Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

; he has been the manager of

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...

since December 2011. In his club career that started in 1987, Simeone played in Argentina, Italy, and Spain for Vélez Sarsfield,

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ci ...

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, and

Racing Club Racing Club may refer to: Football * Racing Club Abidjan, Ivory Coast * K.R.C. Genk, Belgium * Racing Club Bafoussam, Cameroon * Racing Club Beirut, Lebanon * Racing Club de Avellaneda, Argentina * Racing Club Haïtien, Haiti * Racing Club Po ...

. An aggressive, hard-tackling defensive midfielder, he won a

domestic double The Double, in association football, is the achievement of winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season. The lists in this article examine this definition of a double, while derivative sections exami ...

with Atlético Madrid in 1996, and the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

with Inter in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, also winning another

with Lazio in 2000, as well as the 1999 UEFA Super Cup and the 2000 Supercoppa Italiana. Simeone was capped over 100 times for the Argentina national team and represented the country at the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, and

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

s, and in four editions of the

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

, winning the tournament in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

and 1993. He also won the

King Fahd Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEB ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, the 1993 Artemio Franchi Cup, and a silver medal at the

1996 Summer Olympic games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta ...

. As a manager, Simeone has coached Argentine sides Racing Club,

Estudiantes de La Plata Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, whe ...

, River Plate, and

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

and Italian club

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also b ...

before joining Spanish club Atlético Madrid in 2011. He won the

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; en, "First Division"), known officialy as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Binance for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). T ...

both with Estudiantes and River Plate and has had his biggest managerial success with Atlético Madrid, winning La Liga twice, the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

, two

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

s, two

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

s, as well as being runner-up of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

twice. Simeone is the longest-serving manager in La Liga, having stayed over a decade at Atlético.

Club career

When Simeone was 14, his youth coach

Victorio Spinetto Victorio Luis Spinetto (3 June 1911 – 28 August 1990) was an Argentine football player and manager. He played as a centre half, mostly for Vélez Sársfield in the Argentine Primera División, debuting with the club in 1932 and retiring in 19 ...

nicknamed him "''

Cholo ''Cholo'' () is a loosely defined Spanish term that has had various meanings. Its origin is a somewhat derogatory term for people of mixed-blood heritage in the Spanish Empire in Latin America and its successor states as part of ''castas' ...

''", as his energetic play reminded him of former

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in th ...

player and Argentine international

Carmelo Simeone Carmelo "Cholo" Simeone, (22 September 1934 – 11 October 2014) was an Argentine football defender who won three league championships with Boca Juniors and played for the Argentina national team. Nicknamed "Cholo", he was known for his energeti ...

(no relation) who possessed the nickname. After starting his career with Vélez Sarsfield, Simeone moved to Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

in 1990. The club was relegated in his first season and, after it failed to gain promotion the following year, Simeone was sold to

in the Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...

. Simeone played two seasons in Seville, after which he was signed by

. At Atlético, he was part of the team which won the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

of the Liga title and

during the 1995–96 season. In 1997, Simeone returned to Serie A with

, and played two full seasons, winning the

1997–98 UEFA Cup The 1997–98 UEFA Cup was won by Internazionale in an all-Italian final against Lazio. It was their third title in eight years in the competition. It was the first instance of the UEFA Cup final being a one-game contest at a neutral stadium, ...

in a side spearheaded by

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

up front. In 1999, Simeone joined fellow Argentines Néstor Sensini,

Matías Almeyda Matías Jesús Almeyda (; born 21 December 1973) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of Greek Super League club AEK Athens. Nicknamed ''El Pelado'' ("bald one") despite his traditionally lo ...

and Juan Sebastián Verón at

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...

. The side had gone close to the ''

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' ( Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous sea ...

