When Atlético Madrid met in the Vicente Calderón against Real Madrid in the city of Derby in January 2015 and the old town broke out, a tiny Ballboy ran in a white bib from his position near the bank and jumped into the army of the coach, Diego Simeone. On Saturday evening, 10 years later, the two will be so close, but when Atlético does not expect the same hug in Santiago Bernabéu. Not even if the child evaluates it and he could. If he does it, it would mean everything: “Atlético,” he says, “is the team of my life.”
His name is Giuliano and he was 12 years old. He is now 22 and he is nowadays plays For Atlético, the wing still flies up and looks like his lungs could explode. He has become an identity to the embodiment of Atlético’s identity in which they fight for everything. He is also an academy product and Simeone’s son, as the manager tries to avoid this fact.
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Giuliano joined Atlético at the age of 16 after spending his early teenage years with the river sign in Argentina and moving to the family’s house in La Finca west of the city, but father and son have not lived together since he was at a loan Alavés had returned. He and his father sit apart when they play for Gianluca Simeone, Diego’s son and Giuliano’s brother, for Rayo Majadahonda in fourth grade. And it was fun to see how Simeone SR does not celebrate when his son achieves and becomes wild when someone else does it, not least because it happens increasingly often.
But once Simeone once said that he could never sign a son of his son and worried about the accusation of favoritism, which becomes aware of the risk of departments in the changing room, he no longer has to worry. Not only because Giuliano is more of an academy product than a signing, as discreet as his father, as violent as he did, but because he starts on Saturday evening on the right side of the midfield, it will be for the right reasons. “I don’t see a son; I see a footballer, ”emphasizes Atlético’s trainer, and everyone else too. A very good one too.
As a Ballboy, Simeone was his first derby appearance as a player almost a decade ago. Like Kylian Mbappé, he exposed himself when these two large rival teams met in the Metropolitano in autumn, a late destination by Ángel Correa, which secured a draw. Now both will start in Bernabéu, all doubts that may have been possible so far. After a difficult start, Mbappé scored 21 times in 33 games. In his last nine league games he has nine and two in the last three in the Champions League. Simeone has scored three points and set up in his last three more two more, which is crucial in all three competitions.
If the recovery of Mbappé was always likely when Real Madrid was into this derby leadership of the table, this was not true for Simeone either. This is a decisive derby: Real Madrid and Atlético are separated by a single point, while Barcelona is only three behind it. Barcelona’s collapse owes a lot, a title that was in her hands after October Clásico Slip away with three consecutive home accidents and become Mbappé again Mbappé. It also owes the Ballboy, who started as a sub this season, very much to make the decision to spend it again, returned late in the summer and is now irreplaceable.
In summer, Atlético were the great editions of Spain, Julián Álvarez and Alex Sørloth, who arrived between them more than 100 million euros. They were accompanied by Robin Le Normand and Conor Gallagher. That brought excitement, but it took time. It also meant only a few options for Simeone Jr. in the first 11 league games of the season, he played 0, 0, 6, 14, 5, 65, 0, 0, 33 and 20 minutes and only started once. He did not start any of her first three games in the Champions League, two of which they lost. At the end of the 11th week, Atlético was 10 points behind Barcelona, four behind Real Madrid and the behind Villarreal after only winning five times.
The solution, as it turned out, was at home. Simeone began in the following week and the revival began. Of course, it wasn’t all about Giuliano. Rodrigo de Paul looks like the Argentine player, not the man who let the fans whistle him. Álvarez was excellent, scorer of 16 goals. Antoine Griezmann has 15th and Sørloth is 11, mainly from the bank, his contribution key.
It is even more important that the trainer has found a structure; He has also found a collective idea, an obligation to make his players really buying in his idea that they will all play a role – something he says: “It’s not difficult. It is almost impossible”. Atlético has Strength and variety in detail, the team that uses their u -boats the most and that has the best: a third of their goals came from the bank.
Simeone JR symbolizes this, something in his energy, its intensity that the entire team transforms into his father’s words. Only once in the 19 games he started, they achieved 15 consecutive victories in all competitions. The run ended in Leganés and struck her back from the tip of the table, and there was a draw with Villarreal, but he was determined against Salzburg, Mallorca and Getafe, and brought Atlético to the top Eight of the Champions League, the semi -finals of the Copa Del Rey and at a point from Madrid at the table.
When asked how to arrive in this derby this week, his father replied “by bus” and then started laughing like Murtley, very satisfied with his joke. The true answer is: in very good shape.
In the meantime, Madrid comes with injuries in a week, which is characterized by arguments about referees: Mbappé will be there, despite an injured veal, Jude Bellingham will also and Carlo Ancelotti hopes that Eduardo Camavavinga will be available in time. However, they are without Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, David Alaba and Antonio Rüdigiger; There will be at least one midfielder in the back four, probably two. There is also that the coach clears the old question of balance, a defense exposed; But then there is hat Forward line. “I was able to take off one, two or three or four attackers and press more,” said Ancelotti. “But if I do that, I didn’t score 60 goals. It’s simple. “
“You have great individuals,” insisted Simeone – four times. “We have to bring the game to a place where we can hurt them.”
And so it’s Ancelotti against Simeone again. Against two of them is just like 2015. This is the 26th meeting between two coaches who are so classic that they now bring their children with them. No current managers have not met so often and are so well matched: they have won nine each, and it is a fight every time, they know it.
“These are the games in which you like to be,” said Madrid’s manager. “There is high pressure, yes, but everyone will see it, it is a great spectacle, there are great players on the field, it will be very competitive. It is spectacular and you are in the middle of it. As a trainer, you are in the most unpleasant place in the ground, but you suffer, you fight with your team. You have to enjoy it beforehand. And hopefully they celebrate it afterwards. “