Despite losing its final game against Real Madrid, the Atlético de Madrid team has a hero: Diego “El Cholo” Simeone, one of the most unconventional soccer managers in the world. Few managers have his same drive for success or his capacity for motivating his players to give all their efforts for their team. His motto was: “Work, work, work.”
Simeone was already remarkable as a soccer player. He was a tenacious midfielder, who could win impossible balls and start attacking moves, even scoring goals himself. He represented Argentina at the 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups. The characteristics that he had as a player: technique, versatility, intelligence, strength, and stamina served him well when he became a manager.
His nickname “Cholo,” as he is generally known, was given to him by his youth coach Victorio Spinetto, who called him that way because it reminded him of the energetic style of a former Boca Juniors players and Argentine international Carmelo Simeone, who was no relation of his.