'' in the season before Simeone's arrival and he helped deliver the championship after a season, where

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

led the standings by two points going into the last day. A Juve loss at rainy

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...

coupled with Lazio's comfortable home win over

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are ni ...

at the

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian N ...

ensured Simeone's first Serie A title. After winning the double in Spain, he would then add the Italian double as Lazio edged out Inter to claim the 1999–2000 Coppa Italia. He went on to play three more seasons in Rome, which included more last day drama as Simeone's goal against former club Inter on the last day of the 2001–02 campaign effectively ruined his old employers' title dream. After cancelling his contract with Lazio, Simeone returned to Atlético Madrid in 2003, spending his next two seasons there. In total, he played in 165 matches for Atlético, scoring 31 goals. In December 2004, it was confirmed that he would leave Europe and return to Argentina to finish his playing career with

International career

In 1992, Simeone represented the Argentina under-23 team at the 1992 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament in Paraguay, which saw Argentina fail to qualify for the 1992 Summer Olympics. For the Argentina senior team, Simeone amassed 106 caps, the first coming in 1988. Simeone won the

and 1993 editions of the

with Argentina. He played in the

, and

s. He was part of the Argentina under-23 squad that won the silver medal at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, as one of the three overage players allowed per squad. As a midfielder, Simeone scored 11 goals for his country, including one in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

of the

1992 King Fahd Cup The 1992 King Fahd Cup ( ar, كأس الملك فهد), named after Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was the first association football tournament of the competition that would later be known as the FIFA Confederations Cup. It was hosted by Saudi Arabia in O ...

During the 1998 World Cup,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending ...

was sent off for kicking Simeone in retaliation for a foul (see also Argentina–England football rivalry). Simeone later said he simulated the injury from the kick in order to get Beckham sent off. ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' was critical of the Argentinian's theatrics in that incident, stating Simeone first delivered a "heavy-handed challenge" on Beckham and then "fell like a ton of bricks" when Beckham retaliated. In the following match, against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Simeone was injured by a tackle from Arthur Numan during his team's defeat. In the 2002 World Cup, his last, Argentina was eliminated in the group stage, which included a 1–0 loss to England in which Beckham converted a penalty. Simeone said he was "embarrassed" at having surpassed

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

as Argentina's most capped player, though Simeone has since been surpassed by

Roberto Ayala Roberto Fabián Ayala (; born 14 April 1973), nicknamed ''El Ratón'' ("The Mouse"), is an Argentine former footballer who played as a centre back for the Argentina national football team, as well as Valencia and Real Zaragoza in Spain, Milan a ...

, Javier Mascherano,

Javier Zanetti Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 seas ...

, and

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...

Style of play

Simeone was regarded as a tenacious, versatile, hard-working and complete two-way

who was mobile, good in the air, and capable both of winning balls and starting attacking plays, while also having a penchant for scoring several goals himself. This enabled him to play anywhere in midfield throughout his career, although he was usually deployed in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

in a

box-to-box A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

defensive midfield A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

role. He was also used in an offensive midfield role on occasion, even if it was not his optimal playing position. A talented yet combative player, he was primarily known for his leadership, tactical versatility, intelligence, strength and stamina, although he was also praised by pundits for his technique, vision and passing range. Simeone once described his style as "holding a knife between his teeth". His main inspirations as a player were Brazilian midfielder Falcão and German midfielder Lothar Matthäus.

Managerial career

Early years

Simeone ended his playing career for Racing Club, playing his last match on 17 February 2006, and then became manager for the same team. After a rough start, the team made an impressive finish in the 2006 Clausura. When a new club president was elected, Simeone left Racing in May 2006 and was replaced by Reinaldo Merlo. On 18 May, Simeone became head coach of

and soon led them to their Second league title in 23 years after defeating Boca Juniors 2–1 in a final match played on 13 December 2006. In an October 2006 poll in the sports daily '' Olé'', Simeone was voted as the best manager in the Argentine league. He was also praised as a "born manager" by former Argentine international

Roberto Perfumo Roberto Alfredo Perfumo (3 October 1942 – 10 March 2016) was an Argentine footballer and sports commentator. Nicknamed ''El Mariscal'', Perfumo is considered one of the best Argentine defenders ever.River Plate coach, succeeding Daniel Passarella. The contract was reported to be for one year, starting on 3 January 2008. After an early elimination in the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

, losing to

in the second round, Simeone and River Plate went on to win the 2008 Clausura championship after beating Olimpo 2–1 in the Monumental. On 7 November 2008, Simeone announced his resignation as coach of River Plate after their elimination in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Copa Sudamericana by Mexican side Chivas and a poor run of form of 11 domestic matches without a win, which left them bottom of the

Primera División Argentina Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, c ...

with only six matches remaining. On 15 April 2009, Simeone joined San Lorenzo to replace Miguel Ángel Russo following the club's exit in the first round of the 2009 Copa Libertadores. On 3 April 2010, Simeone resigned from San Lorenzo due to poor results and mounting criticism.

