Atletico: and Simeone invented the… 5-5-0! – Soccer

Outsider, Atletico Madrid conceded a narrow defeat on the lawn of Manchester City (1-0), Tuesday, during the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League. A match marked by the very defensive tactics of Diego Simeone, who pushed back all the limits imaginable.

Simeone, the inventor of concrete.

Koke, Marcos Llorente, Antoine Griezmann, Joao Flix… Any coach would dream of fielding four players as fine and comfortable with the ball. Diego Simeone, he does not care about the technical qualities of his players.

Before winning, the Atletico Madrid coach thinks not to lose. An archaic tactic which did not prevent him from returning from the Etihad with a defeat in the bag (1-0), Tuesday, during the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League against Manchester City.

0 shots, a first in 570 games for Simeone

A setback of a clear goal on the lawn of the champion of England, big favorite for the final coronation, a priori, this is not infmant. But those who attended the match probably felt unease, embarrassment, faced with what El Cholo proposed: a 5-5-0 worthy of the Middle Ages with attackers on the same line as the pistons. With the rule of the goal on the outside removed, what is the point of leaving its 30 meters to risk being stung on the counter?

We knew the Argentinian manager was chilly. But this point, probably not. The proof with this terrible figure: 0 shots in 90 minutes. His team, since his arrival in 2011, had never completed a meeting without involving the opposing goalkeeper. We had to wait for the 570th match to break this terrible record, in mondovision, in the quarter-finals of the most prestigious of European competitions. A very bad advertisement for football.

Guardiola talks about a prehistoric tactic

After the meeting, Pep Guardiola did not hesitate to be ironic about the tactics of his Madrid counterpart. We felt that they were going to play in 5-3-2, then they adjusted and went to 5-5. In prehistory, today and in a hundred thousand years, it is very difficult to attack a 5-5, because there are no spaces. They are strong, we are small and light admitted the Catalan technician, almost disillusioned by the situation.

Simeone didn’t seem embarrassed at the press conference. It was a very well played game compared to the intentions of both teams. They won 1-0, we will try to get out of it , underlined the South American technician. Anyway, Atletico will have to offer something else in a week at the Wanda Metropolitano. Because it is hard to see the Colchoneros scoring a goal and dragging the Citizens up to a possible penalty shootout. Unless…

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