Atlético Madrid, kings of the dark side of football. Can Manchester City cope with the simulation and stalling of the Colchoneros?

The Champions League quarter-finals brought two completely different teams together. Manchester City, who are trying to assert themselves with attractive football, and Atlético Madrid, who are clawing their way into the best of all possible worlds. Who can handle the clash of two different worlds better?

If only footballing qualities were measured or if a meaningless friendly match without emotion was played, Manchester City would clearly have the upper hand. Pep Guardiola’s side are among the best in the world in terms of sophistication of system, play and chance creation.

Football-wise, the Citizens clearly have the upper hand. But there is a second, intangible side to such important matches. The struggle to gain the small advantages that will, on the whole, push you to victory.

It could be considered the dark side of football and that’s what Atlético Madrid are the best in the world at. No team in the world can drive their opponents so mad, frustrate them and help themselves to victory.

It started with the arrival of Diego Simeone, nicknamed ‘El Cholo’. He was a master of these practices, perfectly able to get into the mind of the opponent and thus upset him. “He ran around the opposing midfielder the whole game and just berated him. He couldn’t concentrate on the football at all and was so frustrated with Cholo that he got himself sent off,” recalls former teammate Juan Sebastian Verón of Simeone’s behaviour in the documentary “Simeone:: Vivir partido a partido’.

Cholismo

And “Cholismo” is deeply ingrained in all Atlético players. To stall, to simulate, to frustrate and frustrate the opponent, to throw him out of rhythm, to finish fights hard or even to pinch the opponent in standard situations. With all these means, Atlético players help themselves to victory. The repertoire of how to stall and defend a close victory would perhaps make a book in the hands of the ‘Indios’.

And this is exactly how they won the title in 2014 and 2021, and it helped them even more in the Champions League, where these practices helped them reach the final in 2014 and 2016. In England, especially, they take Atlético as champions of the dark side of football.

Indeed, Manchester United have recent experience of it. ” I don’t know if they played for more than two minutes without someone interrupting the game by rolling around on the ground,” United coach Ralf Rangnick fumed after being eliminated in the eighth round.

“Every time you touch them, they go flying to the ground and it’s a foul,” complained captain Harry Maguire. Angry Manchester fans showered Simeone with beer cups, but Liverpool have had a similar experience.

When the Colchoneros travelled to Anfield Road in 2020 for a rematch, the defending Champions League champions were convinced they could easily beat Atlético with their quality. But they didn’t count on the X factor, the so-called Cholism.

“They started falling down and trying to get under our skin,” Andy Robertson complained at the time. The Liverpool players, although a level above them in football, couldn’t concentrate on the game, were constantly angry at the Atlético players, were very frustrated and eventually actually dropped out.

Manchester City must therefore be wary. Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden are all great footballers, but as Guardiola himself describes them, they are too ‘good boys’. They’re not too used to the opponent getting into their heads and trying to stop them in all sorts of non-footballing ways.

How will the Citizens’ star footballers cope? Will football or the dark side win out? We pick up the first part of the story on Tuesday at 9pm.

Source: Atlético Madrid