Catania and Racing Club

On 19 January 2011, Simeone flew to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

to join Serie A side

, replacing

Marco Giampaolo Marco Giampaolo (; born 2 August 1967) is an Italian manager, and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was most recently the head coach of Serie A club Sampdoria. Playing career Although born in Bellinzona, Switzerland, ...

, who left the club just hours earlier. On 1 June 2011, Simeone left his post after helping Catania stave off relegation. On 21 June 2011, Simeone was named as the new coach of Racing Club for a second spell in charge, replacing Miguel Ángel Russo, who had resigned the week prior.

Atlético Madrid

2011–13: Europa League and Copa del Rey triumphs

On 23 December 2011, Simeone was unveiled as the new

coach, succeeding

Gregorio Manzano Gregorio "Goyo" Manzano Ballesteros (; born 11 March 1956) is a Spanish football manager. Football career Born in Bailén, Jaén, Andalusia, Manzano's training career started in 1983 at the age of 27. He took charge of several teams in his nat ...

, who had been dismissed the day before following defeat to third-tier

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, t ...

in the

. His first game as Atlético manager was a 0–0 away draw against Manuel Pellegrini's Malaga. His first season ended with the team winning the

by beating

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as ''Los L ...

3–0 in the

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

. On 31 August 2012, his Atlético side won the

after defeating Chelsea 4–1 at the Stade Louis II in Monaco. In the domestic league, the team made an impressive start to the season, finishing the first half in second place, behind only Barcelona and above city rivals Real Madrid. Eventually, Simeone led the team to a third-place finish in the league, which at the time was the best finish in 17 years for Atlético. On 17 May 2013, he won the

after Atlético defeated rivals

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

2–1 at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...

2013–17: La Liga win and Champions League finals

Atlético de Madrid, Liga 2013-2014 (Mayo 2014),

Atlético began the 2013–14 season with a similar squad to their prior season, despite selling star player

Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Rayo Vallecano and often captains the Colombia national team. Nicknamed "''El Tigre''" (Spanish for ''The Ti ...

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

for a reported €60 million fee. They also acquired

David Villa David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Villa is regarded by pundits as one of the best forwards of his generation, and one of the best Spanish strikers of all time. ...

from

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

on a free transfer. While the season began with a defeat to ''Barça'' in the 2013 Supercopa de España, the team recorded eight-straight victories in

, the best league start in club history. This included a 1–0 away win at the Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid, making Simeone the first Atlético manager since

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in ...

in 1999 to record a league victory there. Atlético finished the first half of the season in first place in La Liga, level on points with Barcelona at 47. In the last round of the season, on 17 May, Atlético needed at least a draw in the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Bar ...

against Barcelona to be crowned champions for the first time since 1996, while a loss would give the title to Barcelona. A

Diego Godín Diego Roberto Godín Leal (born 16 February 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sarsfield and captains the Uruguay national team. Regarded as one of the best defe ...

header from a corner kick in the 48th minute gave Atlético an equaliser and the draw they needed to win their tenth league title and first since 1996, when Simeone himself was an Atlético player. Simeone became the second Argentine manager after Helenio Herrera to hand Atlético a Spanish championship, and the second manager after Luis Aragonés to win it both as a player and as a coach of the team. Under Simeone, Atlético collected 90 points in La Liga, surpassing its 1996 record of 87, making the 2013–14 season the most successful in club history. Also in 2013–14, Atlético finished top of their Champions League group and qualified for the quarter-finals with a 5–1 aggregate win over

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

in the round of 16. This was the first time they had reached the Champions League quarter-finals since 1996–97, when Simeone played for the team. In the quarter-finals, Atlético defeated Barcelona 2–1 on aggregate from Simeone's tactic of cutting the swift-passing midfield of Barcelona in two, thus denying them space and isolating

Xavi Xavier Hernández Creus (born 25 January 1980), known as Xavi is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Barcelona. Widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi was ...

and

Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of hi ...

from forwards Lionel Messi and

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...

