He reaps a record 43 million euros. It led to the worst crisis in a decade

“Cholismo” stood for the style of play that Diego Simeone instilled in. In 2013, this term was so popular that it was chosen the second most important word in Spain. The essence of this style was defensive solidity, which allowed him to maintain a one-goal lead like against Manchester United in the 1/8 Champions League, even if the game lasted five hours. Atletico had the result, handed the ball back to the opponent and boldly asked: what will you do to us?

Now it is the opponent – even as lost and disorganized as Manchester United – who finally takes the ball without asking, attacks and finally hits. Instead of a perfect defense game, Atletico has stupidly conceded goals today. As with United – one late-game pass lost three defenders who failed to catch up with 19-year-old Anthony Elanga.

Probably no other band has changed so much in the last decade. In 2011, Simeone found a wrecked team full of spoiled stars. He made them to work. First there was an incredibly fast growth – the finals and victories in the Europa League, then the Champions League finals without a final triumph, but sweetened with two championships of Spain, plucked from the hands of FC Barcelona. Atletico shook the Spanish hierarchy for good and made itself at home in European salons. It grew and it changed. It dreamed of a beautiful game. It departed from its style and reached an identity crisis, the effects of which we have been watching for months.

It is not known what the Simeone band should be like, how they want to stand out and in what style to play. He has already dropped out of the King’s Cup, sluggishly left the group and the first match with United ends disappointed, because there was no shortage of opportunities to increase the result, and in the league he is in the fifth place and loses as much as 15 points to the leading Real.

Atletico was like the Hobin Hood, proudly sticking the stick through the spokes

It’s hard not to see the confusion that spends the most money on transfers, buying players with beautiful legs, not a big heart. On the other hand, he still has a coach who would love to put all these talented footballers to backbreaking work, like craftsmen like Gabi a few years ago. Therefore, which cost as much as 127 million euros, he is spreading his hands helplessly, because he wanted to go to Disneyland and ended up in a military unit. Sergeant Simeone does not give him freedom and for over two years he has not been able to find an idea how to incorporate him into his army. It looks as if the Portuguese striker is trapped – he has cost so much that he can’t just walk away now. He scored a goal with United, raised his hands high and froze to enjoy the stadium tumult. He should experience such moments every week, not every few months.

In their best years, Siemone’s players were able to make an art of defending themselves. Fans admired single defenders and the whole system of moving, shortening, aggressive play, as they usually appreciate individual performances of attackers or combined team actions played forward. Their calculation was impressive. They were impossible to move. Ambitious, aggressive, tough. They found fulfillment in running after their opponents. They enjoyed making it difficult for them to play. The aforementioned “Cholismo” meant backbreaking work and honored Simeone, who was an absolute authority for the players. Team leader. Barcelona had Messi, Real and Atletico had Simeone. No other team in the world had such a clear reflection of their coach’s qualities in the game.

Atletico was playing the role of the oppressed, representing all the poor who challenge the richer and more successful. Thiago, the symbol of that team, said after the championship that they are like Robin Hood. he explained that they had to play like that – put a stick in the spokes. And during the feast he shouted: “It’s not only a cup! It’s a proof that if you believe and work, you can do anything.” They wanted to be seen as the bad and ugly. Over the years, such a narrative suited their style: aggressive, fierce, based on combat, unpleasant primarily for the rival, but also for the viewer. They convinced everyone that they just had to. They had the face of German Burgos, the assistant coach who himself called his face “mug” and claimed that it was only suited to Atletico.

From the summer of 2020, he is no longer in the club. He left Simeone to work alone. Three years earlier, Atletico had moved from the archaic but vibe of Vincente Caldero to the ultramodern Wanda Metropolitano. He has been spending hundreds of millions on transfers for years. He buys artists – like Felix. He takes players with an offensive disposition – like a full-back Renan Lodi. In the middle of the field, he has fewer runners and more tactically and technically sophisticated players. Even before this season, attacking Matheus Cunha was taken instead of an additional center-back, of whom there were only four in the squad. Atletico ceased to be the club “for bricklayers, taxi drivers and churros sellers” as Burgos proudly characterized. It has never had such a talented and expensive staff.

The identity crisis continues. What’s next for Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone?

In Atletico today there are many freedom-loving footballers who break the rules and suffer when confined within rigid tactical frames. In many matches you get the impression that the team has changed, but not the person managing it. Simeone seems to be tossing between what he believes in and what the authorities expect of him. As if he did not keep up with the changes in the club. As if internally he was still struggling with his own limitations, which prevent him from lowering his guard a bit and focusing on his own blows. Even in the game against the best Atletico player was Geoffrey Kondogbia – a strong, aggressive central midfielder who interrupted a lot of action and disgusted the game of Bruno Fernandes and Fred, United midfielders.

Atletico finds itself at a crossroads. He is wrong. It’s not offensive or defensive today, conceding the most goals in the league in a decade. He does not play a calculating or attractive ball. He does not use set pieces, he loses goals after them, he has several leaders who are clearly out of shape – Jan Oblak, Jose Maria Gimenez, Marcos Llorente or.

– I see relaxation among colleagues. We now have great players and we think too often that they can win the game themselves at any moment. We forget that each game has to be fought over and run. – diagnosed Gimenez a few weeks ago. “Simeone comes to us all the time, he has an audience, every word stays in your head for a long time,” he assured, anticipating the questions.

And this is a certain change, because over the years, even when Atletico had a worse time, Spanish journalists did not even think if it was time to say goodbye to the Argentine coach. They respected him too much, he won too much, he was the face of the club. These questions have only been appearing for a few months: first, timid – at a press conference, whether he himself feels tired of working continuously for 11 years, and then they boldly asked – if he still had ideas on how to develop this team. Simeone denied being burned out and said he knew what to do next.

– We can’t pour out our regrets now. We have to turn this situation around. I have full confidence in our team and our coach – said Miguel Angel Gil, CEO of Atletico, which cut off the rumors about a possible separation from Simeone, who is the best-paid coach in the world. According to Forbes, he earns 43.2 million euros annually.

But the impression that the coach has hit the wall is clear. The final goal for this season and the unbeaten cup in general is the Champions League. Therefore, the result of the rematch at Old Trafford against Manchester United could prove to be fundamental to the future of Simeone and the whole of Atletico.