Diego Pablo Simeone Gonzalez, nicknamed "El Cholo", is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.
48 Facts About Diego Simeone
2.
Diego Simeone has been the manager of Atletico Madrid since December 2011.
3.
Diego Simeone is renowned in modern football for his attention to detail and man-management skills.
4.
Diego Simeone won a domestic double with Atletico Madrid in 1996, and the UEFA Cup with Inter in 1998, winning another domestic double with Lazio in 2000, as well as the 1999 UEFA Super Cup and the 2000 Supercoppa Italiana.
5.
Diego Simeone was capped over 100 times for the Argentina national team and represented the country at the 1994,1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups, and in four editions of the Copa America, winning the tournament in 1991 and 1993.
6.
Diego Simeone won the King Fahd Cup in 1992, the 1993 Artemio Franchi Cup, and a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympic games.
7.
Diego Simeone won the Argentine Primera Division both with Estudiantes and River Plate and has had his biggest managerial success with Atletico Madrid, winning La Liga twice, the Copa del Rey, two UEFA Europa Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, as well as being runner-up of the UEFA Champions League twice.
8.
Diego Simeone is the longest-serving manager in La Liga, having stayed over a decade at Atletico.
9.
When Diego Simeone was 14, his youth coach Victorio Spinetto nicknamed him "Cholo", as his energetic play reminded him of former Boca Juniors player and Argentine international Carmelo Diego Simeone who possessed the nickname.
10.
The club was relegated in his first season and, after it failed to gain promotion the following year, Diego Simeone was sold to Sevilla in the Spanish La Liga.
11.
Diego Simeone played two seasons in Seville, after which he was signed by Atletico Madrid.
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In 1999, Diego Simeone joined fellow Argentines Nestor Sensini, Matias Almeyda and Juan Sebastian Veron at Sven-Goran Eriksson's Lazio.
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In 1992, Diego Simeone represented the Argentina under-23 team at the 1992 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament in Paraguay, which saw Argentina fail to qualify for the 1992 Summer Olympics.
14.
Diego Simeone won the 1991 and 1993 editions of the Copa America with Argentina.
15.
Diego Simeone played in the 1994,1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups.
16.
Diego Simeone was part of the Argentina under-23 squad that won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as one of the three overage players allowed per squad.
17.
Diego Simeone later said he simulated the injury from the kick in order to get Beckham sent off.
18.
Sports Illustrated was critical of the Argentinian's theatrics in that incident, stating Diego Simeone first delivered a "heavy-handed challenge" on Beckham and then "fell like a ton of bricks" when Beckham retaliated.
19.
Diego Simeone was regarded as a tenacious, versatile, hard-working and complete two-way midfielder who was mobile, good in the air, and capable both of winning balls and starting attacking plays, while having a penchant for scoring several goals himself.
20.
Diego Simeone was used in an offensive midfield role on occasion, even if it was not his optimal playing position.
21.
Diego Simeone once described his style as "holding a knife between his teeth".
22.
Diego Simeone ended his playing career for Racing Club, playing his last match on 17 February 2006, and then became manager for the same team.
23.
Diego Simeone was praised as a "born manager" by former Argentine international Roberto Perfumo.
24.
Diego Simeone left Estudiantes after the end of the 2007 Apertura, where Estudiantes was not a contender after a poor start, but had a strong finish of nine games without defeat.
25.
On 15 December 2007, Diego Simeone was unveiled as the new River Plate coach, succeeding Daniel Passarella.
26.
On 7 November 2008, Diego Simeone announced his resignation as coach of River Plate after their elimination in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Copa Sudamericana by Mexican side Chivas and a poor run of form of 11 domestic matches without a win, which left them bottom of the Primera Division Argentina with only six matches remaining.
27.
On 15 April 2009, Diego Simeone joined San Lorenzo to replace Miguel Angel Russo following the club's exit in the first round of the 2009 Copa Libertadores.
28.
On 3 April 2010, Diego Simeone resigned from San Lorenzo due to poor results and mounting criticism.
29.
On 19 January 2011, Diego Simeone flew to Sicily to join Serie A side Catania, replacing Marco Giampaolo, who left the club just hours earlier.
30.
On 1 June 2011, Diego Simeone left his post after helping Catania stave off relegation.
31.
On 21 June 2011, Diego Simeone was named as the new coach of Racing Club for a second spell in charge, replacing Miguel Angel Russo, who had resigned the week prior.
32.
On 23 December 2011, Diego Simeone was unveiled as the new Atletico Madrid coach, succeeding Gregorio Manzano, who had been dismissed the day before following defeat to third-tier Albacete in the Copa del Rey.
33.
Diego Simeone became the second Argentine manager after Helenio Herrera to hand Atletico a Spanish championship, and the second manager after Luis Aragones to win it both as a player and as a coach of the team.
34.
Diego Simeone was sent to the stands, and Varane was booked for the incident.
35.
On 5 September 2017, Diego Simeone extended his contract with Atletico for two more years, until June 2020.
36.
In January 2018, Diego Simeone Costa returned to Atletico from Chelsea.
37.
Diego Simeone was sent to the stands in the first leg of the semi-finals against Arsenal and was suspended.
38.
Diego Simeone was forced to watch the second leg and final from the stands.
39.
Diego Simeone guided his side into the last 16 of UEFA Champions League for the sixth time since he came to reign in 2011, while before his arrival Atletico had only done so 7 times in 60 years.
40.
On 7 July 2020, Diego Simeone overtook John Toshack as the third coach with the most games managed at a single club in the history of the top-flight of Spanish football during Atleti's match against Celta Vigo, his 323rd game in La Liga.
41.
Diego Simeone has listed his coaching influences being Marcelo Bielsa, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Alfio Basile, Victorio Spinetto, Luigi Simoni, Carlos Bilardo, and Radomir Antic.
42.
Diego Simeone said he did not want to "fossilise [himself] with a rigid tactic," saying managers cannot have a favourite formation "for the simple fact that we have to adapt not to what we like but to what we have to work with".
43.
Diego Simeone is renowned for his attention to detail and quick adaptability to a game's changing situations.
44.
Diego Simeone is quick in making tactical changes to influence a game's outcome.
45.
Diego Simeone has earned praise for instilling confidence and discipline in his players, which has helped his teams emerge victorious under adverse conditions.
46.
However, Diego Simeone was able to rally his team at half-time and Godin's header in the second half gave them the much needed draw.
47.
Diego Simeone gives belief that we can compete against much bigger teams.
48.
Diego Simeone has two daughters, Francesca and Valentina, with model Carla Pereyra.