. In the semi-finals, Atlético defeated

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the Britis ...

's Chelsea 3–1 at Stamford Bridge following a goalless draw at home to reach the Champions League final for only the second time in club history, the first being in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

. Atlético was the only undefeated team in the Champions League prior to the final, recording nine wins and three draws, and had the best defence in the competition, conceding only 6 goals in 12 matches. In the

on 24 May 2014, Atlético faced city rivals Real Madrid at the Estádio da Luz in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

. Despite leading from Diego Godín's header, Atlético conceded a late equaliser in the 93rd minute of the match. The goal hampered Atlético's morale, and the team ended up losing 4–1 after extra time, with Simeone losing the opportunity to be the third Argentine coach to win the Champions League, after Luis Carniglia and Helenio Herrera. After the final goal, Real Madrid's Raphaël Varane kicked the ball towards Simeone, causing Simeone to run onto the pitch in anger. He was sent to the stands, and Varane was booked for the incident. Reflecting, Simeone said, "I also made a mistake with my reaction. He's a young guy with a bright future." Simeone also admitted a mistake in selecting striker

Diego Costa Diego da Silva Costa (, ; born 7 October 1988), commonly known as Diego Costa, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Spain national team. Costa began his football care ...

to start the match, as he had been recently injured and was forced off after eight minutes. In the summer of 2014, Chelsea acquired

, Filipe Luís and Thibaut Courtois from Atlético, and also David Villa moved to the MLS. In response, Atlético acquired striker Mario Mandžukić from

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

, goalkeeper

Jan Oblak Jan Oblak (born 7 January 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and captains the Slovenia national team. He is frequently ranked as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Ob ...

from Benfica and forwards

Antoine Griezmann Antoine Griezmann (; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the France national team. A versatile player, Griezmann is known for his attacking, passing, and supporti ...

from

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septemb ...

and Ángel Correa from

, and recovered young midfielder Saúl who was on loan at

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...

. The season started with Atlético defeating city rivals Real Madrid for the

Spanish Super Cup Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

in August and repeating the previous year's victory in the Bernabéu for the league in September. In January, the team acquired Fernando Torres on loan from Milan. However, Atlético finished the league in third place and was eliminated in the

quarter-finals by Real Madrid 1–0, on aggregate. Before the start of the 2015–16 season, Filipe Luís returned from Chelsea with the team also acquiring Montenegrin defender

Stefan Savić Stefan Savić (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Стефан Савић, ; born 8 January 1991) is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Montenegro national team as a central defender. Born in Mojkovac, ...

and Belgian midfielder

Yannick Carrasco Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (born 4 September 1993) is a Belgian footballer who plays for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Belgium national team as a winger or wing-back. He began his career with Monaco, where he scored 20 goals in 105 ...

. Mario Mandžukić left for

. In 2015–16, Atlético was the team with the best defensive record in Europe's "big five" leagues, only allowing 18 goals scored against them in 38 La Liga games. Atlético was also the team with the most clean sheets in their games. The team was contending the league title until the last fixture against Barcelona and Real Madrid, settling for third with 88 points. In the

, Simeone led Atlético to their second Champions League final in three seasons, becoming the first Argentine manager since

Héctor Cúper Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Club Ferro Carril Oeste, where played 463 games. His nickname was "Cabezón" ("Big ...

to reach two Champions League finals. Atlético had defeated PSV on penalties during the round of 16, beat defending champions Barcelona 3–2 on aggregate and favourites Bayern Munich 2–2, going through on away goals, setting up a repeat of the 2014 final again facing Real Madrid. The match ended 1–1 after extra time leading to a penalty shootout. Juanfran was the only player to miss his kick, enabling

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...

to score Real's last spot kick, condemning Atlético to a second Champions League final defeat in three seasons. Diego Pablo Simeone en la presentación de la promoción de la estación Estadio Metropolitano

Diego Pablo Simeone en la presentación de la promoción de la estación Estadio Metropolitano

In the summer of 2016, Atlético purchased forward Kevin Gameiro from

, midfielder

Nicolás Gaitán Osvaldo Fabián Nicolás "Nico" Gaitán (; born 23 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Paços de Ferreira. A product of Boca Juniors, he joined Benfica in ...

from Benfica, and defender

Šime Vrsaljko Šime Vrsaljko (; born 10 January 1992) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Croatian national team. Vrsaljko made his debut for Croatia in 2011 and went on to represent his ...

from Sassuolo. They also acquired the rights to Fernando Torres (previously on loan from Milan). The team again finished third in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and lost in the

semi-finals, again to Real Madrid.

