COMMENT: The Argentine is making history at Atletico and is keen to broaden his horizons at some of Europe's top teams in future - but not at the Bernabeu or Camp Nou
Diego Simeone is just getting started. The Argentine coach is hugely ambitious and after five trophies at Atletico, he has his heart set on working at some of Europe's top teams. But don't expect him to end up at Real Madrid or Barcelona - because it's never going to happen.
As well as Atleti's coach, Simeone considers himself a fan of the Madrid side and after two spells as a player at the Vicente Calderon, the ties run deep.
"It was the first team I won titles with as a player and the first as a coach in Europe," Simeone said on Thursday. "That puts me in a privileged position because it makes me part of their history."
And in that history, there is one rival above all others: Real Madrid. Atleti's adversary is Real, the team they meet again on Saturday in another derby duel and Simeone has made them competitive again after 14 years of one-sided encounters.
Although Atleti lost out to Madrid in the Champions League final, Simeone's side beat them to La Liga last season, overcame their city rivals in the Copa del Rey showpiece in 2012-13 and edged out Carlo Ancelotti's side in the recent Spanish Supercopa.
Working with a far inferior budget, Atleti are punching above their weight and it is a role relished by Simeone.
"Fans feel identified with our effort and commitment - and how we overcome difficulties," he said this week. "We are a team of the people - like [Diego] Maradona's Napoli."
As a player, Simeone went on to represent big-spending sides Inter and Lazio in Serie A, while he has also coached one of the historical heavyweights in Argentina with a spell at River Plate.
His heart, however, lies with only two teams.
"Call me crazy," he said in 2012. "But I would never coach Real Madrid. It would be foolish. I'm a fan of Racing and Atletico. As a fan of Racing, I would never coach Independiente. By the same token, I would also never coach Real Madrid."
Simeone's style of football and his playing philosophy, meanwhile, are sure to rule out a future move to Barcelona.
Asked in 2012 to choose between Barca boss Pep Guardiola and then Madrid coach Mourinho, the Argentine picked the Portuguese.
"I like Mourinho more than Guardiola," he said. "I like fast, direct football with forwards on the wings." And ahead of last season's Champions League quarter-final between Atletico and Barca, he added: "It will be an exciting game between two teams with completely different styles: one with possession, talent and history; the other with humility, heart and counter-attacking football."
Possession lies at the heart of Barca's ideology. Yet Simeone is less of a fan.
"I heard Xabi Alonso say that there is no point in having possession for the sake of it. You have to win the ball to do something specific with it," he said earlier this year. "Extraordinary. If Xabi Alonso says it, then how can I disagree? After all, it was in Spain that they invented that style..." And back in 2012, he remarked: "Barcelona are different, but possession isn't necessarily important. The only game we had 70 per cent possession was against Levante - and we drew!"
Simeone's ultra-competitive brand of football is ideally suited to Atletico, a club with a history of playing on the counter-attack. At Madrid or Barcelona, however, coaches must win and must do so with attractive football.
At the Bernabeu, Mourinho was criticised heavily for what was perceived as a negative brand, while Barca fans and media were quick to question Gerardo Martino after the Argentine made minor tweaks to the side's successful style in the Guardiola and Tito Vilanova era.
So Simeone would be unlikely to fit in anyway at either side and privately he has said it would be extremely improbable that he would coach any other team in Spain.
"Atletico opened the doors for me in Europe," he noted recently. "I would like to have the experience of coaching many more teams in different leagues in future, but Atletico will always be special."
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