Almost a decade has passed since the sweetest victory that Diego Simeone had in his 606 games as Atlético Madrid coach.
It was on May 17, 2013, when Atlético won the Spanish Cup, with a heroic 1:2 overtime victory over Real Madrid.
and where?
at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In the 11 years Simeone coached the Colchoneros, he won eight titles, but the victory in that cup final, over the great Real of Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo, was the sign that something was changing in Spanish football.
Mainly because he broke an unimaginable streak of 13 years and 25 consecutive games without a red-white victory in the Madrid derby.
And he turned a group of losers into winners.
A year later, Atlético stunned and won the championship, the first of two in the era of Simeone, who had long since become the god of the team's fans.
Tomorrow Simeone and his players return to the Bernabeu, again as part of the cup.
It's true that it's "only" the quarterfinals, but it's still a hot derby, and its results could have far-reaching consequences.
Atlético arrives at the Bernabeu after two victories, over Levante in the cup and over Valladolid in the league, but the mood in the team is not good.
The early elimination from the Champions League, when the team finished in last place and did not even qualify for the Europa League, was a severe blow - sportingly and financially.
This is a loss of 50 million euros, but this was mostly overcome with the sale of the Brazilian striker Mateusz Konya to Wolves.
He is currently on loan, but in the summer the transfer will be completed for 40 million euros.
The bigger story of course has to do with Simeone, this could be his last season at the club.
And it also depends on what will happen tomorrow at the Bernabeu, and especially where Atlético will finish the league.
For ten consecutive years, Atlético has been playing in the Champions League, qualifying twice for the finals, and also earning hundreds of millions along the way.
She is currently in fourth place, but if she doesn't finish in the top four, it will be a fatal blow.
And at least four teams are now fighting for the last ticket to the best league in the world.
Morata and Griezmann.
Atletico's moment of truth, photo: AP
Squinting at Luis Enrique
It's not just that Atlético lost five times in 18 league games, but that the team lost what characterized it so much in the previous years - Simeone's famous DNA: the uncompromising fight until the last second. Or as they call it in Argentina "with a knife between the teeth" The general feeling is that Cholo just got tired and his tiredness seeps into the team.
You have to remember, Simeone is the highest paid coach in the world.
His sister Natalia, his agent, arranged for him 23 million euros per season.
And this contract will only end in the summer of 2024. Miguel Ángel Hail Marin, the strongest man in Atlético, will not fire Simeone.
It is not something they will do to the greatest coach in the history of Atlético, but if the season ends without a title and without a place in the Champions League, it is likely that Chulo himself will agree to leave.
He too feels that his era is coming to an end.
Defay.
The man who will help Simeone?, Photo: Reuters
Since the dramatic championship two years ago, nothing has been successful for Simeone, and the biggest failure is that he failed to take advantage of the talent of Joao Felix, who was purchased for 127 million euros, and is now loaned to Chelsea.
The Marine Corps has said twice in recent times that it greatly appreciates Luis Enrique, who left the Spanish national team after the World Cup, and probably not by accident.
He is the main candidate to replace Simeone, if and when, but there is still time for that.
Right now, everything is focused on the cup game against Real, and the one who may start in the lineup is the newly acquired striker, the Dutch Memphis Depay, who arrived from Barcelona for a bargain price of 3 million euros.
On Saturday Memphis (43 goals in the Dutch national team uniform) entered for 15 minutes against Valladolid in his debut in the red and white uniform, which reminds him of the beginning of his career in PSV Eindhoven.
Not sure if Simeone thinks about it, but in the last game Memphis was a Barcelona player, they beat Real Madrid in the Super Cup final.
In the unsympathetic situation Cholo is in, maybe this is also something that can help.
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