Atlético: two ways to beat Real Madrid Simeone | Football | Kinds of sports

Oscar Ruggeri crossed paths with Rodrigo de Paul in the depths of the Metropolitano at the end of the cup derby between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid. “You’re already at the level you play for Argentina,” former centre-back, 1986 world champion and friend of Diego Pablo Simeone snapped at the wheel. The Atlético Madrid coach not only shares this opinion; For Cholo, De Paul had his best game since joining the club in the summer of 2021…

Oscar Ruggeri crossed paths with Rodrigo de Paul in the depths of the Metropolitano at the end of the cup derby between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid. “You’re already at the level you play for Argentina,” former centre-back, 1986 world champion and friend of Diego Pablo Simeone snapped at the wheel. The Atlético Madrid coach not only shares this opinion; For Cholo, De Paul had his best game since he arrived at the club in the summer of 2021, confirming his rise in the team’s playing weight as well as leadership. Simeone’s attention was also drawn to the performance of Koke and Jimenez, who lost several games. In fact, the Argentine coach was overall satisfied with the performance of his players and the execution of his plan to hand Real Madrid their second defeat of the season. At this point in the season, Atlético Madrid are the only team to beat Carlo Ancelotti’s side, and they did it in two different ways.

Simeone planned a different match from the League match, which he won (3-1), and the Super Cup match, which he lost in extra time (5-3). In these two matches, a very intense and aggressive team was planned to play on the opposite field in the first half hour. Defeat in Riyadh, due in part to Real Madrid’s physical dominance in extra time, forced him to choose a different path. This time the red-and-white coach prepared his players for a long game. I didn’t want them to fall apart in the first half. He ordered Real to close the space inside and try to defend with the ball. In the first act, the second part of the plan didn’t work because Madrid had more ball, but it ensured his team didn’t wear out the roulette wheel in a frantic back-and-forth race. Simeone took risks by applying personal pressure on the opposite field at very specific moments.

In the previous round, Cholo insisted on the need to improve the level of his players in order to win individual matches, and here he was also pleased. And for the concentration shown, and for the speed of thinking, which allows you to make the right decisions at the right moment. When Madrid were able to overcome the pressure and run into the open field, Simeone was also very pleased with his team’s retreat. “We managed to withstand Madrid’s attack, which is not easy, especially when they counter-attack,” explained Simeone.

Professor Ortega

The extension put the gasoline management strategy to the test. Unlike the Super Cup semi-final, Atlético played it rather on the opposite field. Simeone also played at his worst for Real Madrid, who were due to play the final against Barcelona and only landed in Madrid in the early hours of Monday morning.

The physical problem stumped Professor Ortega. It was good for the red-and-white coach that the team did not fall apart in extra time, because now it is going through a delicate moment. His contract ends in June, it has not yet been renewed and, according to various sources consulted both within the club and those around Ortega, he is now more out of the club than in the club with an eye to next season. For four years, the Uruguayan coach kept his extension separate from Simeone’s and negotiated on his own.

The parties are waiting for the final conversation, which has been postponed. This was supposed to take place in early January, but Ortega himself decided to postpone it after learning that Real Madrid would also be opponents in the Cup. The management’s offer is top-down, in line with the extensions signed by Simeone, Morata and Jimenez, as well as the offers made by Koke and Mario Hermoso. The coach knows the situation and accepts both that the Uruguayan coach will continue to work if he reaches an agreement with the club, and if he finally leaves.

The topic is sensitive because Ortega is the fitness coach with whom Simeone made his stage the most successful in the history of Atlético. And neither the club nor the coach want to be blamed for his hypothetical departure. Although the entity warns that “sometimes it seemed like it was leaving, and in the end it stayed.”

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