2017–21: Second Europa League and La Liga victories

On 5 September 2017, Simeone extended his contract with Atlético for two more years, until June 2020. In the 2017–18 season, Atlético would finish in second place in La Liga, behind Barcelona but ahead of city rivals Real Madrid. In the

2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage began on 12 September and ended on 6 December 2017. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout phase of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League. Draw The draw ...

, Atlético did not advance and dropped to the

2017–18 UEFA Europa League The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was the 47th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Parc Olympi ...

. In January 2018, Diego Costa returned to Atlético from Chelsea. On 16 May 2018, the team won the

2018 UEFA Europa League Final The 2018 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, the 47th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA ...

against

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

. Simeone was sent to the stands in the first leg of the semi-finals against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

and was suspended. He was forced to watch the second leg and final from the stands. In the 2018–19 season, Atlético bought

Thomas Lemar Thomas Benoît Lemar (born 12 November 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the France national team. He is known for his versatility, being able to play on both wings and thro ...

from AS Monaco and Rodri from Villarreal, and in January 2019 acquired Álvaro Morata on loan from Chelsea, while longtime team captain Gabi signed for Qatari club Al-Sadd before the start of the season. The team again finished second in the

behind Barcelona and ahead of city rivals Real Madrid. In the Champions League, they advanced to the first knockout round, where they were eliminated by

, winning the first leg 2–0 at the Wanda Metropolitano but losing the return leg 3–0 in Turin. Simeone guided his side into the last 16 of

for the sixth time since he came to reign in 2011, while before his arrival Atlético had only done so 7 times in 60 years. On 11 March 2020, Atletico Madrid eliminated the reigning European champions Liverpool with a 3–2 triumph after extra-time at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 ...

, winning 4–2 on aggregate, after

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

secured a 1–0 first-leg win in the reverse via a 5th-minute strike. On 27 June 2020, Simeone won his 195th game in the top-flight of Spanish football as Atleti beat Deportivo Alavés 2–1 on Saturday. With the triumph, the Argentine has overtaken the club legend, Luis Aragonés (194), as the manager with the most

wins in the club’s history. On 7 July 2020, Simeone overtook John Toshack as the third coach with the most games managed at a single club in the history of the top-flight of Spanish football during Atleti's match against

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

, his 323rd game in La Liga. Only Miguel Muñoz (

, 424) and, the club legend, Luis Aragonés (407) remain ahead of him. For the 2020–21 season, Atlético parted ways with longtime-serving forward

and acquired

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...

after his departure from Barcelona. The team brought back

from Dalian Professional and also acquired

Geoffrey Kondogbia Geoffrey Edwin Kondogbia (born 15 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Atlético Madrid. Born in France, he represents the Central African Republic national team. He can also play as a ...

from

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

Lucas Torreira Lucas Sebastián Torreira Di Pascua (; born 11 February 1996) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and the Uruguay national team. Club career Early career Torreira started his you ...

on loan from

and Moussa Dembelé on loan from

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, while Thomas Partey left for Arsenal and Álvaro Morata was loaned to

. On 17 October 2020, Simeone reached his 200th win in the league in a 2–0 away win against

. On 30 December 2020, he reached his 500th match in charge of Atletico Madrid in a 1–0 win over

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

. On 10 March 2021, Simeone overtook Luis Aragonés for the most wins ever as manager of the club in a 2–1 home win against

