When former league and cup double-winner Diego Simeone took charge of Atletico Madrid back in 2011, no one could have anticipated the success that was about to come. When he played for the club, he was a key man in their greatest season in modern times. He was an anchor in the heart of an Atletico midfield that won La Liga and the Copa Del Rey in the same season back in 1996.
When he took charge of the club back in December 2011, the club were just 18 months removed from 2010 Europa League glory. However, the year and a half since was arduous, and when Simeone took charge, Los Rojiblancos were way down in tenth in La Liga. To make matters worse, they had just been eliminated from the Copa del Rey by third-tier Albacete.
In the 12 years since, the legendary Argentinian coach has led the club to two La Liga triumphs, as well as two further Europa League successes and the Copa Del Rey. He also unbelievably led them to two Champions League finals in three seasons. However, on both occasions, they were beaten by city rivals Real Madrid. This season, online sports betting website Bovada still make Atletico one of the favourites to finish in the top four.
When he does leave, he will depart the club from the Spanish capital as their greatest manager of all time. He has brought success that not even the most optimistic of Colchoneros could have imagined in their wildest dreams. So in honour of Simeone’s incredible tenure at the club, we take a look back at his stellar reign.
Immediate Success
The team that Diego Simeone inherited when he first took charge of Atletico Madrid was an underwhelming one. Many felt that it lacked the desired quality to get Los Rojiblancos back up the La Liga table. However, rather than focusing on individual quality, the incoming manager focused on teamwork, work ethic, and pure heart.
As such, he didn’t scour the transfer market for new additions, and instead, the players he inherited formed the core of the most successful Atletico Madrid side of all time. Centre backs Diego Godín and Miranda, as well as central midfielders Gabi and teenage sensation Koke, were all already at the club when Simeone took over. And they would be the core of the side’s success for years to come.
Striker Falcao bagged 12 goals in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League campaign and fired Atletico into an all-Spanish final against compatriots Athletic Bilbao. In the final in Bucharest, he was the star of the show, netting twice in a 3-0 victory and handing his side a second European trophy in as many years. More success was to follow.
The following season, Simeone secured Champions League football for his side for just the third time since the turn of the millennium. However, it was in the Copa Del Rey that he truly endeared himself to the home faithful, if he hadn’t already. In the final of the competition, Atleti would defeat city rivals Real Madrid 2-1 after extra time – in the Bernabeu of all places – handing their manager his second trophy in his year and a half in charge, but the best was yet to come.
Champions League Finals and La Liga Glory
The 2013/14 season was perhaps the greatest season in the history of Atletico Madrid. During his brief time in charge, Diego Simeone had transformed the club from midtable stragglers to comfortably the third-best team in the country, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. In 2013/14 though, they would go toe-to-toe with Spain’s finest.
Following a sensational campaign, Los Rojiblancos headed into the final day of the season at La Liga’s summit. Both Real Madrid and Barca could still win the league, however, and Atleti would head to the Camp Nou needing a result.
Atleti would fall behind just after the half-hour mark courtesy of Alexis Sánchez’s opener. That goal swung the title race in the favour of Barcelona, but the visitors would reply four minutes after the break through captain Diego Godín’s bullet header. Simeone’s men would hold firm throughout the second period and manage to secure the point they needed to become La Liga champions for the first time since 1996.
As if that wasn’t enough, they would defeat AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea en route to a first-ever UEFA Champions League final. There they would meet city rivals Real Madrid in Lisbon, and it looked like they would get the victory following Godín’s opener. However, Los Blancos would hit back through Sergio Ramos in the 94th minute and eventually win by four goals to one in extra time.
Two years later, they would defeat tournament favourites Bayern Munich and Barcelona to reach the final once again, and they would meet their city rivals, once again. This time, it was Real Madrid who took the lead through Ramos. However, Atletico would strike back late on through Yannick Carrasco. The pair couldn’t be separated and in the end, it was Los Blancos who would triumph once again, this time via a penalty shootout.
The Later Years
In the years since their finest campaign, Simeone has firmly established Atletico as the third-best team in Spain, and by some distance. He has also turned them into European powerhouses, regularly reaching the latter stages of the Champions League and even adding another Europa League to their trophy cabinet in 2018.
Three years on from that triumph, Simeone would once again lead his side to the Spanish championship. Spearheaded the goals of bargain signing Luis Suarez, Atleti held off both Barcelona and Real Madrid to win La Liga for the second time in seven years. That success secured Simeone’s spot in the history books as Atletico Madrid’s most successful manager of all time.
By Alejandro Fernandez
