Simeone studies Cruyff to win the derby

29/09/2025 20:21:00 soccer

Diego Simeone had a career-defining match with Atletico. He learned from Johan Cruyff to diminish Real Madrid and achieve a "small hand" style victory.

One by one, Diego Simeone approached to embrace his players before they all ran a lap around the pitch amid cheers from the standing red and white fans. It had been 75 years since Atletico last scored 5 goals against Real Madrid.

Simeone couldn’t hold back tears when Julian Alvarez’s direct free kick beat Thibaut Courtois, making it 4-2 for the Metropolitano side. With a two-goal lead, Simeone seemed relieved from the pressure to win titles — a burden he felt more intensely this season from the club since the start.

Simeone adopted the legendary Johan Cruyff’s spirit with a message he gave his players before the match, which became the key difference. "I asked the team before the game if there was anything truly serious in life’s important matters. They said no. So I told them: Go out, enjoy yourselves, and play football, because you’re at a wonderful moment. And that turned out to be true," Simeone revealed.

His team, like in the match against Rayo Vallecano, showed another Cruyff philosophy when criticized for taking risks: "I don’t mind conceding 2 goals as long as we score more." This time Atletico scored 5 goals and could have had more if Sorloth had been sharper.

Simeone follows Cruyff’s spirit

"The team is scoring and creating many chances. Defensively, there are still improvements to make; we have identified mistakes and are fixing them gradually. The team is on the right track despite conceding twice," Simeone explained. This season Atletico has conceded more than usual — 12 goals (9 in La Liga, 3 in Champions League) after 8 matches — yet despite Julian Alvarez needing time to find form and Sorloth missing chances, they have scored 13 goals.

"We create the most chances and now we convert them better," Alvarez defended. Indeed, Real Madrid didn’t have a single shot on target after halftime.

Simeone emphasized the plan he set out. Starting Sorloth was a signal that the match would be decided in the air. The Norwegian striker hadn’t started since the Alaves game. A foolish red card in the Mallorca match, just 10 minutes after coming on for Alvarez, along with the good understanding between Griezmann, Raspadori, and the Argentine striker, seemed to push him down to fourth choice striker.

His somewhat cold body language during pressing and duels didn’t help him gain favor, but Simeone had a clear strategy. "From the start, we knew which path could cause damage: Breaks from the wings by Nico, Giuliano, Llorente, and Hancko to pull the opposing central defenders out wide, allowing Sorloth more freedom inside the box. He scored once and could have had two more," Simeone concluded.

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