, his 309th win overall. After a 4–0 away defeat to

and many injuries to key players in November 2020, Simeone modified the formation of his squad by introducing a three-man defence for the first time in his tenure coaching Atlético. In this formation, Carrasco played as a wing-back, with left centre-back Mario Hermoso being instructed to also cover the left-back position when Carrasco moved forward, which made the formation tactically-flexible between a three-man and four-man defence. After the formational change, Atlético were solidified defensively and began a streak of victories, including a 1–0 home victory against Barcelona. This streak propelled the team to a 10-point lead over Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 2020–21 La Liga title race by February. However, a series of bad results from February to April meant that Atlético were eliminated from the Champions League by Chelsea and Real Madrid closed the league gap to two points before the final matchday, meaning Atlético needed a victory in the last La Liga round to win the championship. Thanks to a Suárez goal in the 67th minute, Atlético Madrid managed eventually to win their second La Liga title under Simeone, after a 2–1 away win over

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club c ...

on the final match day. On 8 July 2021, Atleti announced their extension to Simeone's contract until 2024, and in the same announcement it was also made known that the members of his coaching staff had also renewed their contracts.

Style of management

Simeone's preferred formation is the 4–4–2, which he first practised when he was manager of

Estudiantes de la Plata Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, whe ...

in 2006. In this formation, the two wingers move inside and act like attacking midfielders, creating space for the full backs and fluidity in the attack, effectively being a 4–2–2–2 when the team is on the offensive. The two holding midfielders provide the defensive muscle needed to win midfield battles. Utilizing this formation, Simeone's Estudiantes won the 2006 Apertura by beating

2–1 while being down to ten men from the first half. It is essentially this formation that Simeone also utilizes at Atlético Madrid. Simeone has listed his coaching influences being

Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...

, Alfio Basile,

, Luigi Simoni,

Carlos Bilardo Carlos Salvador Bilardo Digiano (born 16 March 1938) is an Argentine former physician, football player, and manager. Bilardo achieved worldwide renown as a player with Estudiantes de La Plata in the 1960s, and as the manager of the Argentina ...

, and

Radomir Antić Radomir Antić ( sr-Cyrl, Радомир Антић, ; 22 November 1948 – 6 April 2020) was a Serbian professional football manager and player. Following a 17-year playing career as a defender, most of which he spent playing at Partizan, wi ...

. When he was manager at River Plate, a team graced with the attacking talents of

, Alexis Sánchez, Ariel Ortega,

Mauro Rosales Mauro Damián Rosales (born 24 February 1981) is an Argentine former footballer who last played in Alumni. A winger/ forward best known for his pace and crossing ability, he won a gold medal with Argentina at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Club c ...

, Diego Buonanotte,

Augusto Fernández Augusto Matías Fernández (; born 10 April 1986) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Club career River Plate Born in Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Fernández was a River Plate youth graduate. He made ...

, and

Sebastián Abreu Washington Sebastián Abreu Gallo (; born 17 October 1976) is a Uruguayan football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Peruvian club Universidad César Vallejo. He is best known for his record of ap ...

, Simeone played an aggressive 3–3–1–3 formation reminiscent of those used by influential manager (and Simeone's mentor)

. Using this formation, River won the 2008 Clausura, but in the next season, with Sánchez having returned to Udinese and several players suffering from injuries, the 3–3–1–3 backfired and River finished bottom of the table, with Simeone being sacked in the process. A common feature of Simeone's teams is defensive compactness and quick counter-attacks. Their defending consists of two stages: deep defending in their own defensive third in a narrow 4–4–2 consisting of two closely connected defensive lines of four players, and counter-pressing in their opponents' third to win the ball high up the pitch. When the ball is won, the team attack as a unit, deploying their fluid 4–2–2–2 formation, with the forwards often shifting to the flanks to create even more space. In defense, the key idea is to force opponents into wide areas, gain numerical dominance in the ball's zone and steal the ball or force the opponent into a backward pass. Counter-pressing consists of reducing an opposing team's space, disrupting their build-up and reducing the number of "safe" positions for opponents' movement on the pitch, thus eliminating goal threats.

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

-winning 2015–16 Leicester City team has been compared to Simeone's Atletico Madrid for upsetting bigger teams by also playing a narrow 4–4–2 and being compact in defense and midfield. In the short time he managed Italian side Catania in 2011, he switched between a 4–2–3–1 and a 4–3–1–2 in order to bring out the best from playmaker Adrián Ricchiuti while employing many of the counter-attacking features that would later become his trademark at Atlético. Ricchiuti was tasked with linking the midfield and attack and creating chances for whichever of

Maxi López Maximiliano Gastón López (born 3 April 1984) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a second striker. He holds both an Argentine and an Italian passport. He is known as ''El Rubio'' ("The Blonde"), and ''La Gallina de Oro ...

