Atletico Madrid look like ending the season without silverware, but it has still been a good campaign for Los Colchoneros, who have once again re-invented themselves under long-serving head coach Diego Simeone.
Over the course of the 2024-25 campaign, Atleti have gone away from the five-back system used in the previous campaign, with Simeone having settled on a 4-4-2 that has allowed the likes of Marcos Llorente and Giuliano Simeone to thrive. And they had been looking good in La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey until recent defeats all-but ended their hopes in all competitions.
It may not be the season that Atleti wanted, but they have still earned plenty of plaudits for their aggressive, hard-to-beat style of play. And one particular supporter is Bayern Munich and German football legend Philipp Lahm.
In a column for The Guardian, Lahm was discussing the “decline” of Italian football over the last 15 years, and he believes that the blueprint for Serie A’s elite to re-establish themselves at the football of Europe once again has already been mapped out at the Metropolitano.
“How can this traditional football nation find its way back to its former glory? It doesn’t seem that complicated. Another heavy defeat brings me to this conclusion. We were knocked out in the 2016 Champions League semi-finals by Atletico Madrid. Our opponents gave 180 minutes of the highest intensity. We didn’t get anything for free at any point. Diego Simeone’s football still impresses me.
“The good news for Italy is that you can still win with defensive football. But slowing down is not the answer; grandezza alone is no longer enough. You need to add something: power when winning the ball, activity in possession, an unrelenting desire to conquer and attack, the Simeone style. You can learn a lot from the passion of this Argentinian coach. In fact, the whole of Italy should be playing like Atletico.”
