutes, if I'm not mistaken, on the last day of the championship. Then I still go to the bench in the Champions League final, almost like an award for having managed to recover. And the following year I play another season. Atlético offered me the renewal for another year without really knowing how it was. I play another year but I would be suffering. I was already suffering, I had to go before to prepare to train, after training I had to stay longer, I don't know how many hours to recover to be able to train the next day. ”
He was Simeone's assistant
”After signing three years, he opened the door to his locker room, to his daily life and at the end of the season, I went to him to tell him that he was having some problems at home and that he needed to stop for a while. These are complicated times, he understands, but he was certainly a little sad and disappointed. This is what I am saying, because I was going to lose this great opportunity, which is to live day by day with him. I left Atlético at that time. ”
His greatest joy and his greatest frustration
“Joy is difficult, there are many… maybe the League with Atlético de Madrid. The frustration was not having won the Champions League, despite having been in two finals.
The player who surprised him the most in a team
“Diego Costa”.
Simeone a word
“Passion”.