Gonzalo Bergessio Gonzalo Rubén Bergessio (; born 20 July 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Club Atlético Platense. Club career Early career Born in Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Bergessio started his career in the lowe ...

and

Francesco Lodi Francesco Lodi (born 23 March 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Catania. He usually plays as a deep lying playmaker, and is known for his passing qualities. Club career Empoli Lodi start ...

were selected up front. Simeone said he did not want to "fossilise imselfwith a rigid tactic," saying managers cannot have a favourite formation "for the simple fact that we have to adapt not to what we like but to what we have to work with". His players stayed compact and narrow when defending, with the widemen – two of

Ezequiel Schelotto Ezequiel Matías Schelotto (, ; born 23 May 1989) is an Argentine-Italian footballer who plays for Aldosivi in the Argentine Primera Division. A versatile player on the right flank, he started his career as a winger and was later converted int ...

Giuseppe Mascara Giuseppe Mascara (; born 22 August 1979) is an Italian football coach and former player who played as a striker or a wide forward. Club career Ragusa Mascara started out playing for the youth side of Sicilian amateurs Comiso before transfer ...

, Raphael Martinho and Alejandro Gómez – expected to drop back and tuck in when out of possession; meanwhile, playmaker Ricchiuti and the central striker – more often than not López – moved back into midfield rather than pressing the centre-backs, with the aim being preventing simple passes into the middle of the pitch. Simeone is also renowned for his attention to detail and quick adaptability to a game's changing situations. During his time as manager of Atlético Madrid, he has placed emphasis on creating chances from set-pieces, while not allowing the opponent to create chances from set-pieces. Several important goals, including the one that gave Atlético the 2014 La Liga title, have been scored from set-pieces. While his teams aren't known for controlling possession, they are lauded for controlling the pace and space in which a game is played. He is quick in making tactical changes to influence a game's outcome. In the

2015–16 UEFA Champions League The 2015–16 UEFA Champions League was the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona wer ...

semi-final against Bayern in Munich, with his team down 1–0 after 45 minutes, he moved Saúl Ñíguez from the right wing to a holding midfielder position, changing the 4–4–2 to a 4–1–4–1 formation with

and

on the flanks. While on paper Saúl was seemingly out of his normal position in this role, in effect this change meant that midfielders Gabi and Koke, who were overwhelmed in the first half by Bayern's pressure, would now be shielded by Saúl's presence behind them, and the midfield would regain its much-needed composure. Eventually, the change had the desired outcome, with Atlético equalizing through Griezmann and advancing to the Champions League final. Simeone has also earned praise for instilling confidence and discipline in his players, which has helped his teams emerge victorious under adverse conditions. For example, in the last game of 2014's La Liga, at the

against Barcelona, when Atlético needed a draw to win the championship, both

and

Arda Turan Arda Turan (born 30 January 1987) is a Turkish former professional footballer who played most notably as a winger. Turan is mostly known for his ball control, dribbling skills and vision. At age 21, prior to the 2009–10 season, he was named ...

were taken out of the game due to injury in the first half, and Barcelona opened the scoring. However, Simeone was able to rally his team at half-time and Godin's header in the second half gave them the much needed draw. Simeone said: "At half-time I told them to be relaxed. In the first half we did well. I knew if we scored, it would cost them. That's what happened. There was an amazing collective effort from everyone." During a leg in the

semi-final against

at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

, Atlético were playing without key players Diego Costa, Juanfran, Filipe Luís and Vitolo, and in the 10th minute,

was sent off with a red card, followed by Simeone being also sent off. Despite playing with ten men, without their manager at the bench, with most players in makeshift positions, and enjoying only 24% of ball possession, the team lost neither its shape nor its composure, eventually holding out to a 1–1 draw that was enough for them to progress to the final. "Simeone taught us to enjoy suffering," Arda Turan said in 2015, supporting this feeling that the Argentinean coach is a man who takes the best things out of bad situations. Diego Godin has also said about his manager: "The players would die for him imeone He gives belief that we can compete against much bigger teams. We have great confidence in him, we are with him to the death and also he with us - and that shows on the pitch. I believe the whole team has confidence in the coach and we all know the path we have to take: he marks the way for us and we go with him until the death. That is how you achieve things." In the 2020–21 season, amid

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

and injury crisis among the team's forwards, Simeone experimented with back three formations, such as 5–3–2 and 3–5–2. This saw them adapt to a new, more possession-heavy style, averaging the majority of possession over the season for the first time since their victorious 2013–14 season.

