El Cholo has guided Atletico Madrid to the Champions League
final once again and the title would be a richly deserved prize for one of the
most magnetic coaches in the game.Every team that has managed to eliminate one
coached by Pep Guardiola in the Champions League has gone on to win the
tournament. That fact endures to this day and Atletico Madrid fans will be
praying it is a sign of things to come as they prepare for the 2016 final
against Real Madrid.
Guardiola's style of football is oppressive, choking the
life out of the opposition. Teams are overwhelmed by it. At its mesmerising
best, Pep's football reduces opponents to shadow-chasers, futile in their
efforts to stave off an inevitable goal.But the reward for standing tall, for
resisting, has always been the glory. Jose Mourinho's Inter, Roberto Di
Matteo's Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid and Luis Enrique's Barcelona
all withstood what Guardiola's teams had to offer before delivering in the
final for good measure.
Mourinho and Di Matteo's methods bore similarities. It was
essentially duck and cover. Playing like that is a coin flip. Either the Pep
team scores enough from the chances they create to go through or they don't and
you get lucky.
Diego Simeone, though, has the blueprint for consistent
two-legged success against Guardiola's style of play. It was Simeone's Atletico
who eliminated Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Barcelona in the
quarter-finals. It was Simeone's Atletico who then took out Bayern Munich in
the last four. Their blueprint starts and ends with the manager.
"The players of Atletico Madrid have fantastic trust
and confidence in their manager," former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti
told Goal . "Simeone was able to build this - not only a tactical or
technical relationship, but also a personal relationship.
The players are really convinced about what they do. They
are doing this for their team-mates, for their club, for their fans. This is
down to the motivation of the manager.
"Simeone is a fantastic leader. Everyone in the world
of Atletico Madrid recognises the quality and motivation that Simeone brings -
the club, the players, the supporters."
There is something deeply impressive about the manner in
which stand-out talents like Griezmann and all-star veterans like Fernando
Torres comply so completely with the demands of their coach. There is an
unbreakable team spirit running through Atletico, from the coach to the players
to the supporters, that embodies all which is required to overcome the sternest
of tests.
Watch Simeone on the sidelines at the Vicente Calderon
asking the crowd to ramp up the pressure on opponents and referees. He is a
master manipulator at work, Cholismo emanating from every pore, touching every corner
of the stadium.
Guardiola's lack of warmth has been given as a reason why
Bayern are not so heartbroken about losing him. He came, coached the team and
left. Instead, consider this. What we think of as Atletico Madrid is actually
Diego Simeone. He has built that spirit in the club entirely in his own image.
He has been able to transmit exactly what's in his head to the souls of the
players and fans. They love him for it.
Simeone has identified the chinks in the tiki-taka armoury
and exploited them perfectly. There is the quick ball from midfield through the
middle when Atletico momentarily gain possession. From there it doesn't take
long for a Griezmann or a Torres to fashion a chance at goal.
There is the dominance in the air - in both boxes - which creates
chances and goals for the likes of Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez. There is the
rigidity and discipline across the lines in midfield, where Gabi and Koke
patrol like guard dogs. They funnel attacks wide and quench the threat from
there.
There is total commitment to waiting in the trenches and
maintaining composure as the ball goes from side to side. Bayern and Barca both
had more than 70 per cent of the ball over four legs against Atletico.
Winning is not in pass completion stats alone. Time and
again, Simeone has sent his team to war against the possession-dominant teams
and come out on top.
Simeone is the man who has killed tiki-taka.
culled from Goal.Com
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