Argentinian Diego Simeone, the coach of Atlético Madrid, attributes his long stay at the helm of the technical leadership of the Spanish team to how committed his players have been
While Xabi Alonso, coach of Real Madrid, faces great pressure to retain his position which he took less than half a season ago, Simeone is nearing his fourteenth year as coach of Atlético.
During these years, Simeone has led Atlético to claim two titles in La Liga, and another two in the Europa League, and has also finished runner-up in the Champions League twice.
Simeone said in statements carried by the British news agency (PA Media), "I do not comment on what others think," when asked about Alonso’s situation at Real.. He added: I am here thanks to the players I have, this is without a doubt. My greatest gratitude and fortunately, throughout these 14 years, I have had players who accepted my ideas and plans.
He added: If there is something I enjoy, it is the enormous support I receive from the most important part of the equation, which are the players themselves.
Friday’s training session showed a clear sign that Simeone will continue to rely on the same key elements that led the team to a 3-2 win over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday, when they host Valencia on Saturday.
This means that French defender Clement Lenglet will have to wait until he recovers from a muscle injury, and also, Marcos Llorente and José Giménez and Álex Baena remain out of consideration.
Atlético Madrid’s win on Tuesday came after two consecutive losses against Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, keeping the team in fourth place in the standings, nine points behind the leader Barcelona.
Atlético is expected to achieve a positive result against the struggling Valencia, ranked 16th, despite the fact that coach Carlos Corberán's team has not been defeated in 5 consecutive matches across all competitions.
