The Atlético Madrid manager was at his whirling, grizzled best as his side claimed a first-leg advantage against LiverpoolJürgen Klopp stood and watched the referee pull the yellow card from his pocket, a symbol of his frustration, while to his right Diego Simeone raised the roof. Up and down the touchline Atlético Madrid’s manager went, wildly waving, clenching his fists, urging on the fans. Come on, he called, the coach conductor once more. Louder and louder they got, singing, flags waving, scarves whirling, all looking at him, all of them so alive. For Simeone, it has never been just about the players; it is about the place. And this place was his, like never before.With two minutes left, victory was...
Recent transfer activity suggests that the La Liga side may be moving towards a more expansive approach to the gameE lite football is more attacking now than at any time since the coming of systematisation in the mid-60s. Between 1994‑95 – when the Champions League first incorporated quarter-finals after the group stage – and 2007-08, there were only two seasons in which an average of more than three goals per game was scored in the knockout stages. Since then there has been only one season when that average has not been higher than 3.0, and in each of the past three it has been higher than 3.5.As José Mourinho’s star has waned, there has been only one real exception to...
Premier League side did not manage a shot on target in Madrid and, with Robert Huth banned and Wes Morgan injured, face a defensive crisis in the second legAs Leicester City’s players drifted out of Estadio Vicente Calderón shortly before midnight, a TV reporter mentioned to Danny Simpson that there was no need for such a long face after a narrow defeat against a team who have reached the Champions League final twice in the past three seasons, especially when there is still so much to play for in the second leg.It was a fair point to make after a 1-0 defeat that could have been worse, yet it also overlooked the fact that Simpson and his team-mates had just...
Just the 6,084 days after his father scored to beat Juve, Giovanni Simeone inspired Genoa against the shambolic champions in Serie AIf you ask Diego Simeone, he will tell you that he does not often talk about football with his son. The Atlético Madrid manager is immensely proud of the success Giovanni has had in carving out a career in the sport but also anxious to avoid adding to the pressure that comes with following in his footsteps. “I’ve never liked to give him pointers about specific aspects of his game,” said Diego during a television interview two months back. He visits his son whenever he can during international breaks and the pair speak frequently by phone, “[But] we talk...