Simeone and Atlético de Madrid: bad panorama for 2019-20?

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After the tough elimination of the UEFA Champions League and with scarce possibilities of a title in the League, the 'colchonero' club looks to the future with concern

Although Atletico Madrid is in the second box of the Santander League of Spain, behind Barcelona, the difference that separates him from the 'Blaugrana' is very broad with six games remaining. To that, we must add two early eliminations in the Copa del Rey against Girona and in the knockout stages of the Champions League against Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus, which is even tougher after seeing how they trailed a favorable 2-0 in the first leg. In conclusion, it will be another season without important titles.

Leer en español: Simeone y el Atlético de Madrid: ¿oscuro panorama para la 2019-20?

As described by the sports portal El Desmarque, there are defeats with which a team can go with its head held high, but what happened in Turin for the return of the UCL round-of-the-round series between the 'colchonero' and the 'vecchia signora' teams was a shameful setback, with a soulless team, which made everything wrong from the start.

The fans accused Diego 'Cholo' Simeone as the main responsible for the elimination of the European competition, but the president of the Spanish institution, Enrique Cerezo, gave his unconditional support to the Argentinian coach and assured that his position is still intact in the team, recognizing the work he has carried out all these years, according to the sports newspaper Marca. Similarly, Cerezo said for the newspaper "be sure that the team will recover mentally to face with guarantees what is still left at stake in La Liga."

However, a week ago new ghosts of instability in the managing staff of the team re-emerged, thanks to rumors in the corridors of possible changes, as mentioned in the digital newscast Pasión Fútbol. All this because Simeone has been in the club for eight years and still have not been able to raise the precious cup, in addition to perceiving a tired Argentinian coach and a worn cycle that is shown on the field.

The Pasión Fútbol portal mentions as a possible replacement for the 'Cholo' the current Getafe coach, Pepe Bordalás, who would be the first choice, after a campaign with the 'Azules' that has surprised several, despite his short experience in the First Division. Even so, until now they are only speculations.

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Bet on new project

Despite the rumors mentioned above, Simeone starts working on the team's new project for the next season 2019/2020, in which one of the main objectives is the coveted UEFA Champions League.

The 'building' has begun to falter with possible departures of referring players like Diego Godín, Filipe Luis, Juanfran Torres, plus the already confirmed Lucas Hernández. All of them are bastions of one of the best defenses in Europe, as indicated by the newspaper Marca, and they are pieces that are difficult to replace because of their quality and commitment. The same portal mentions that the organization allows players over 30 years of age to be free to negotiate their contracts with any team that wishes to take over their work to strengthen their teams.

One of the strong blows was the sale of the aforementioned Hernandez to Bayern Munich for 80 million euros. El Español talks about the flirting around Antoine Griezmann and his possible signing for FC Barcelona, so the president of Atlético de Madrid did not leave space to doubt by saying that the player stays at the institution "thousand per thousand possibilities. 

Fichajes also mention the interest of the coaching staff and the club to strengthen the defensive line because of the possible departures of the players. The immediate replacement of Diego Godín would be Nehuén Pérez. The aforementioned media interviews Brazilian player Filipe Luis about his future and affirms that he will end his season as stipulated in his contract and that he has as a priority to renew with the club. However, suddenly there is a possibility of returning to Brazil, although it is not sure and he has not been offered to any club, but it is not a closed possibility.

On the other hand, the sports portal Futbol Red reports that the team is analyzing possible strong hiring, among which Nicolás Tagliafico and Matthijs de Ligt, both from Amsterdam's Ajax, who are living an incredible moment in their league and in the UEFA Champions League. All this would result in a strong economic investment, so if not specified there is a Plan B: Alex Telles from Porto and Rubén Díaz from Benfica.

So far the official contract has been that of the Porto midfielder, the Mexican Hector Herrera, as reported by the newspaper Don Balón, which adds that the player would be free to finish his contract in June. This move is made to strengthen the central zone with Thomas and Rodri. Another player in the sight of the white box is the young left-back of Germany's Mainz 05, Aaron Martin, with 21 years and who has played for Espanyol, according to the portal Fichajes.

All possible hiring by 'Cholo' Simeone are a consequence of the weakening of the defense cracked by the players' leavings, some reinforcements in the middle and reinforcement in the middle; regarding the rest, he feels confident in the tips and forwards. There is still time for the summer market, but everything indicates that it will be very financially driven.

Beyond the signings made by the team, the question remains as to whether Simeone will continue running the 'colchoneros', despite having the backing of the organization's board. Could it be that Simeone still has the artillery to prove or he has spent his arsenal in these eight years? In theory, he will remain in the team, because he recently signed a contract until 2022.

LatinAmerican Post | Gabriel Moros

Translated from "Simeone y el Atlético de Madrid: ¿oscuro panorama para la 2019-20?"