Simeone reflects on his life as a manager: from working in
Argentina to winning trophies with Atlético Madrid
By The Coaches’ Voice for the Guardian Sport Network
My youngest son, Giuliano, dipped his croissant in his milk, took a bite and looked up at me. “But Dad, if you do well, you won’t come back.” I remember that day so well. It was the one that brought the phone call that changed everything. The call from Atlético Madrid, saying they wanted to speak to me. The one about me becoming manager of the club.
At the time, I was in Mar del Plata – a beach town in Argentina – to spend a few days with Giuliano. He was just eight years old, and we were sitting in a bar with our croissants and coffee (for me, milk for him), when I told him: “Look, a chance has come to go to Atlético Madrid, and I don’t know what to do.”