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Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone under scrutiny as Liverpool stand in way of Champions League dream

Getty Images
Getty Images

Diego Simeone always used to say that competing with Real Madrid and Barcelona in LaLiga was his greatest achievement at Atletico.

He believed there was no greater measure of the Rojiiblancos' progress than how his team fought to match or even better the two biggest clubs in the world over 38 rounds of matches.

And the Argentine may well have a point. Simeone's side won LaLiga in 2013-14 - beating Barca to the title on the final day – and he has also led Atletico to two second-place finishes ahead of Real.

In total, he has won seven trophies at Atletico – two Europa League crowns, two Uefa Super Cups, one Copa del Rey, one Spanish Supercopa and that LaLiga title.

But one has remained elusive. The Champions League was within touching distance in 2014 and again two years later, but both times Atleti lost out to Real – once after a Sergio Ramos header in added time in Lisbon and then on penalties in Milan.

Simeone remains obsessed with winning Europe's premier club competition. It may be the main motivation for his stay at Atletico. It is the only trophy he has not won and, with his team adrift in LaLiga and out of the Copa del Rey, it is all he has left this season.

Between Atleti and a place in the last eight stand Liverpool, the European champions, rampant Premier League leaders and most in-form team in the world right now. The challenge could not be tougher, yet it is one Simeone will relish.

"I don't see pessimism," he said on Monday at his pre-match press conference. "I see optimism, emotion. The stadium will be packed full [with Atletico fans]. The players are really up for it, looking forward to the game... and I see what I like seeing, which is optimism."

Simeone is, according to a report in L'Equipe, the world's highest-paid coach. And it is in this type of tie where he will be expected to earn his money. Atletico, for all their problems, can still be awkward and remain competitive when it matters most.

Yet some conviction and belief has been lost along the way. When Simeone arrived in December 2011, he transformed a group of under-performing players and achieved success in a short space of time.

Many of the pillars of his strongest sides have since moved on and Atletico in 2020 lack leadership in key positions. There is no Diego Godin any more, no Gabi, no Filipe Luis, no Juanfran, no Antoine Griezmann and, due to injury, there has mostly been no Diego Costa, either.

Atletico have lost a number of key figures, while Diego Costa (centre) has struggled with injury (Getty Images)
Atletico have lost a number of key figures, while Diego Costa (centre) has struggled with injury (Getty Images)

The new players offer good quality, but many still need to adapt and the team is not as intimidating as it once was. Atletico were a bit like Uruguay, a national side with a strong identity. The perfect underdog, full of fight and passion. Today, much of that has been lost.

Simeone said something interesting on Monday.

Asked if he saw similarities between his his own coaching style and that of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, he went on to claim that the German's Borussia Dortmund side were like his Atletico at that time, but that it is the players who add nuance and additional concepts to a team's tactical approach.

Whether that was a veiled dig at Atletico's transfer policy is unclear, but it is true to say that while Klopp has gone on to build the best team in world football and enhance his own reputation in the process, Simeone's style has not evolved.

Assistant German Burgos is also set to depart at the end of the season in a further blow to Simeone (Getty Images)
Assistant German Burgos is also set to depart at the end of the season in a further blow to Simeone (Getty Images)

Long-time assistant German Burgos is now preparing to move on at the end of the season for a coaching role of his own and that has brought fresh doubts about the current project and its direction at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The Champions League final at Atleti's new stadium last June was supposed to be the moment for Simeone's side to bring home European football's greatest prize.

But instead, the Rojiblancos bowed out to Juventus in the last 16 and Liverpool went on to claim the trophy in Madrid.

And if the Reds win again at the same stadium on Tuesday, it will raise further questions over Simeone's future at Atleti.

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