There aren’t too many recent examples of managers staying at football clubs for longer than a few years, the exceptions being Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
Though Diego Simeone has a long way to go to match their achievements at Atletico Madrid, where he has been boss since 2011, all of the signs of empire building are there.
Courted by the likes of Internazionale of Milan and persistent rumours of interest from Paris Saint-Germain have done nothing to turn the head of the workaholic Argentine.
After a second Champions League final defeat in three seasons to Real Madrid, Simeone — in the heat of the moment — professed to having taken the team as far as he could. On reflection however, he decided that Atleti were in fact a project he could still move forward.
Arguably, if there were any genuine thoughts of leaving on his part, they were going to be actioned in the wake of the defeat in Milan last May.
This season hasn’t reached the heights of the previous few with Sevilla taking on the mantle of main challengers to the dominance of Real Madrid and Barcelona in 2016/17, but rather than throwing in the towel, the downturn in results and performance has galvanised Simeone, who won the La Liga title as boss in 2013/14.
We’ve seen the playing side of his character — belligerent, fiery and intense — come to the fore on the touchline again, and even his most supportive generals haven’t been spared his wrath.
As the Rojiblancos get ready to leave the Vicente Calderon for the Wanda Metropolitano, it’s clear to everyone, and now to Simeone himself, that he is the man to lead this team into a new era at their new home.
Whether or not star player Antoine Griezmann leaves is something of an irrelevance at this point. His departure would hurt Atleti of course, but when you consider that Torres, Forlan, Aguero, Costa and Falcao have all left in the recent past, it’s not difficult to look past a team sans Griezmann and still find reasons to be cheerful.
The adage that one player doesn’t make a team never rings truer than with this particular club.
Though Leicester City aren’t to be underestimated, Atleti will make the semi-finals of this season’s Champions League at the very least and, having conquered La Liga in his current managerial stint, winning European football’s most glamorous prize with the mattress makers remains a stated aim for the Argentinian.
After investing so much time and effort into the project, he’ll not rest until he stands proudly atop his contemporaries. Though he could earn untold riches elsewhere and have a squad to die for, where’s the fun in that?
To continue doing things his way, even if it goes occasionally against the grain, is what drives Simeone and gives him purpose. Not for him the noise that gives editors and producers column inches or listeners.
It’s a single-minded belief that ensures his disciples give everything for him in every game.
You can’t buy that kind of two-way loyalty.
