What is the historic record that Diego Simeone will achieve in the classic against Real Madrid

Cholo Diego Pablo Simeone will sign a new page in the history of Atlético de Madrid. The Argentine coach will reach a historic milestone this Saturday and will become, together with the legendary Luis Aragonés, the coach with the most direct matches in the history of the club from the Spanish capital with 612.

“First of all I’m lucky and I have to be extremely grateful to the club and to all the players who have played for the team because, Without all these situations, both for clubs and players, it is impossible to reach these numbers“, Simeone assessed this Friday at the press conference.

“In reality they are numbers, but I am especially grateful to the players, who are the ones who have allowed me to grow, to be able to express myself and to be able to play this number of matches, but it is clear that they are linked to results, otherwise the numbers would not exist “, he added.

“I am absolutely grateful to the club and, above all, to the players who have passed through the team, because they have given me the possibility to continue working, to continue doing what I like, to be in the place where I want to be and continue to be. very excited, he proclaimed.

Real Madrid vs Atlético de Madrid, this Saturday at 2:30 pm (Argentina time), on DirecTV Sports

It gives Simeone more peace of mind that attention is so focused on the referees at the moment, heading to this Saturday’s derby against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, led by Jesús Gil Manzano, a “barbaric” referee, according to the coach, who advanced that “I’m sure he will do very well and the players will help him, as always”.

The controversy of the last match between the two teams still persists in the atmosphere, on 26 January in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 victory for the red and whites after extra time, with numerical superiority due to the expulsion of Stefan Savic and with the indignation of the rojiblanco block for not showing the second yellow card to Dani Ceballos when the match was 0-1. The referee at that time was César Soto Grado.

Now the designated is Jesus Gil Manzano. With him, Atlético won fifteen games, drew six and lost seven. He has never booed a derby against Real Madrid.

“He is a barbaric referee. We also had to win as a guest. I remember the match we won in Cadiz, if I’m not mistaken (1-4 on November 28, 2021). He has a great responsibility, like all referees have in every match, and he will certainly do it phenomenally, the players will help him as they always help him and of course he has a good game, because everyone is watching him” Simeone said after training at Ciudad Deportiva de Majadahonda.

“In the same way they look at us, the referees are increasingly observed with all these movements that are not yet clear to us, but what is it,” added the coach, who explained that sentence: “(He was referring ) to everything you know. We are with what happened in Barcelona (the scandal on the Negreira case), that nothing is clear. We are waiting for everything to be fluid, healthy, because we all live from this and we like to compete with the same possibilities”.

Does the fact that at the moment there is so much focus on the referees give Simeone more peace of mind? He hesitated first when he answered. “Good question,” he told the reporter. “Yes”, finally replied the coach, just over 24 hours from the derby, with Atlético in fourth position, with their rival in second place, ten points adrift and with the Champions League goal pending for his team , whether he can compete to be higher: “Match after match, we’re doing well.”

“GOALS ARE NOT MINOR, THEY ARE UNDERESTIMATED”

“We see the emotion in wearing the Atlético de Madrid shirt and competing in every match. Of course, there are seasons where we can compete to win something and there are seasons where that pursuit is far away. This season we need to achieve goals, which are not minor and are underestimated“, he warned.

“To just say qualify for the Champions League would seem like an understatement, but we have to stop where we come from and where we’re going. When we come and where we go, it’s important to qualify for the Champions League. continue to be among the best in the Spanish league over the past eleven years and continue to compete as a club in a competition that, financially, It’s very good for us to continue to grow and have a hierarchy in footballers from a footballing point of view,” he noted.

“What we have left is no less. At every game, from the moment they put the rojiblanca, you must be excited”underlined Simeone, who reviewed the keys to his team’s reaction since the resumption of competitions after the 2022 World Cup, when he straightened out the uneven course of the entire first section of the course.

From the end of December to today, Atlético have totaled eight wins in 12 games, with two draws and two defeats. “The team is doing better because they are playing more as a team, because we have returned to that position of Koke in the center which gives us more fluidity in the game and has allowed us to pass better from the game. Maybe we suffered a little more in defense , but we are also looking for that balance that every team needs to afford situations” he assessed.

And then he also spoke specifically of Mario Hermoso, about whom he had been questioned. “I have no doubts that his growth is linked to what he understands the team needs, not to what Simeone needs, and, from that, he has more minutes, but, as I tell the players, I have no commitment to anyone, just the returns. When the returns are good, you have to accompany them,” he said about the central defender, who has been consolidated in the starting eleven since December.

Simeone did not confirm the eleven for the derby, even if the tests indicate a formation made up of Jan Oblak, between the posts; Nahuel Molina, Stefan Savic, Mario Hermoso and Reinildo Mandava, in defense; Pablo Barrios, Koke Resurrección, Saúl Ñíguez and Yannick Carrasco, in midfield; and Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann, in front.

“I’m looking for those that the game gives us the best chances. We also trained with Llorente in the center, with Correa, Morata returned to training today, Memphis returned yesterday and we have those alternatives to that position (in midfield),” he explained the coach, who highlighted the “enormous growth” of Vinicius after the “big bet” that Santiago Solari made on him, when he was manager of Real Madrid. “It’s an extraordinary time,” he added.