Atletico consider sacking Diego Simeone with Pochettino on shortlist
James Shearman
- Updated: 10 Nov 2022 21:21 GMT
- 3 min read
Atletico Madrid are considering relieving Diego Simeone of his duties, with the club in poor league form and out of the Champions League.
Los Colchoneros sit fifth in La Liga, 13 points behind leaders Barcelona, with the gap between them continuing to grow.
And Atleti could only manage a draw against Bayer Leverkusen in their final UCL group stage match, meaning they finished fourth and also missed out on the Europa League knockout rounds.
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The club's hierarchy could be ready to sack the head coach of 11 years in the coming weeks, according to journalist Nicolo Schira.
Simeone's contract is up in 2024, so the compensation would not be excessive.
Ex-Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique and former Tottenham and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino have been shortlisted as possible replacements.
End of an era for Simeone?
Simeone has revolutionised Atletico since taking over 11 years ago, winning seven trophies.
These include two La Liga championships, but their league title in 2021 was their only piece of silverware since 2018.
Atletico have, instead, been battling with Barcelona for second in the league, somewhat of a backwards step for Simeone's side.
The Colchoneros only posted a points tally of 71 last year, their second-lowest since Simeone was appointed mid-way through the 2011/12 season.
🔜 Almazán-Atleti pic.twitter.com/5O4kkUa7DL
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) November 10, 2022
Furthermore, the club simply do not have the financial muscle to continue to compete with the likes of Barca and Real, having spent just €16.5 million in the summer, compared to the combined total of more than €300m spent by their rivals.
With Atletico’s squad also ageing, consisting of the likes of Saul Niguez, Koke and Jose Gimenez, some critics feel that the time for change may be near.
While Simeone may admirably wish to continue until they achieve their goal of winning a Champions League, having been runners up twice, it would take a huge, long-term shift for them to pull it off.
However, regardless of how his tenure eventually ends, Simeone will go down as arguably the most important figure in Atletico’s history and deserves to decide when he feels his story should reach its ending.
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