Nine years ago today, Atletico Madrid were 10th in La Liga and a whopping 21 points off the top of the table as they appointed their former midfield star Diego Simeone as their new boss.
Simeone had managed four clubs in his native Argentina – Racing Club, Estudiantes, San Lorenzo and River Plate – along with a brief stint at Italian club Catania, but his appointment was viewed as a left-field choice.
He was appointed to replace Gregorio Manzano and was tasked with transforming the club’s fortunes, but few could have predicted the decade of success that has been sparked since.
Simeone’s most famed moment was the 2014 La Liga title – the club’s first since 1996 – while reaching four European finals; winning two Europa League crowns in 2012 and 2018, whilst losing out to Real Madrid in the 2014 and 2016 Champions League deciders.
Fittingly, Atleti’s win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday was Simeone’s 300th at the helm in 499th match in charge – a win rate of 60.1 percent, with 117 draws and only 82 defeats.
Now, Atleti are top of the top-level of Spanish football with an impressive 32 points from 13 matches.
