C1 – Before Manchester City – Atlético de Madrid, Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone: closer, no less opposed – Eurosport FR

It was one evening in May 2016 that the opposition reached new heights, both in level and in the contrast between two approaches. Of rare quality, the Champions League semi-final second leg between Bayern and Atlético remains, even today, an important moment in recent football history. Because the ultra-dominant Munichers had shown that their coach’s game plan could be exported outside of Catalonia. And because the people of Madrid, confident in the solidity of their low block, had qualified thanks to the late away goal (1-0, 1-2). expense of the attack, so Diego Simeone at the expense of Pep Guardiola. are faced only three times – the first in a Barcelona – Atlético (2-1) in February 2012. Far from the 25 duels between Guardiola and José Mourinho, the opposition is therefore much more philosophical than personal. For all these years, the Catalan and the Argentinian have worked in their corner, without necessarily having to respond to the issues that will be raised on Tuesday evening. In Manchester City, the first named first had to adapt to the long and physical game of the formations from the second part of the table, then resist the intensity of very active opponents in the pressing. His counterpart has accompanied the evolution of a less playful Spanish championship, where his 4-4-2 has inspired some of the coaches currently in office, while Real and Barça are much less dominating than at the start of the past decade. Guardiola and Simeone in their first clash in 2012Credit: EurosportEven though their beliefs have not changed, with Simeone valuing collective solidarity and fighting while Guardiola wants the ball to be the master of the game, the weekly context has influenced the trajectories. In the Premier League, the ability of the Skyblues to create space in all defenses makes it possible to score a lot without the need for a number 9. Exit the attacking referent, whether he is in the box (Mario Mandzukic or Robert Lewandowki at Bayern) or who he picks up (Lionel Messi or even Cesc Fabregas in Barcelona), make way for “liquid” football where three to five players – depending on the profile of the torchbearers – can make passes in the middle. An evolution more than a revolution, as is the use of the side João Cancelo in the middle during the possession phases. The experiment had already been tried at Bayern then with Fabian Delph and Oleksandr Zinchenko, midfielders who helped out in the left lane and then found their natural position. In La Liga, the Colchoneros must manage the monsters they have created. Those who for a long time could counter less well-equipped but more ambitious teams (the symbol being Paco Jemez’s Rayo Vallecano, the first in five years to have more possession than Barcelona in September 2013), are now forced to break through blocks well in place. All without the possibility of circumventing the problem. With only 8 goals scored from non-penalty set pieces this season and 10 last year, compared to 18 for the title in 2014 and 30 out of a total of 67 (!) in 2015, they no longer have this weapon which allows to score without surrendering. Hence a change of approach initiated last season: the addition of an element in the offensive phase to make more differences. Atlético’s mutations Long fixed on a 4-4-2 which deforms little in the offensive phase , Diego Simeone still uses it but plays three behind most of the time. A major development, which allows him various experiments: use of Yannick Carrasco as a side turning into a winger in possession or, on the contrary, punctual relocation of central Mario Hermoso; side doubles (Renilido left axle and Renan Lodi piston) that can switch if necessary, like the Swiss Rodriguez and Zuber during the last Euro; asymmetry with a piston on one side and a pure defender on the other. Above all, this geometric adaptation changes the areas to combine a notch higher. Very well endowed with good creators between the lines, Atlético now invests the half-spaces. Thomas Lemar, much more comfortable as an eccentric leader than as a winger forced to lock his lane and cross when he has the possibility, found some of his Monegasque influence there last season. But no one has really settled for the long term and even Rodrigo De Paul, Lionel Messi’s main creative assistant in the selection, has struggled to make a difference for several weeks. Fluctuations that force the coach to regularly change devices – he also returned to 4-4-2 on Saturday against Alavès (4-1) – but do not prevent us from seeing that, yes, Simeone has a little “guardiolised”.Griezmann, like this Atlético: “He is still in transition with the team”When he arranges his team in 3-1-4-2, the Cholo is ultimately not so far from the animation used by its counterpart, which leaves a midfielder in cover and places point guards behind strikers. Without having a Kevin de Bruyne or a Bernardo Silva available (and even less David Silva, who has long held the left axis position). Without either wanting long phases of possession allowing to criss-cross the opposing field to quickly recover the ball if it is lost. But with the idea that, to obtain results, it is sometimes better to push back offensive elements capable of making a difference. Not really what was on the program when midfielders Saul Niguez and Koke each found themselves on a wing to lock it. Safe haven Guardiola’s borrowings from “cholismo” are rarer. Tailored to specific opponents’ weaknesses, too, so they’ll still be remembered years later. There was Bayern 5-1 against Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund in October 2015, where Jérôme Boateng’s long openings behind the opposing defense brought two goals. More recently, the double confrontation between City and Real (2-1, 2-1) saw Ederson never seek to raise towards his defenders (17 long passes to go and 24 to return), the Skyblues preferring the pressing clean construction – with good reason, Raphaël Varane’s errors offering two goals on the Etihad lawn. If he is still required to regularly send arrows to the other end of the field, the Brazilian goalkeeper first benefits from the philosophy of play of his formation. She who multiplies short passes and does not hesitate to take risks in her camp often ends up attracting the opponent, who builds his block and leaves spaces in depth. Nothing to do with the long clearances of Jan Oblak, certainly less numerous than when Diego Costa won all the aerial duels, whose objective is as much to gain ground as to avoid any error. In this area as in others, identical choices are not guided by the same motivations. Over the years, the difference between Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone has been reduced but remains significant. The first has almost never deviated from its line of conduct and is content, in quotation marks, to move the pieces and play with the profiles. He still prefers midfielders to attackers, wants a rear guard capable of relaunching under pressure and defending with the ball. The second was champion by adapting more often and putting unbalanced players in the axis. But he remains more comfortable blocking the opponent, like a trip to Manchester United (1-1) where the pressing and a defensive base oscillating between 5-3-2 and 4-4-2 left no spaces. And it is this difference in the conception of football, accentuated by the difference between the quality of the two squads, which will again condition the clash on Tuesday evening. A coach believes in attacking and, without touching the structure, can turn his principles into a defensive weapon. The other believes in defence, a safe haven when things don’t turn out well, and adapts when it’s not enough. With 50% possession in La Liga and the second total of La Liga goals, Atlético regularly moves away from a caricature that is especially visible in the Champions League. But it was in the most caricatural of scenarios that Diego had won the last round against Pep.LigaFélix and Suarez maintain Atlético’s crazy series02/04/2022 2022 At 03:54 PM