Simeone finished on a good note in what has possibly been the most difficult season since he has been at Atlético. The Argentine coach had a hard time throughout the year, with the team out of European competition at the first exchange and without options to fight for the league title. In the Cup, the team stood up to Real Madrid in a highly controversial tie in which the referee’s decisions were decisive. But Simeone never experienced such difficult moments, questioned by the fans, with the team not knowing very well what they were playing and with many doubts also at the club.
Before the World Cup, it seemed almost impossible for Simeone to fulfill his contract and continue for another year in the Cívitas Metropolitan entity. Now no one doubts it. And deep down it seems sung that he will renew for Atlético and that his link will be beyond 2024. Gil Marín and Berta already met with Cholo last week, although they did not address the issue of his renewal. Neither party is in a hurry. It is a matter of time and of finding the opportune moment to sit down at the table and make the agreement. With the holidays just around the corner, Cholo’s renewal can wait.
Simeone ends the season with command in place, three minutes from being second and with the message from the leaders that he continues to have full powers within the team. Those who thought that the cholismo cycle was over will have to wait. Simeone has finished third in LaLiga, the position he has occupied the most times in his eleven full seasons with the rojiblanco team: twice he was first, twice second and seven times he has been third. He never came down from that position.
The objective has been met. Cerezo, Gil Marín and the rest of the leaders ask that Atlético play in the Champions League. The Madrid team will play it again. And also the Spanish Super Cup, for which the Cívitas Metropolitano team will opt for four titles. With 77 points, only in four previous seasons, Atlético had achieved fewer points. Atlético has been weighed down by a rather negative first part of the championship in terms of results and play. Then, after the World Cup, Atlético was another. The usual. And that has saved a season that painted black for the rojiblanco team and for Simeone. But Cholo, once again, managed to reverse the situation. And he will continue to be the leader of a group of footballers who believe that the immediate future is positive.
