Diego Simeone’s achievement in guiding Atletico Madrid to last season’s La Liga title, breaking Barcelona and Real Madrid’s 10-year stranglehold, was incredible considering the vast gulf in resources between Atletico and the teams they overcame.
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And with the inspirational Argentine now signing a new contract to stay at the club until 2020, Atletico have the perfect man – perhaps the only man – to give them a chance of retaining their place among European football’s elite.
That’s not just for his tactical nous, his attention to detail and his astute moves in the transfer market, but also because his personality fits the club like a glove.
Diego @Simeone signs new @atletienglish deal until 2020 #UCL #Simeone2020 pic.twitter.com/YmRXUdnlNO
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 24, 2015
As a former Atletico captain, Simeone perfectly understands the essence of his club: he knows that his team will always be underdogs against Real and Barca, that Atletico will never receive the same media attention or the far-flung adulation as the glamour boys, and that his budget will always be dwarfed by theirs.
Not only does Simeone accept those inherent disadvantages, he thrives on them. He loves nothing better than being underestimated or written off, delighting in the notion that while superstars at other clubs can grow dizzy with hype and start to believe their own publicity, at Atletico there is no hype and there is no publicity.
The working-class underdog spirit he has instilled, in tandem with his footballing capabilities, has already achieved great things.
Whether they can continue to be achieved, however, is another matter. Because despite everything, there is still a strong sense that their title-winning campaign was a glorious one-off and that money, in the end, will rule the day.
The way of the modern world is that Barca and Real will continue to grow, attracting the best players and leaving the scraps for everyone else. And with Valencia now under the control of a billionaire owner, Peter Lim, determined to spend his way into the big time, Atletico’s task will get even harder.
For all of Simeone’s inspirational qualities, the worrying truth is that his best days at Atletico might already be behind him. If they aren’t, whatever he achieves will be very special indeed.