Personal life

Simeone's sons Giovanni,

Gianluca Gianluca is an Italian masculine given name. Its English translation is "John Luke" and it is often a shorter form of " Giovanni Luca". * Gianluca Alfenoni (born 1996), Argentine footballer *Gianluca Arrighi (born 1972), Italian writer * Gianluc ...

, and Giuliano are professional footballers, currently playing for Napoli, Xerez Deportivo and

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...

, respectively. Simeone also has two daughters, Francesca and Valentina, with model Carla Pereyra. Simeone and Pereyra got married in secret in June 2019.

Career statistics

Club

:Source:

International

Source:

International goals

:''Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Simeone goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Atlético Madrid *

: 1995–96 *

: 1995–96 Inter Milan *

: 1997–98 Lazio *

: 1999–2000 *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

: 1999–2000 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual association football, football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

Argentina *

, 1993 *

Artemio Franchi Trophy Artemio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Artemio Franchi (1922–1983), Italian football administrator *Artemio Lomboy Rillera (1947–2011), the Roman Catholic bishop of San Fernando de La Union, Philippines * Artemio Panga ...

: 1993 *

Olympic Silver Medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is lai ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

Individual * Trofeo EFE: 1995–96

Manager

Estudiantes La Plata *

: 2006 Torneo Apertura River Plate *

: 2008 Torneo Clausura Atlético Madrid *

: 2013–14,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

: 2012–13 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

: 2011–12, 2017–18 *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

runner-up: 2013–14, 2015–16 Individual * European Coach of the Season: 2011–12 *

La Liga Manager of the Month The Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countr ...

: October 2013, November 2015, March 2017 *Trofeo Comunidad Iberoamericana: 2014 * La Liga Coach of the Year: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16,

* Miguel Muñoz Trophy: 2013–14, 2015–16,

* Facebook/MARCA Football Awards (Best Manager): 2016 *

IFFHS World's Best Club Coach The IFFHS World's Best Club Coach is an association football award given annually, since 1996, to the most outstanding club coach as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), an autonomous football federation ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

* Globe Soccer Master Coach Special Award: 2017 * IFFHS Club Coach of the Decade: 2011–2020 *

Konex Awards Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...

: 2020

References

External links

* *
Profile and Statistics at yahoo.com
*
Managerial statistics in the Argentine Primera
at Fútbol XXI * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simeone, Diego 1970 births Living people Simeone family Argentine people of Italian descent Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine footballers Association football midfielders Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield footballers Pisa S.C. players Sevilla FC players Atlético Madrid footballers Inter Milan players S.S. Lazio players Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Argentine Primera División players Serie A players Serie B players La Liga players UEFA Cup winning players Argentina youth international footballers Argentina under-20 international footballers Argentina international footballers 1991 Copa América players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1993 Copa América players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1995 Copa América players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Copa América-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Olympic medalists in football Olympic footballers of Argentina Olympic silver medalists for Argentina FIFA Century Club Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Spain Argentine football managers Racing Club de Avellaneda managers Estudiantes de La Plata managers Club Atlético River Plate managers San Lorenzo de Almagro managers Catania S.S.D. managers Atlético Madrid managers Argentine Primera División managers Serie A managers La Liga managers UEFA Europa League winning managers Argentine expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Italy Expatriate football managers in Spain Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics

Club career

International career

Style of play

Managerial career

Early years

Catania and Racing Club

Atlético Madrid

2011–13: Europa League and Copa del Rey triumphs

2013–17: La Liga win and Champions League finals

2017–21: Second Europa League and La Liga victories

Style of management

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Manager

See also

References

External links