The art of defense: Diego Simeone

Diversity of styles

Among the most beautiful things about football is its inexhaustible range of resources, which can be used by coaches and footballers, resources that range from the most complicated dribbles to the most polite ball controls and from the simplest instructions given in the 20th minute of the match until the long tactical study work that there are weeks before the duel, all this intensifies when we talk about football at the highest level, of course when I played football in lower categories this type of thing was something that I was completely unaware of , but when learning more about European football, it is easy to realize this and if you are really a lover of this sport, you objectively delve into the styles and once you know them well, you can become a follower of one of them or not, of course without demeaning others.

The "Cholismo"

All styles of football are criticized, there we see how those who defend the old Italian tactic of placing a football lock, make fun of Pep Guardioal and his obsession with possession of the ball, while those who defend more this football of possession and complexly elaborated plays, they make fun of the buses that coaches like Diego Pablo Simeone place in high caliber matches, but of course all this is something that coaches of such relevance in European football and with such a trajectory will never change, not only because they have managed to obtain results with this style, if not because it is the one that makes them enjoy and in the end that is, doing what makes you enjoy the game the most, Simeone enjoys suffering the matches, living them until the end and the Wanda Metropolitano suffers with him , encourages when he asks for it, they shout when Simeone shouts, this is Atlético de Madrid, its team, its fans and the lifestyle that is commonly known as "Cholismo", it's not just ordering your footballers to corner in their area, no, no, nothing like that.

The success of your style

Both have been evolving, one from the other, Simeone achieved the feat with Estudiantes de la Plata in Argentina, he obtained great results in Italy and immediately Atlético de Madrid said "this is the man" and that's how it was, with Simeone at the helm, they have lifted 2 Europa League, two European Super Cups, a Spanish Super Cup, a Copa del Rey, two league titles and have also played two Champions League finals, where "cholismo" has led them after overcoming very tough knockout rounds, such as the that they managed to overcome against Bayern in 2016.

The attackers also triumph with Simeone

And although many believe that Simeone is not offensive, we can name hundreds of figures in attack that surely many remember, such as Sergio Aguero, Diego Costa, Antoine Griezmann and others, who marked an era precisely for being Cholo's offensive references, so that get rid of that idea that Atlético de Madrid doesn't attack because they can't, clearly they don't attack because it's not what their coach asks of them and the coach should be respected, they taught me at my club, Simeone and Arda passed from Courtois to Oblak Turán to Joao Félix, dozens of footballers have passed through his hands and nobody has complained about what Diego Simeone is as a coach and the guy transmits it, he transmits that brotherly affection he feels for his players and that gratitude he has with him Atlético de Madrid, now tactically, Simeone and his Atlético de Madrid have been characterized by the correct organization of everything, both in the life of the coach, free of controversy, and of the footballers on the pitch , in addition to being forceful and resistant physically and mentally, tremendous.

Of course it's normal that sometimes you get tired and sometimes it's boring to see a guy playing the ball back and forth trying to penetrate between 10 defenders and a monster on goal like Oblak, but other times, Atlético's claw it infects you, especially on European nights as special as the one that Madrid experienced yesterday, Simeone went to Etihad hoping not to get beaten and he got it and in Madrid luck accompanied a Manchester City that ended up locked up and asking for time, Simeone put of knees to Guardiola's team and this ended up being the same as "Cholo" for a few minutes, ironic? of course.

Atlético's comfort zone

Simeone built a team that feels supernaturally comfortable every time they have to defend, they know how to respond to all situations and even the team's purest attacker knows basic defensive notions, two strong forwards are what Simeone has accustomed us to, as we already They were Costa, Morata and Torres, but lately he has felt more identified with a strong forward, like Suárez and another agile one, like Correa or Félix, the thing is that they cover important spaces and do not exert too much pressure, while the midfield seeks to close any possible qualification that complicates the mattress defense, a team that complements each other defensively so well that they make it look easy, they make it look easy to go to Munich, Turin, Paris, Anfield and any football capital and not get beaten and no, It's not easy at all.

But hey, that's how strong criticism is in football, Simeone, inspired by what he saw in Italy, seeks to emulate classic Italian tactics, which brought championships like the 2006 World Cup or even Mourinho's Inter title in 2010, but today he is immensely criticized by the rest of the world, pleasingly, Atlético knows how to recognize Cholo for the great work he does.