The two of them learned very deeply in the subtle details of the game, from how high you press to how it attacks in tight spaces. While most football figures at the time would have been fascinated by such an opportunity, Simeone was more restrained. “I do not feel that,” he said of an approach. “I do not like this,” said the other. And he went ahead, right through many of Guardiola’s principles. If Simeone was obviously impressed but not convinced, Guardiola was convinced of something else. “This son of a bitch will be good,” thought the Catalan, a view that was conveyed in a wonderful new documentary about Simeone, Living Match by Match. The Argentine has become more than good. He was one of the best coaches of the last decade, but also one who stands out even more for how he raised a second division to the top and almost became a counterculture figure. While Guardiola has largely defined the modern era, profoundly influencing the way the game is played, Simeone has defined the main alternative. He succeeded Jose Mourinho and improved him, as the high priest of the game without the ball. This is why Simeone may well be the coach who is most likely to force Guardiola into another “regular episode” in the Champions League. This is something unexpected and unnecessary, which ends up being unstable. Guardiola has long had perhaps the best team in Europe at Manchester City, only to constantly complicate this reality through the depths of his football vision. Guardiola now has the best team in this week’s Champions League quarter-finals, probably from a distance. However, Simeone is capable of taking Atletico to the next level, in the same way that he potentially challenges the City coach in another regular episode that eventually flattens things out further. Their surprisingly short history with each other will further aggravate this. Simeone’s Atletico was responsible for one of Guardiola’s long-term semi-finals, with the exclusion of Bayern Munich in 2015-16 as a modern epic of the Champions League. This is largely due to a classic style conflict. In that match, which was their only meeting in the Champions League so far, Guardiola almost exaggerated the effort to find how to find space. This is because Simeone is the manager who is more obsessed with closing the space than anyone else. It’s where there was some genuine creativity, of a kind, in the destructive game. Players have been amazed at how Simeone comes up with sessions that “simulate every possible situation”. It means that they have defensive exercises for almost every possible attack. If an extreme back makes a specific move, such as e.g. Joao Cancello on Tuesday, the Atletico team depends on where it will go. So they were able to undo Cristiano Ronaldo and sterilize Manchester United in the “16”. Such complex designs then grow with simpler instructions. “I learned so much at Atletico,” said Toby Alderweireld a few years ago. “One of those lessons that sticks: if there is a high ball, never head down, always up. It gives more time to your teammates to get over the ball “. From there, the defender’s intelligence is further emphasized by the intensity. Simeone basically draws a higher level of performance from his players. This is what makes them so difficult to move. Guardiola’s attackers will try to overcome the most decisive possible defense. “They are fighting with all their souls,” said Simeone after Atletico eliminated Liverpool in 2020. This is due to how it motivates them, especially for big games. It’s not just about “huevos” or “cojones” – balls – although of course there are many. Simeone will store specific incentive techniques for the biggest games, most of which happen to be in the Champions League. Sometimes he will put inspirational clips of the best moments of the players together, especially if he wants to do something specific, and they have done well in the past. He has used moments from the American football movie Any Given Sunday, but only once, in 2013-14, because he knows that such techniques must remain fresh. That is why, in the words of many around Atletico, he “loves the role of an underdog”. He fits all his ideals, and that was the reason why all this came together for Atletico’s incredible victory in the semifinal against Bayern in 2016. The first game in Madrid was a classic 1-0 victory for Atletico, but also a classic director. Guardiola had made an astonishing decision to remove Thomas Muller, for which he was criticized. Much more decisive, however, was Simeone’s strategy of using four central midfielders in the middle of a deliberately naughty pitch. Bayern could not move on, Atletico took this necessary break through the wonderful series of Saul Niguez. 17-year-old Saul Niguez celebrates after scoring in Madrid (Getty Images) Guardiola and Simeone shake hands before the start in Munich (Getty Images) Simeone’s team had the lead. Guardiola had to find something. Guillem Balague’s book, Another Way of Winning, reveals that Guardiola is obsessed with it again, wondering how to “unlock the most advanced defense system in Europe” without endangering his own team. Help the Munich crowd rekindle for a vintage Champions League night. Meanwhile, the players were excited for one last chance to win the trophy under Guardiola. It had already been announced that he would leave for Manchester City at the end of the season. Here he asked the players to start with one hell, moving the ball with speed, but always outwards so that “Simeone’s womb” would not catch them. Initially it worked perfectly. “It was a game, more than any other in my career, where I felt the opponent was so superior,” Atletico’s Fernando Torres told Living Match by Match. Bayern inevitably scored after 31 minutes, with the goal a classic product of extreme pressure. Xabi Alonso’s foul was diverted to a desperate dive by Jose Jimenez. The same defender then fouled Xavi Martinez three minutes later, only Jan Oblak saved Thomas Miller’s penalty. It was to prove a decisive moment, but Guardiola did not feel it at that moment. He believed that his team was playing very well. They were essentially perfect. He didn’t even have to say anything to them at half time – put an instruction. It was really a repetition. “Do not play inside, always outside,” said Guardiola. “If we lose the ball there, they can counterattack us.” So what? There was a lonely slip. In the 54th minute, Jerome Boateng played the ball inside. His pass was cut. Atletico, already a little more aggressive after the introduction of Yannick Carrasco, felt opportunities. They rushed forward, Antoine Griezmann in the ball to one against one. Simeone’s thought process at the time summed it up. “Please score because I do not know if we will have another chance.” Griezmann is over. But the real epic was just beginning. Robert Lewandowski headed in the 74th minute to ensure Atletico were only ahead in away goals. The next moment he would win it. Bayern dominated. It was a full-blown attack on defense, the sport of spirits, everything on the line – and not just Guardiola’s legacy. His team, to be fair, looked like it was playing for her. Many were desperate to win the Champions League. “I could not believe what I was seeing,” Simeone said. “We could not cross the middle of the line.” Koke described it as “the worst game I have ever endured”, Diego Godin as “a hard way to suffer”. Simeone had the best description of all. “Our area was a ditch – but without shame to play defensively.” Atletico dug. Bayern, after putting everything, was left out. Antoine Griezmann scores Atletico’s crucial away goal (Bongarts / Getty Images) Atletico players celebrate their away goal (Bongarts / Getty Images) Simeone then spread his praise for the opposition. “I’m literally in love with this match. I’m in love with that Bayern team. We could not respond to their football style. I have to say that I have played against the best team I have ever faced as a coach. It was a wonderful Bayern. “But we absorbed the pressure and won the game.” Guardiola told his players and staff that it was truly one of his best performances. This time it was not his sarcasm, nor his infamous passivity-aggression. It was very clear. Guardiola had a touch of greater advantage in that documentary when he said he could never play Simeone’s way. “I can never do that in my teams, but I admire this ability of resistance, resistance, resistance, knowing that in an instant the bee can sting.” The way Guardiola was bitten makes it more and more relevant and even more influential for this quarterfinal. The draw of 2016 articulated all his anxieties for the Champions League. Guardiola’s team was much better, to the point of perfection, as it seemed to have everything in control. And yet they could not conceive of this victory, because they simply could not claim it at that moment. The game went out of control at that critical moment. It is precisely the kind of expulsion that usually leaves Guardiola obsessed with what else he could do, what small change he could make a difference. And that brings us to Tuesday. It must be emphasized that this is a different Atletico. There is no defender of Godin’s class. They are more assembled from the intensive side of 2016. They just are not as good as Manchester City. This really can not be ignored. The fundamental truth of this tie remains. But Atletico is growing. The Champions League helped them develop a …
